Feb 16, 2008 - 12:14 PM
In December, I started seeing flyers for b-boy and b-girl battles around San Francisco. I hadn't seen b-boys battle since attending Berkeley High School during the first Reagan administration. And girls didn't battle. It was the thought of seeing b-girls compete that initially peaked by interest, since hip-hop was and remains such a male dominated culture. Unfortunately only two b-girls battled during the two events I attended. But the confrontational posing and gesturing made up for the lack of b-girls competing and was the highlight of the battles for me. (To see b-girls in action, watch our multimedia on "Sisterz of the Underground.") It reminded me of high school fights from a bygone era: A circle forms and rivals start jawing and gesturing at each other until one throws the first punch. Some of the b-boys could backup their taunts with dance moves. Others were all bark and got dismissed after the first round.
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Craig Young has completed internships with Knight Ridder and McClatchy newspapers. Currently, he freelances for non-profit organizations including the Associated Press (San Francisco office).
