Going to New York, the birthplace of Hip Hop, is the dream for any real Bboy, Bgirl or breaking crew. It was certainly the dream for the Clean North. In May of 2024, we were blessed to be able to send 10 Bboys/Bgirls to New York to compete at the Dynamic Rockers 45th Anniversary and The Pro Breaking Tour 3v3 Open. This goes down in history for the Bradford hip hop scene, as one of the biggest adventures ever undertaken. For Clean North to be able to experience New York together is something they will never forget and the knowledge gained from this trip will have a massive impact on the future generations of Bradford’s breakin/hiphop scene.
The journey began on Monday the 27th of May, just 12 hours after Labyrinth and Ammo returned from the World Kidz Breaking Championships in Ljubljana Slovenia. They stayed in Manchester the night before and met the rest of the crew at the airport the morning after, the excitement was like no other.
For Fox, Labyrinth & Elijah, this was their second time visiting New York. They had visited NYC as part of R&D in October 2023 to scout out the possibility for a future visit with the whole crew and to battle in the Pro Breaking Tour Open 2v2 and Youth Battles. This was a massively successful trip with Fox and Labyrinth getting a feel and understanding of New York City and representing Tech Styles International, Bradford and Clean North to the fullest. Not only that, Bboy Elijah also took the win in the Youth Battles, which was truly a historic moment for the Bradford breakin scene. To read more about this first trip check out our previous blog post. Bradford to New York. On the final day of this initial trip, they spoke about how the rest of the crew definitely had to experience the birth place of Hip Hop, New York. Like a vision, they could see it happening and imagine themselves taking the crew around the best spots they visited. So you can imagine how incredible it felt for this experience to be coming true.
When they arrived in New York, they were able to ride through the city all the way to where they would all be staying in Edgewater NJ. From the flight to the car trip, the journey was smooth which was perfect as this was Ruby Rock’s first flight too. The crew were all very impressed with how she handled her first flight – well done Ruby Rock!
The first full official day started out with a food shopping trip. This was an absolute must due to Fox and Labyrinth speaking so highly of the supermarkets there. The Bradford breaking scene have collectively been on a journey to improve their health and wellbeing. The recent trips to Slovenia, Bordeaux France, Houston, Texas and New York last year really showcased the wider availability of non-processed, non-GMO and organic products abroad, so wherever these can be found they try their best to make the most of it.
After filling up on breakfast, the crew made their way to Times Square. It was summer time in New York, what a time to be there! The weather was fantastic and the crew were about to venture into this iconic area altogether for the first time. Exiting the station on 42nd Street and seeing all the buildings and the lights never got old. Everyone was speechless and the crew stood on the corner across from the New York Times building for a few minutes just taking it all in.
It didn’t take the crew long to come across a street show. The Times Square area was filled with them. There are plenty of videos online of street shows in NYC, so it was great to see one in person.
Everyone had high expectations when it came to the food on this trip and they were definitely met. From the pizza to the burgers, shawarma (check with the guys), delis, bagels (Bagels n More), sandwiches (check this with lloyd), BBQ, and soul food (Amy Ruths) – everything was top tier, New York did not disappoint.
There was an opportunity for Fox, Labyrinth and Elijah to go on the Hip Hop Tour in October 2023, whilst on their New York trip, but they felt that it wasn’t right. If a Hip Hop tour was to be done, it would have to be with the whole crew and this is exactly what happened, it was worth the wait.
Thank you to the Hush Hip Hop tours and Rayza for guiding the crew on the day, it was an unforgettable experience. Clean North Crew were able to visit Harlem, The Bronx and Queens, it felt truly a blessing. One of the key places visited was the iconic Sedgwick Avenue. Here everyone on the tour was able to spend a little extra time taking the place in which was really appreciated and you could feel the energy there.
There were many amazing and inspiring stories shared at every stop of the tour, due to how informative and interactive Rayza was with everyone. He lives and breathes Hip Hop and this can really be felt when meeting him. Rayza is truly passionate about sharing the culture and knowledge with people, and this made for a really memorable experience that once again won’t be forgotten.
This was a once in a lifetime opportunity, seeing the home of Hip Hop and all the things that inspired the culture today. From old school to new school, it’s like a huge timeline of the culture.
Dynamic Rockers held a training session at the KBL (Kids Breaking League) studios on the Wednesday. It was an amazing training session and a great way for the crew to introduce themselves to the NYC scene. Respect is crucial to uphold in Hip Hop and in life so taking the time to get to know the members within the community was and is important to Clean North. Bboy Elijah also did a great job that evening, representing strong in the cyphers and being in tune with the music, he definitely let his presence be known that day.
