Missed Connection(s) @ Crafty Bastards with...

Amazing break-dancers busting a move Sunday at the DC Hip-Hop break-dancing championship. Who knew DC was so fly?

Seriously though, I have never witnessed such a contagious cultural phenomenon as what was going on in the school yard at Marie Reed Elementary School on Sunday. We (anne & I) went down 18th street looking for good jewelry and maybe a few gifts...3 hours later, I was "oh no"ing and bopping my head to the beats while watching some of the most talented and eclectc people show their stuff at the hip-hop festivals break dancing competetion.

And yes, we were totally out of our league- the two little white girls psyched for a sunny day and crafts venturing into the domain of city hip hop culture, but honestly...I have never seen a more diverse and engaged crowd at any event (be it protest, street fair, bar, whatever) than the mass of people (we're talking thousands) surrounding the make-shift stage to watch these kids get down.

...and when I say get down, I mean it in a very literal sense. As the Emcee pointed out to us, they were literally "tearing up their flesh to show you what's up." This was the concrete schoolyard Jurassic 5 sang about...and it was incredible to watch. Each pair of dancers squared off against another pair in a 4 minute battle that was as friendly as it was fresh. Listen to me, after a day of watching break-dancing I'm peppering my entries with words like "fresh" and "fly.." who knew I was signing up for a lesson on street cred?!

All I know is...I want to put on my white flat brimmed hat, throw on some camo shorts (ok, so i'll have to go buy something camo, but I do have a pretty cool hat) and take to the streets to learn how its done...or at least find out where these kids hang out on a daily basis. I'm obsessed. I want a hip hop boyfriend, and I want one now. I want to be best friends with the little asian guy in the "I'm a keeper" t-shirt who was more fly than a fly-girl. I want to kick-it with the girls up there spinning on their heads and making elbow pads look hot...but most of all, I want a really rad pair of sneakers.