If writing about music is like dancing about architecture, what the hell is writing about breaking all about? Only the very best of recent photo books on the subject have managed to convey the skill, energy and commitment to the cause that spirals from any cypher event, so mere words on a page have got a lot to compete with.
Schloss spent 2003-08 immersing himself in New York’s contemporary breaking culture, with the added bonus of being able to move freely among some of its founding members, thanks to their continued near-omnipresence on the scene today. As such, he’s interviewed as many people as possible about modern breaking’s roots in early 70s hip-hop culture and also explored spin-off themes, such as how breaking evolved from the more immediately aggressive-seeming uprocking dance battles.
Foundation does well to unlock the codes of conduct for what seems like a wholly inaccessible, closed-off scene. The tricky problems of chronicling what’s essentially only documented as an oral history are handled with the care and respect its participants deserve. This is too specialist to be of any interest to those not already somewhat enamoured with breaking culture but, for those who are, it’s an oftencompelling read.