The next couple of days were incredible and were filled with food, laughter, adventure and plenty of sun. With the battle days fast approaching, no one in the crew wanted to exert more energy than needed. Everyone wanted to explore, take in the city more and prepare well for the battles. On Friday’s we visited Central Park, which was true highlight of the trip. Whilst relaxing in the park, you could hear a jazz band playing live music whilst a tap dancer freestyled. This is not a common sight at all back home but you could always find amazing artistic talent doing street performances and busking in New York. The city is constantly moving so these types of performances bring great contrast and inspiration.
On the Friday evening, Dynamic Rockers held a discussion panel at the KBL Studios. This is where the crew met Eddy Ed and Glyde who dove into their history as Bboys, challenges they faced, crew culture and much more. The panel gave Clean North Crew a lot to think and reflect upon. These were some of the earliest Bboys in the world, that they were meeting and gaining knowledge from, and it was important to take it all in together. This was a historic moment and something that will not be forgotten.
After Friday night’s discussion panel, it brought true focus for the crew and the mission at hand. They felt a tonne of support and had a lot of encouraging words from Glyde & Eddy Ed and this gave the crew a big energy boost. The battle day had come and it was time to put all the hard work into action. They ventured into Brooklyn for the first time, which had a different energy to the rest of New York that the crew had visited. This is what the crew had been preparing for, battling together as a full unit in the city that started it all!
Clean North Crew all battled in the qualifiers with great exchanges. Bboy Elijah, who is only 6 years old, made it to the Top 8 in the kids 1v1s and came back to NYC with more character, moves and confidence. In the crew battles, Clean North didn’t hold back and gave the other crew some of their biggest routines and strongest soloists. Praise God, they made it to the semi finals at the Dynamic Rockers 45th Anniversary, a massive feat. They went against 5 Crew Dynasty, which was an amazing matchup in the crew semis. This is a New York crew with a big reputation, so to be able to battle them in their city felt incredible. The energy went through the roof with every round in this battle. Once the first routine came out, the crew knew that this was going to be a phenomenal battle as it is rare these days for crews to pull out big routines. Even the host shouted on the mic, ‘it’s like a movie’. It was a close 2-1 vote with 5 Crew Dynasty edging it out. Regardless of the outcome, the crew felt that they had made their presence known, which is what they came to do. For the crew, this was the best crew battle that they had been in. It was a true conversation with plenty of tactics throughout, ending in mutual respect. Shout out to 5 Crew Dynasty for the incredible battle!
On Sunday, there was the Pro Breaking Tour 3v3 Open, where more people came to battle. The crew represented strong once again and were able to see many other great breakers get down too. DJ BlesOne was on the decks, dropping his classics, alongside some of his newer tracks for the dancers. Some members of Clean North got to meet him in Manchester a few years ago, so it was great to exchange with him more in New York. There were many beautiful connections made on the trip as a whole and a lot of lessons learnt. Experiences like these you just can’t get from anywhere else and it will always stay with the crew forever.
We have to give a big thank you to the Dynamic Rockers for all the support throughout the trip. Thank you for all the stories, encouragement and knowledge that was shared with the crew, it will not be forgotten. We can’t talk about this trip without giving a special thank you to Bgirl Trinity. Fox & Labyrinth met her in New York the first time and also Tranquil, Labyrinth and Ammo spent a lot of time with her on their Houston trip earlier in the year for Bgirl City, so it was amazing to connect again and for the rest of the crew to meet her. She really made the crew feel looked after and it was great to see her host at Sunday’s event too.
I think the week we spent in New York was one of those experiences that you’ll never fully be able to describe how it felt to someone who wasn’t there because of how perfect it was.
Personally, I think this trip brought me closer to the culture, I mean, how could it not when you’re in the birthplace of Hip Hop! Although we saw many amazing things, a memory that will stay with me is cyphering on the streets of Harlem, like how it would have happened all those years ago; not to mention the crew battles.
Going to New York as a crew has been a dream for Clean North for a long time, even before I became apart of it, so I am just very grateful I got to be apart of this amazing moment in our Clean North history with some amazing people.
This trip was a testament to crew culture and its importance. To visit a crew in their 45th year and meet different generations within them was surreal. We are stronger together than as individuals, it is about community, moving forward together, pushing boundaries creatively and having fun in the process. The task was to represent and when you do this as a crew, as a family, how can you really lose? There is only the opportunity to learn and grow and we cannot wait to see where things will go from here. Thank God. Check out the incredible recap video below.
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