2011 Red Bull BC-One International B-boy Battle: Roxrite Dominates!

Red Bull has finally gotten around to posting all of the battle footage from the 2011 Red Bull BC-One b-boy competitions in Moscow Russia that took place on November 26.  Here’s the final round between Roxrite of the US and Lil G of Venezuela, and it’s fantastic.

I enjoy the BC-One series, which pits the best-of-the-best from around the world against each other in a series of one-on-one battles.  That said, I have found them to be very power-centric, with gymnastics and flips winning out over style and dance ability.  Watch for example this ridiculous battle between b-boys Neguin and Vero.

I don’t know if the judging criteria has changed or people are just getting tired of endless flares, but B-boy Roxrite just mowed through the competition this year with a series of solid, smooth, style-centric rounds that demonstrated strong fundamentals, footwork, rocking the beat, on point freezes, plus some power moves thrown in.  Really, Roxrite showed some classic b-boy vocabulary and flavor that is scarcely seen on the Red Bull BC-One floor.  

Not to diss all of the other incredible talents on display in Moscow.  Neguin is one of my favorite b-boys to watch, with his explosive opening flips, swagger, and confidence in his power moves.  Lil G is just inhuman with his flares and 2000s and headspins and everything else he does in the air.  Morris is just a powerhouse and a confident warrior who has a bunch of great tricks.  

The weakest by far were last year’s finalist b-boy Niek from Holland and b-boy Yan from Russia. Yan has some nice comedic touches and a smooth style, but he doesn’t bring the energy or power to last long on the BC-One stage.  Niek always looks ungainly and unclear whenever I see him dance.

Back to the final battle shown above between b-boys Lil G of Venzuela and Roxrite of the US.  I think a lot of uninformed viewers will think that Lil G is the dominant competitor, just because he is so incredibly powerful, clean and explosive.   While all that is true, Lil G’s footwork was uninspiring and his musicality was almost nowhere to be seen.  There just wasn’t much dancing.  That said, the kid is ridiculous and will only get better.

Roxrite’s final rounds are all solid, with clean toprocking that was rocking the beat, smooth entrances, solid footwork, freezes on the break, and solid powermoves.  He’s like a rock and everyone else is just flying around him.  That said, I found his rounds fairly uninspiring and his character a bit too introspective.  Neguin plays to the crowd, laughs and smiles.  Morris has swagger and aggression. Cloud is focused and intense. Roxrite just gives you the poker face and then launches into his top rock.

So I’m on the one hand happy that b-boy Roxrite won — he’s the complete package and he brings the crown back to the US, after years and years of hard-fought battles.  But I’m probably not going to be replaying his rounds over and over again the way that I watch b-boys Neguin, Cloud, Lilou or Taisuke.

You can watch all of the incredible rounds on the RedBullMusic YouTube channel. And definitely read b-boy Paranoid Android’s awesome commentary on his blog.