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HIP HOP/DANCE/GIRLZ RULE • Paperback with wide flaps • 6.25 x 8.25 inches • 156 pages • $24.95 - But This Book |
—Rokafella
In 1985, B-Boys were all the rage but where were the girls? Fast-forward twenty years for the answer: We B*Girlz, a lively look at the hot and happenin’? world of B-Girlz of the twenty-first century as documented by photographer Martha Cooper and writer Nika Kramer. Breaking is back with a new twist as today’s fly girls can battle the best of them.
We B*Girlz, the first handbook for accomplished or aspiring B-Girlz and the boys who admire them, showcases the dynamic style and nonstop energy of B-Girlz in action, in practice, and on stage. Providing inspiring insight into a previously little-known subculture that has swept the world, We B*Girlz includes chapters on Getting Down, Herstory, Lady Legendz, We B*Girlz, Crewz, Floor Warz, We B*Stylin’, Ride the Beat (other forms of urban dance), Work It! (B-Girl careers), and We B-Family, and a list of websites on breaking, Hip Hop, gear, events, competitions, and classes.
Featuring pioneering B-Girlz like Rokafella from the Bronx, who now dances professionally, and Asia-One from L.A., who organized and promoted the B-Boy Summit for ten years, We B*Girlz also showcases the gutsy girls who dare to dance with all-boy crews such as Valentine—whose Paris crew, Fantastik Armada, came in second in the 2004 Battle of the Year, the largest international competition in Germany. Presenting girls of all ages and walks of life, We B*Girlz spotlights twelve-year-old Wonder Woman from France, a serious contender at last year’s IBE; Krazee Grandma, a beloved sixty-five-year-old B-Girl from Sweden who still spins on her head and travels around Europe to dance competitions; Karima and Bubbles, the first B-Girls from France and the UK, respectively; B-Girl Mom Honey Rockwell, whose three-year-old daughter is known as “The Annialator”; and B-Girl & Boy couple Chyna and Sake who organize an annual couple’s battle, Lover’s Rock, in San Diego.
Cooper and Kramer first began documenting this new breed of B-Girlz in a breakdance competition in Germany in 2004. Following the dancers to the biggest battles—including Mighty4 in San Francisco, the Spinfactor Finals in Rhode Island, Breaklanta in Atlanta, IBE in the Netherlands, and the International Battle of the Year in Germany—they photographed and interviewed B-Girlz representing everywhere from South Africa to New Zealand, from New York to California, and from Japan to Germany. Culminating in the first annual We B*Girlz competition at veteran B-Boy Ken Swift’s studio in Brooklyn, Cooper and Kramer’s work will introduce a new generation to the art of B-Girling.
Martha Cooper is a documentary photographer who has specialized in urban vernacular art and architecture for more than twenty-five years. Cooper worked as a staff photographer for the New York Post from 1977 to 1980, when she left to follow the emerging hip hop scene. In 1984, in collaboration with Henry Chalfant, she published Subway Art (Thames & Hudson), the classic book showcasing the best painted trains of the era that has been dubbed “The Bible” by graffiti writers. Cooper’s other books of photographs include Hip Hop Files: Photographs 1979–1984 (From Here To Fame, 2004) and R.I.P.: Memorial Wall Art (Thames & Hudson, 1994) with text by folklorist Joseph Sciorra. The Director of Photography at City Lore, the New York Center for Urban Folk Culture, she lives in Manhattan.
Nika Kramer, writer, translator, and businesswoman, grew up in Germany in a small farming community called Five Houses, named for the number of houses in the village. After studying business and design in Oldenburg she traveled throughout Central America, returning to Germany to open and operate a car wash where she occasionally sang and danced for her customers. Kramer was the text editor and German translator of Hip Hop Files: Photographs 1979–1984 (From Here to Fame, 2004). Kramer’s fluent command of English, Spanish, and German is invaluable as she lives and works in Berlin and New York.
Ana “Rokafella” Garcia is a Spanish Harlem–born hip hop dancer and choreographer. Rokafella danced with crews such as The Transformers and The Breeze Team before joining the hip hop dance company GhettOriginal. She has appeared in music videos such as Fabolous’ “Holla back Youngin.” Rokafella is the cofounder of Full Circle Productions—a hip hop artist collective. She sings and rhymes with The Orphans, and has appeared in Soular Power’d, a hip hop theater show, and the short film On the Outs. Rokafella has done work for artists like Will Smith, Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston and Tito Puente to name a few. She offers workshops and outreach programs in high schools, universities and community centers.
Miss Rosen Editions, a division of powerHouse Cultural Entertainment, is a new imprint launching in Fall 2005 spotlighting contemporary urban culture and lifestyle. Publisher Sara Rosen, Publicity Director of powerHouse Books since 2000, was Project Manager of Autograf: New York City’s Graffiti Writers, the runaway best-selling art book which inspired an episode of NBC’s “The Apprentice,” which Miss Rosen helped to produce, as well as countless letters to the editor of The New York Times City section.