Breaking
Dance
Find out about Jeskilz's thoughts on the development of the B-Girl scene
We are following up on the Rise of the B-Girls by breaking down the evolution with the heroines of the dancefloor and the legendary queens who ignited the scene. This time with Jeskilz.
Jeskilz: Paris born, Rock Steady raised B-Girl
No matter who you reminiscence with about the golden era of hip-hop culture, the same handful of names tend to pop up about which artists truly set up the scene. DJ’s like Grandmaster Flash and Kool Herc, rappers like Big Daddy Kane or A Tribe Called Quest, B-Boys like Rock Steady Crew, Crazy Legs, and Frosty Freeze – and while it may be predominately male names that have the prime positions locked down in the history books, there’s a lengthy list of females owed sizeable credit.
Today the B-Girl scene is hot as hell, and if you look around the different corners of hip-hop culture from rappers, graffiti artists to the DJ scene, it’s the female artists making the dopest moves, getting mad respect and raking in the jaw-dropping fanbases they’ve always deserved.
But that shift didn’t come overnight. Behind the blazing rise, are the icons who fearlessly took the first steps. B-Girls front some of the most famous crews today and are making history with their battles, but none of that would have been possible without the legendary queens who rocked those same dancefloors first. Women who not only helped pioneer the hip-hop scene and pave the way but became idols to the wickedly talented from across the globe who’ve found fame because of them.
To kick off our five-part series on the evolution of the B-Girl we hooked up with legendary member of Rock Steady Crew; Zahra Hamani, aka B-Girl Jeskilz to get her take on the evolution of the scene, what advice she’d give the B-Girls today and what she thinks still needs to change.
Crazy Legs and Jeskilz
© Carlo Cruz/Red Bull Content Pool
What did the breaking scene look when you started?
I started in like early 2000. Nobody was necessarily putting a huge emphasis on their “B-Boy or B-Girl look”, it was more like whatever breaking brands were out there. Most people were rocking Tribal gear because that was the main brand on the scene. I feel like back then with Rock Steady, we kinda brought back that old school look and started a new wave. There’s a battle between me and Beta and you can see in the video she was old school but rocking this really 2000, Tribal look. I’m in an Adidas jacket, Adidas hat, some shell toes ( I grew up in Paris and in France it was always about Adidas). When Rock Steady battled FloMo we had all the gear on. We brought back the Rock Steady scrubs, we had our crew names on the backs of our t-shirts and the matching jackets. A new wave started to come where people were rocking the Pumas with the fat laces and the trucker hats again. For a while that was cool because there was a sense of Rock Steady, we were the ones bringing it back, but also because people were putting their own spin on it.
How have you seen the fashion side of breaking change?
For the last two or three years, I feel like a lot of B-Boys and B-Girls are starting to have their own brands. So they’re rocking that and have started to be more conscious in investing in OUR community rather than always going with Nike or Adidas.
What would be your advice for B-Girls just starting out?
To definitely work on their skills for sure. Definitely work on their craft, but also think about why they’re doing it and what are the reasons why they’re in it. Are they in it for fun? Are they in it as a challenge? Are they in it because they have something to say? Depending on that, whatever it is, roll with it! Go full out with it! If it’s for fun and breaking is your way to get out and away from your stress or whatever, then every time you step on the floor that’s your message and you have fun. If your thing is to change things, then your dance is just a tool to get your message out, so that means that you also have to do the work behind it. If it’s a challenge for you, then you know you have to be on the floor every time in those cyphers pushing yourself always for the next challenge.
Jeskilz at the BC One Camp Houston
© Maria Jose Govea/Red Bull Content Pool
If you had to say what the most important thing is to focus on, what would it be?
My advice is whatever you do figure out why you’re doing it and go full out! Don’t let anybody else tell you how it’s supposed to be done. You go all out and you gotta be the best version of yourself. No matter how long it’s gonna take you to get there that has to be your main goal. To do it your own way. If you watch what other people are doing it’s pointless. Nobody’s gonna do what you’re doing better than you do it so why waste your time.
What have you seen during the evolution of B-Girl scene that’s changed for the best?
Aside from the B-Girls really stepping it up as far as their skills, what’s changing as well is the mentality and the opportunities that are opening up for B-Girls and B-Boys to be on the same playing field. That change and progress is coming from the B-Girls putting in the work, and also is inspiring new generations. The level now is so crazily high and that’s inspiring more and more female dancers to push themselves, and are picking up so much quicker, and everybody's good in their own way.
You’ve travelled from Paris to New York as a B-Girl. Danced in Rock Steady Crew and now LA. Was there a dance along the way or starting out that inspired that?
For me, when I started it was a bit different from the other sort of “B-Girl OG’s” because there were already B-Girls on the scene I looked up to for sure. But when I started I knew “Hey you’re not the only one and you don’t have an excuse” So already in my mind that set me up for how I battled, and how I was going to work and to push myself.
What’s the greatest thing that drives you to continue as a B-Girl?
My purpose, which is to inspire others to find their purpose, go all out, be powerful, change opinions and make a difference through their dance.
