The Red Bull BC One Cypher returned last weekend with a special showcase on the 12th of August before the UK Championships officially took place the next day on the 13th of August at the Outernet in London. The yearly global one-on-one breaking competition, this year in partnership with Champion and Westend DJ, saw two brackets of the top 16 B-Boys and top 8 B-Girls in the UK showing off their skill and battling it out with the hope of reaching the 2023 BC One World Final which is being hosted in Paris on Saturday 21st October.The progression of breaking has made strides in the last few years and is now recognised as an Olympic sport, set to make its debut at the 2024 Olympics in Paris.
This year’s Red Bull BC One Cypher also coincides with the 50th anniversary of Hip-Hop, a musical genre with clear connections to breaking, emerging among the poor youth of New York during the early 1970s, where it was introduced, set to the rhythmic beats DJs developed for dancers. We attended the finals of the UK championships, catching all the action live and witnessing the vast array of talent on display.
The event was hosted by Sir Swifty and Fee Mak with DJ Tsia on the decks providing the soundtrack for the dance battles, giving them a selection of upbeat instrumentals to showcase their moves. The brackets for the B-Boys and B-Girls were judged by a panel consisting of Red Bull BC One All-Star, RoxRite, B-Girl San Andrea and B-Boy Spin, overseeing the battles and voting for their winner after every round. Before the matches commenced however it was revealed that B-Boy Kid Karam had been chosen as the judges’ wildcard for the Finals in Paris and it’s not an exaggeration to say he was absolutely ecstatic.
Just before the semi-finals, there was a special breaking showcase taking the attendees through 50 years of Hip-Hop dance crazes, playing everything from 90s bangers like Bell Biv Devoe’s “Poison” and “Sound of Da Police” by KRS-One to noughties hits like Soulja Boy’s “Crank Dat” and even modern-day dance hits like “Look At My Dab” by Migos and “Alright” by Kendrick Lamar with dancers keeping the crowd hyped all throughout.
The dance battles recommenced with the semis and finals getting underway and despite the close battles and fierce competitive spirit between all the contestants, there could only be one winner in each bracket. When the dust finally settled B-Boy Sheku and B-Girl Stefani emerged victorious as the winners of the UK Championships, sealing their place to compete for the title in Paris in October.
Photography by Amy Heycock (@amyheycockphoto)
Finally, after the event had finished, I got the chance to sit down with Red Bull B-Boy and Team GB athlete Sunni who spoke to me about how he got into breaking, what training is like and some of his favourite artists at the minute.
What got you into breaking?
“It’s quite a boring one to be honest, it was just like a school activity for me like I’ll do football one day, climbing the other day. And then at local community centre, there was a B-Girl that used to teach lessons. She used to take the class once a week.”
When did you realise this was something you wanted to take seriously?
“Not for a long time to be honest, I blew up quite young, I blew up at 15. But still, it was like a fun thing for me, because there weren’t many people making a career from it. And then when I started getting sponsored, like around 2022, then I started thinking, right, this is like a viable career path.”
So how proud are you seeing how far breaking has progressed in the last few years?
“I wouldn’t say I’m proud because it’s not something I own. It’s not something that I started. But I’m very happy to be a part of the transition from the more grassroots stuff to then we started getting the big competitions. And now we have the massive, massive platform like the Olympics, and even seeing the way that some of our cultural events are growing. So I wouldn’t say I’m proud I’d say I’m more very lucky and grateful to be a part of the scene.”
Breaking is now an Olympic sport, set to debut in the 2024 Paris Olympics. Being a Team GB athlete, how are you feeling about competing there?
“I’m feeling great. I’m really lucky yet again, to be part of such good team, like me and Karam (BC One Final Wildcard) have been very close friends for 10-plus years, Sheku’s a new face as well, we’ve gotten very close over the last two years just from always been the UK boys competing internationally. So I couldn’t be happier with the team that I’m doing it with. And I think me and Karam right now are in the position to be qualifying for the Olympics and Sheku will definitely be there next year. He’s just won Red Bull BC One again. So he’s a definite contender and just feels great to be doing something that’s big for the country, but also with people that I genuinely like and respect.”
Photography by Little Shao (@littleshao)
What’s the training process like for breaking?
“Everyone’s a little bit different but me personally, if I had the time, like right now we’re in high season, so we’re competing, every weekend, we’re doing a lot of work. But in my ideal situation I’m training five days a week, about four hours a day, and then I had knee surgery and stuff, so I do the rehabilitation on top of it. But it’s not too much gym it’s more just dedication to the craft.”
With this year marking the 50th anniversary of Hip-Hop and breaking being heavily tied with the genre, how important is Hip-Hop to you?
“Yeah, Hip-Hop is mad important for me. And I think like, it’s an amazing thing that it’s the 50th year of Hip Hop. For me, Hip-Hop is more a lifestyle that comes from subcultures and certain demographics, and I think it’s an amazing thing that’s reached 50 years, but I also think that we have our own UK Hip-Hop thing that is completely separate to the 50 years of US Hip-Hop that I personally embrace and I enjoy. And I think that’s more what I’m focused on.”
Who are some of your favourite Hip-Hop artists at the moment?
“That’s a tough one. You know who’s been hard for a while and like, is clearly hard, but I think Little Simz needs to be bigged up each and every time. People say she’s underrated, I don’t think she’s underrated. But she’s not like she’s not given the flowers that she deserves, she’s under-appreciated. She can do any genre, she’s super, super hard. Others is a tough one. It depends on kind of what I’m feeling like I’m training I’m training to a lot of up-tempo stuff. I listen to a lot of drill for training but if I’m chilling, I’m listening to more Hip-Hop. And do you know what I like? Chip’s been making big waves last five years since his hiatus so shoutout to him.”
The UK Red Bull BC One Cypher definitely didn’t disappoint and with the 2023 BC One World Final only 2 months away the hype for the biggest breaking competition in the world is definitely being felt. With the talent on display from just the UK championships alone, the convergence of the best B-Boys and B-Girls from across the world is sure to create a spectacle come October 21st.