Roxolid
Sep 22 2010 | 531 views | Comments
By Carla Visser – Photos by George Rabe
Name, age and location (of everyone in the crew)?
We all range from 20 to 23 years old and grew up in different locations around South Africa and the world. Umar Bradlow, known as b-boy Don Ramu, is from Cape Town. Tebza Pooe (Wiz Kid) and the dangerous Tyrel van de Merwe (Radical Rel) both hail from Jozi. Lanre Pedro is originally from Poland and has earned the name b-boy Hakeem.
How long have you guys been breaking for?
We have all been dancing for some time. Rel, Hakeem and Wiz Kid have been breaking for around five years. I am the baby in the crew and started about three years ago. As a crew, we’ve been breaking since 2007, but competing since 2008.
Can you do any other form of dance?
I have no experience with other forms of dance, but have been active in many other fields such as Kung Fu and Karate. Hakeem has only danced street style. Wiz Kid, having grown up on the streets, knows all local dances but has kept faithful to the dance of break. Rel started dancing at the age of six, doing ballroom.
When and how did your crew come together?
During varsity in 2006, Rel met Wiz Kid on the Wits campus. They began spending a lot of their time together dancing and practising moves on the lawns and in sport halls. In 2007 Hakeem joined them and later that year I joined. Before we made any serious decisions, we all just enjoyed each other’s company as friends… and that’s how we got down.
Do you guys like battling?
We grab every opportunity we can to battle whenever, wherever. It makes no difference whether it’s in the park, malls, hallway, bathroom, on campus or at the office… Everyday is like a battle to us and we love it.
What’s on this year’s calendar for Roxolid?
As far as our calendar goes we want to compete more in local competitions and make more noise. We are also in the process of deciding what event to attend overseas… Evolution 5 in New York or International Breakdance Event in Holland… Help? We manage our time, studies and work around these goals, but we still want to keep pushing harder.
What does breakdancing mean to you?
Firstly, breakdancing is a part of hip hop. It’s definitely a lifestyle and culture of self-expression with values of peace, love and respect. More importantly, I think that breakdancing is about being funky and fresh, doing movement on a breakdown section of a beat, you know the percussion part?
B-boying is the entire package of the dancer’s creativity, clean execution and attitude in their up-rock, down-rock, power moves, footwork, flips, freezes and spins. It’s also the expression of a dancer’s maturity and understanding of the history within the dance element of the breakdance. The dancer never knows what song the DJ is going to play. He/she must, therefore, be moved by the music and interpret and express himself according to the beat, while still maintaining some form of foundation.
With Roxolid crew, b-boying is a way for me to express a lot of my different, unusual, crazy, abstract ideas. We live in a world in which most people conform to the unwritten rules of society. B-boying is a way in which we can tap into our ‘creative spirit’, let go and fly (literally, mentally, and spiritually).
Where do you guys normally practise?
We have had the weirdest practise spots; lately we’re training at gyms in Johannesburg and at the Think Dance studio in Sunninghill Village.
Who’s your favourite b-boy?
We all have our favourite international b-boys that we look up to and learn from, but in all honesty our all-time favourite b-boys are each other. We can’t help but feel really happy and willing to push our limits when we are with each other. Go to Youtube Roxolid Crew and check our vibe!
Have you ever injured yourself so badly that you almost gave up dancing?
Yes, and we’ve learnt a lot from it. For Rel in his matric year, he tore his hamstring badly during athletics training. So he couldn’t dance at that time which added to the stress of exams. While practicing with the crew, Hakeem executed a high risk move and damaged his knee quite badly. Those were two particularly severe injuries, but we have all sustained injuries both minor and major. What makes us different from most people is that we strive to be better. As scary as it is, we continue to practise the moves that have battered our bones, muscles and tendons in the past, over and over again, until we have mastered them.
What would you like to achieve in the next 10 years?
In the next ten years we want to grow more with our friends and families and have a family of our own… and of course keep on dancing.
Are you going to teach your kids how to breakdance one day?
Kids are another chapter of life and they have lives of their own. We will keep dancing with heart until we die and if our kids share that passion, who are we to stop them? It’ll be a bonus if we get to share the same passion for the culture and dance with them.
Do you have any other hobbies besides dancing?
Rel: I mix music (mostly break beats) and follow world affairs… if that’s a hobby…
Ramu: My passion is dance, but to prevent myself from burning out I play computer games and work on graphic design projects.
Hakeem: Sure dancing has overtaken all my other hobbies and formed my passion, but I also do graffiti, among other things, when I am resting.
Wiz Kid: I am what you call a party animal. When I’m not practising or breaking it down with my crew I am listening to underground hip hop, going to clubs and spending time with my girl.
Favourite DJ?
DJ Renegade, DJ Vadim and Skeem Richards are my favourites (from USA and UK); they are strictly funk and break. Locally; DJ Kenzhero and the Musicatlast Crew.
Favourite break move?
Hakeem: Elbow flare.
Wiz Kid: Head spin
Ramu: Elbow air flair
Rel: The Brooklyn Rock.
Favorite brand?
Ramu: Adidas
Hakeem: Nike
Rel: Adidas
Wiz Kid: nothing specific, but I wear a lot of Nike stuff.
Make yourself heard?
Here goes… To all the up-and-coming b-boys and b-girls, we want to say that parents will sometimes be stressed out about the dancing, and you will get tired and sore. What makes you a success everyday is balancing everything, keeping focused on your school work and future goals. We, Roxolid, are a result of this and wish to keep dancing for as long as possible. To all break DJ’s; keep the b-boys in mind. Mostly we’d like to send a shout-out to all the b-boys that are living hip hop every day - locally and abroad - you know who you are!
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