South Africa’s B-boy dance culture has been making waves in local underground hip hop circles for the past few years. For brothers Jed and Duane Lawrence, it has been their ticket to the world, an escape from a rough childhood in the ghetto, and a passion-turned-career that they have honed for more than ten years. They’ve toured the country, played both high profile and underground shows, had a stint with Vaudeville and have made championship appearances in both France and Korea (both brothers have won titles). They also own the production company, Ubuntu B-boys, and are the guys behind the hugely popular annual SA Hip Hop Cup.
“We knew it was going to be big, you know, it got pretty hyped up and everyone gets so excited about it, but we didn’t think we’d have such a great outcome,” says Jed.
Since it first launched in 2006, the SA hip hop cup has become a massively hyped annual event that attracts dancers and B-boys from all over the country, dominating every urban dance form –from Krumping to Nu Skul to Pop and Lock. Two weeks ago, over a thousand dancers, industry heavyweights and spectators headed to the 2011 Winter Warm Up Battles at the Bellville Civic Centre to watch the best in the business showcase their skills. “We knew it was going to be big, you know, it got pretty hyped up and everyone gets so excited about it, but we didn’t think we’d have such a great outcome,” says Jed.
Jed followed in his brother’s footsteps after watching him dance in neighbourhood battles when they were kids. Today, they teach B-boy and hip hop to underprivileged kids around Cape Town, and released a B-boy foundations training DVD so that kids can teach themselves.
“We want to take things to the next level. We’re working hard at the moment and travelling a lot, but we’d like to see the hip-hop cup grow with each year and hopefully open a dance studio one day,” explains Jed. “We want to get kids off the street and give them an opportunity to improve their talent. That’s why we called ourselves Ubuntu - it’s what we stand for.“
The Hip Hop Cup finals will take place in December 2011. For more information, visit the official facebook group here.
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