The new kings of hip-hop

How old do you have to be to discover what you’re meant to do? For Jabbawockeez member, Phil “SB” Tayag, the moment came before he was even born. “My mom wanted to call a priest. She had been carrying me for just seven months. I think I was getting my footwork down since she complained about having all kinds of movements going on in her stomach. I guess that was the first time I had ever choreographed a routine.”

I remember being addicted to America’s Best Dance Crew when Jabbawockeez and Super Cr3w were performing. I would replay their performances of Apologize and Pretty Young Thing over and over again. Even if I couldn’t dance to save my life, these crews made me want to dance. If any of you have ever watched Jabbawockeez or Super Cr3w perform, you would most probably agree with me when I say these guys were born dancers.

When I asked all of them who their biggest influence is in dancing, a majority of them gave one name: Michael Jackson. Chris “Cristyle” Gatdula grew up watching the King of Pop: “I would watch Michael Jackson on TV and imitate exactly what he was doing.” Jabbawockeez and Super Cr3w have brought in a new age of dancing. They have the moves of Michael Jackson, the groove of James Brown with their own unique style and flair. These crews have revived breaking and added a new outlet for people to show their own creative ingenuity.

From the time they appeared on America’s Best Dance Crew, everyone knew they had something more to offer. The Jabbawockeez came in with their trademark white masks and gloves: “When they watch us, they are forced to watch us as a whole, not just as individuals.” A huge part of why anyone wants to get into this kind of business is the fame and recognition. They choose to shed their identities and show that they are not in this for the fame. They are not known as Kevin, Joe, Phil, Chris, Rynan, Jeff, Ben and Tony-they are known as the Jabbawockeez. The Jabbawockeez crew was not there to simply perform; they were sending a message: “It’s not about who we are or where we came from. We are all one.”

Hip-hop is not just an excuse for teenagers to party all night and say “YOLO.” It is also not a justification for people to curse all they want and add “–izzle” to every word in the English dictionary.

Most rappers and breakers come from rough neighborhoods who tell their stories of how they have conquered the hardships they’ve experienced. Super Cr3w also fought their way back to the top. “We got discouraged when we didn’t make the cut during the first season, but then we saw the Jabbawockeez. We saw them win and were motivated to do the same thing.” And they did just that. They were crowned the champions of the second season of ABDC and have since then performed in the White House, commercials and several countries across the globe.

MUS.I.C. is an audio visual story of inspiration brought to life through harmonization of sound and movement. It’s been hailed by critics since its debut. And right before these masked men become the first- ever dance crew to headline a show in Vegas, they invaded Manila and brought MUS.I.C to the Ayala Malls.

What’s special about these guys is that they want to go beyond the dance floor. When asked what the best experience of their entire career is, all of them agreed that it was this moment. “Right now is the best part about the whole adventure we’ve been on. We get to travel to beautiful countries and cities to inspire people in every place we go to.” Out of thousands of dance crews, they are the ones who were crowned the winners. Out of millions of aspiring dancers in the world, they get to live the dream. They encourage every person out there who has a dream that it is possible to make it. This is the true meaning of hip-hop: be who you are, do what you love and aspire to inspire.

Jon “Do-Knock” Cruz, one of the members of Super Cr3w, calls it fate. “This wasn’t an accident. We were all predestined to be in this spot and meet everybody. This was all destined to happen.” I used to be skeptical when people brought up the term “destiny.” I didn’t think that life was all planned out or predestined to happen. But listening to these two amazing crews, I began to wonder.

What if these dancers never met each other? What if ABDC didn’t exist? What if they never started dancing in the first place? What are the chances? It seems like everything in the universe aligned so that these two crews can perform for the whole world to see. Perhaps these individuals were really born to become who they are today. When something this great happens, I could think of no other reason rather than destiny.