"2008 US-Battle of the Year, Hollywood, CA This is my second time at US-Battle of the Year, held at the same club in Hollywood, and full of breakers I admire. [ See Pic 1.1] When I arrive, the mood is casual. Some stretch in corners, and others converse with friends. I seek out familiar faces as I walk the perimeter of the room trying to decide where I'm going to focus my attention. I see b-boy Viazeen and head toward his circle, which is nearest the stage. When I get there, I see struggle on his furrowedbrow. I have seen break Viazeen before. At his best, he brings a combination of intellectual curiosity and creative intensity to the floor, attacking it with a clean diligence as he crafts new angles and shapes with the traces of his footwork. A transplant to Los Angeles from Philadelphia, his fans and friends multiply with each event. Viazeen is a thoughtful breaker, but when he cannot quite get into his groove, he tends to look increasingly pensive if not outright frustrated. He stands slightly removedfrom this circle, watching others dance while making only the occasional effort to join in"--
The dance circle (called the cypher) is a common signifier of breaking culture, known more for its spectacular moves than as a ritual practice with foundations in Africanist aesthetics. Yet those foundationsevident in expressive qualities like call and response, the aural kinesthetic, the
imperative to be original, and moreare essential to cyphering's enduring presence on the global stage. What can cyphers activate beyond the spectacle? What lessons do cyphers offer about moving through and navigating the social world? And what possibilities for the future do they animate? With an
interdisciplinary reach and a riff on physics, author Imani Kai Johnson centers the voices of practitioners in a study of breaking events in cities across the US, Canada, and parts of Europe.
Dark Matter in Breaking Cyphers: the Life of Africanist Aesthetics in Global Hip Hop draws on over a decade of research and provides a detailed look into the vitality of Africanist aesthetics and the epistemological possibilities of the ritual circle.
