Students get a taste of hip-hop culture in Red Square

Dionne Desiano

The Daily

Performing artists Massive Monkees and Blue Scholars brought hip-hop to Red Square yesterday afternoon, drawing a curious lunchtime crowd of more than 100 to watch.

Group members, who are all from the Seattle area, promoted the hip-hop scene by selling shirts and CDs in front of Kane Hall.

UW grad Benito Ybarra manages Massive Monkees, a breakdancing boys group colloquially referred to as a B-Boy crew. The group of 25 breakdancers, established six years ago, has performed around the world, including at an international B-Boy competition in London in 2004, where they took the title of world champions.

"The group is visually pleasing, exciting and beautiful and they are representing Seattle," Ybarra said.

The UW paid the group to perform two 10-minute shows during the Blue Scholar's vocal performance. A group of four men representing the Massive Monkees break-danced to underground hip-hop featuring Zion I, Geologic from Blue Scholars, and DJ Bles One.

Junior Tristan Pelton, 20, attended the show during his hour-long break between classes.

"I like Blue Scholar because they have relevant, well-crafted lyrics that represent our city well," he said.

Massive Monkee Jon Diego Rainey, 23, has been breakdancing for 10 years. Although he has never been to college, this is his fourth time performing at the UW's annual Dawg Daze event.

"Hip-hop is a culture, and breaking is an element of the culture," Rainey said. "I love to dance and the freedom of expression that comes with it."

Rainey said the crowd has less energy when breakdancers perform early in the day. During afternoon shows, larger crowds show up and the crew dances in the middle of a group of people, he said. It gives the audience more energy and an unobstructed view of the dancer's moves.

Pelton agreed. "The [breakdancing] show was good, but if more people had been into it, it would have been better," he said, adding that he was hoping the show would be longer.

The Dawg Daze exhibition also put hip-hop on display to the University community.

"People think [hip-hop is] a fad, but it is an underground industry and lifestyle that is becoming more mainstream," said dancer Jerome Aparis, who has been breakdancing for the past decade. "When I dance, I feel the beat ... I let it flow."

Many students don't get involved with Dawg Daze until their senior year, said Meg Estep, a coordinator with First Year Programs. The program aims to help students get comfortable with the UW as soon as possible, she said.

"Dawg Daze helps students figure out the University earlier rather than later," said Estep.