“Rock Steady Crew” Ya Rock & Ya Don’t Stop

The Rock Steady is considered the most famous B-boy Crew ever.

The Rock Steady Crew, established in 1977 by Bronx b-boys Jimmy D and Jojo. When they started this crew in the streets of the Bronx, they had no idea that someday it would take them all around the world.  

Only the best b-boys were down with Rock Steady. They had rivals in all five boroughs of New York and for every rival there were ten kids who wanted to be down with them. To get into Rock Steady you had to battle one of the other b-boys in the crew. It was a competition few people won.
In 1979 when the b-boying hype was beginning to die down, Jimmy D put Crazy Legs and Lenny Len down as members with Rock Steady just in time to add new life to the art form and take it to the next level.

Soon after, Legs moved to Manhattan and loss touch with Rock Steady Crew.   However he continued to refine and innovate his craft and took over another crew called Rockwell Crew in Manhattan.  Later he went back to the Bronx to look for Jimmy D and the rest of the crew to get permission to start a Rock Steady chapter of his own in Manhattan. In the early part of 1981 Jimmy D was impressed with the amount of members that Legs had in Rockwell Association and gave Legs permission to start a Rock Steady chapter.  Crazy Legs immediately changed the name of the crew to Rock Steady Crew.  Crazy Legs and the new recruits from Manhattan eventually became the motivating forces behind b-boying gaining back its popularity in the streets of New York City.

The turning point for Rock Steady was August of 1981, when photographer/sculptor Henry Chalfant offered them the chance to perform at the Lincoln Center Outdoors Program. This performance, which included a battle with rival b-boys from The Dynamic Rockers, was crucial not only because it was covered by local television stations, The New York Times, The Village Voice, The Daily News, and National Geographic, it would later gain them worldwide exposure. Jimmy D took notice of the buzz that Crazy Legs had started in Manhattan and made him President of the entire Rock Steady Crew. Crazy Legs in turn made Frosty Freeze and Ken Swift Co-Vice Presidents.
In the winter of 1982 the Rock Steady Crew was invited to perform at the original Ritz nightclub. The list of performers that night included the Punk Rock group BOW WOW WOW, Afrika Bambaataa and the Jazzy 5.  After their performance, Crazy Legs and Frosty Freeze asked Afrika Bambaataa if they could be down with the Zulu Kings, the most highly respected of all b-boy crews. Afrika Bambaataa allowed them as well as the entire Rock Steady Crew to become members of the Zulu Kings, knowing that they would also become an integral part of the Zulu Nation.

As the word spread, Rock Steady expanded. The Crew's popularity grew bigger than the city of New York and Kool Lady Blue started managing the group. She booked them on the Roxy Tour, sponsored by Europe One Radio. The Roxy Tour took the Rock Steady Crew, Afrika Bambaataa, Fab Five Freddie, The McDonald Double Dutch Girls, DJ's and graffiti artists straight from the "concrete jungle" to London and Paris. It was the first Hip-Hop tour of it's kind and it opened the door for many more to follow.
During these spectacular performances Charisma Records approached the Rock Steady Crew with a record deal. The record "Hey You, The Rock Steady Crew" was in the top ten charts in Great Britain and sold over a million copies. The Crew, however, saw very little of the proceeds.

When Charisma Records went out of business and was sold to Virgin Records, the group was put on hold indefinitely.

In 1991 Mr. Wiggles approached Crazy Legs about an idea he and Fable (Magnificent Force) had for a Hip-Hop musical.  The musical was called "So, What Happens Now?" which was the critics choice in the New York Times and received rave reviews in The Village Voice, The Daily News and El Diario. In 1992, they received a standing ovation lead by Gregory Hines at the Kennedy Center Honors where President George Bush, Gregory Peck and the Nicholas Brothers were all in attendance.
Since their beginning the Rock Steady Crew has come full circle. Crazy Legs is still president of the crew with Fabel being vice-president. They have added new faces like Teknyc, Venom, Servin' Ervin, Denote, Heps Fury, Fever One, Jeromeskee, Floor Rock as well as members in Japan, United Kingdom and Italy. To this day they work tirelessly to maintain, preserve and spread Hip-Hop culture.

Respect Where It All Began