Breakdance Electro
Located in 1 route
Breakdance Electro is electro made for b-boys, popping, locking, and early hip-hop dance culture. It uses hard 808 kicks, stuttering snares, robotic basslines, scratch breaks, call-and-response chants, and extended instrumental sections that let dancers work. It is performance music as much as club music, tied to battles, films, boom boxes, and street-dance identity.
History
The style spread through New York hip-hop, West Coast electro, early rap 12-inches, and films such as Wild Style, Breakin', and Beat Street. Afrika Bambaataa & The Soulsonic Force, Hashim, Newcleus, Man Parrish, West Street Mob, Rock Steady Crew, Break Machine, Herbie Hancock, Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five, and Egyptian Lover supplied tracks that dancers and DJs treated as b-boy fuel. The sound influenced freestyle, Miami bass, electro breaks, and the visual language of 1980s street dance.
Defining artists
Essential listening
- Planet Rock(1982) — Afrika Bambaataa & The Soulsonic ForceSpotifyYouTube
- Al-Naafiysh (The Soul)(1983) — HashimSpotifyYouTube
- Jam on It(1984) — NewcleusSpotifyYouTube
- Boogie Down (Bronx)(1984) — Man ParrishSpotifyYouTube
- Break Dancin' - Electric Boogie(1983) — West Street MobSpotifyYouTube
- Hey You, The Rock Steady Crew(1983) — Rock Steady CrewSpotifyYouTube
Sources
- breakdance/electro film histories
- Guardian Afrika Bambaataa obituary
- New York electro primer
- Discogs old-school electro lists