Keep the Beat: Into the Music of Breaking
Our Assistant Music Director Kai is here to shine a spotlight on the rhythm and soul of breakdancing music. From the gritty funk of the ’70s to modern-day mixtapes made for cyphers, discover how the beats that fuel breakers have evolved alongside hip-hop. These tracks are guaranteed to get your head nodding.
words by: Kai Houlihan
For the past half century, hip-hop has pervaded both the airwaves and internet, rising to become a global genre. From its original debut in the 1970s where east coast DJs ruled the scene, to today where artists ranging from superstars like Kendrick Lamar to the smallest of Soundcloud producers all keep the genre alive and well, hip-hop has undoubtedly grown and evolved as a genre, branching out into different subgenres that all have their own unique sound. Though hip-hop has changed throughout the ages, one feature has always stood the test of time–rhythm. Though many other genres place emphasis on rhythm, the hypnotic rhythm found in hip-hop specifically brings an energy found nowhere else, inspiring a wide range of dance forms–break dancing being one of them. While you can break to nearly anything, the music made specifically for break dancing or other genres of music that is typically used in break dancing is extremely unique and quite underappreciated. Join me as we dive into this world of music and discover how break dancing came to be and some music you can use for your next cypher!
In the 1970s, DJ-ing for live audiences was an extremely novel concept where DJs, also known as disc jockeys, spliced together parts of already existing songs to create entirely new music. It began to take off on the east coast, especially in New York City, so much so that large events were hosted with enormous crowds of people surrounding local DJs. Dancing was especially common during these events–however this was not yet breakdancing. According to legend, Bronx-superstar and pioneer DJ Kool Herc began to play and splice together the “breaks,” or the parts of songs that are purely instrumental, of soul and jazz songs during his performances, a method he dubbed “cutting breaks.” His breaks were so funky that people began dancing to them–hence the name, breakdancing! Dancers are typically called b-boys/b-girls–the “b” standing for “break”–or breakers with groups of breakers creating cyphers, or rings where breakers go in, typically one at a time, to dance, at events or just on the street. As a result of DJ Kool Herc’s efforts to establish hip-hop as a culture, breakdancing songs began to feature more prominent, typically drum driven rhythms explicitly meant for breaking. Now that we understand the origins of what breakers get down to, let’s dive into some of my top picks for breaking across the decades!
- “WHO GOT DA PROPS (Instrumental)” by Black Moon
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- Originally released with vocals, hip-hop group Black Moon’s track “WHO GOT DA PROPS” is a stand-out song perfect for breaking and listening. It has some of the classic features of music to break to: a nice drum-beat that helps keep the rhythm going and some mix-ups with samples that dancers can use by hitting moves to the rhythm of them. The driving rhythm produced by the drums is infectious, with the synths and other samples keeping this track smooth yet active. Despite this song’s ability to work for break dancing, Black Moon was not a group who focused on break-dancing, rather, their style at the time was following the hardcore hip-hop and boom-bap scenes at the time. These subgenres typically feature harder and more prominent drum-beats and breaks that just so happen to work for break dancing! As for the vocal version, this song is really chill with a nice energy to it and I highly recommend listening to their debut album “Enta Da Stage” for more.
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- “African Battle” by Brownout
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- Again, another example of a song that wasn’t intended for break dancing, yet one that fits the rhythmic style of it. “African Battle” is extremely funky with loud horns filling the song with grit as the drums, percussion, guitars, and bass help drive the rhythm. A contrast to the prior entry, this track is more upfront and dynamic with its sound which makes for a faster set for dancers so you’ll definitely see the cypher moving more than other songs can! Overall, this track is definitely one that keeps you on your toes but is still a fun mix-up for any situation.
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- “Perkushun” by Lord Funk
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- This track is some old fashioned break dancing hip-hop released in 2024! Lord Funk envelopes this song with breaks of drums and percussion that give time for b-boys and b-girls to show their style, with some horns in-between those breaks as a nice mix up. The rhythm is extremely infectious and definitely the focal point of this song, which may be repetitive for some, but for breaking, it keeps people’s sets going strong until they end by choice or when the horns come back. This is an exemplary breaking track,with the rest of this album “Breaking to the Bus Stop” having more of Lord Funk’s infectious tracks!
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- “B-Boy Network Mixtape 2017” by DJ Ruggz
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- Not one song, but rather a mixtape of breaking beats by DJ Ruggz. This entire mixtape exudes energy and personality which makes it great for breaking! Each track has a driving drum loop of similar tempos, but no two tracks are alike. Songs range in sounds from a more chill, atmospheric drum and bass style to a funky instrumental cover of “White Lines” by Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five, so everyone has a track they can get down to. As this mixtape was made for breaking, it is filled with long breaks of percussion and bass so that b-boys and b-girls can go through their moves. There are mixups and changes throughout each track to keep both the music and dancing interesting. The last 8 minutes of this mixtape are pure hip-hop greatness as they follow a slightly more chill vibe with some really great sampling and rhythm throughout. Highly recommend if you are looking for some new breaking music or some beats to vibe out to!
The music of breaking is spans across a wide range of genres but they all take inspiration from one genre: hip-hop. The rhythm from hip-hop that permeates each song is a feature that makes this music so great and I hope you found some great music to break to or vibe out to!