A distrurbing trend in life and bboying?

[Buddha from CFM]

Notice I put a question mark as its just my opinion. But I do have the advantage of having been around in life and this scene for more than a minute so here goes.

Over the past 30 years I have seen a steep progression of an attitude in life of instant gratification. I believe that capitalism and its marketing arm is largely responsible for this but you may disagree. I think its at the point where youth are just born thinking the norm in life is to always look for the short cut -always look for the fastest way to become a superstar. I think this way of thinking is dangerous for both individuals and society and art.

Now heres the cranky old man in me talking. I've been working regular jobs since I was 14. If I wanted those cool looking high healed Kiss look alike boots in the 70,s - I had to work my ass off to save for them. If you want to get ahead in a career or own your own business - (Like Deesko) the good old fashion recipe of learn your skills and trade and work hard should apply - and slow and steady will win the race.
Read about the hours Deesko puts in !!! And he ain't bitching about it or looking for a big pat on the back !

Even in the food we eat - we seldom take time to prepare a good meal -its all about those instant gratification pizza pockets and shit. And what do we loose ? -quality time where parents actually get to sit down with their kids and talk about how their life is going

How does this apply to bboying and the culture of Hiphop. It does in that I know enough bboys and bgirls that spend a huge amount of time marketing themselves and blowing up their accomplishments - far removed from any sense of reality or balance to the time and effort they have really put in.

Peeps are hungry for stardom -and in todays world they gas themselves up by posting their videos to utube -frequenting forums - and talking to the media like they are the go to person for knowledge on this culture. Often when they been in the game a few years. There are also OG's getting hip to this game - and since its hard to always fact check their histories -they get to embellish shit or outright twist history. (Again - feeling like history owes them something - and looking for shortcuts - now that some time has past.

Trying to get some status in the shortest period of time.

I think this is a problem as it will eventually diminish our art. Try to imagine where this will take bboying in 20 years - only those who have a publicist or image manager will succeed ? What ever happened the good old fashion way of getting some stripes and a rep by getting out there and rippin cyphers. (And not just training to win events with routines) - Or actually doing things to build and promote this community

You don't become a plumber unless you mentor and learn under someone -your not a plumber just because you did an online course on it and got the certificate !

Now don't get me wrong - If you do something cool -you should tell your story. I openly talk about our Arctic work. But I do this to also inspire other bboys. But I see bboys and bgirls having things written in the papers about them just because they have friends in the media, or they play the novelty card. (ie : We are an all bgirl crew for example) - yet we never see them in other cities or the battles and raw cyphers. I see people posting resumes where they brag about getting second place in a comp -but don't tell the story that only two peeps entered. I see people bragging about being in the game for 8 years !!! 8 years !!!! LOL !!!!

I see peeps guest speaking about a culture that started before they were even born ! I see peeps writing books on Hiphop and they ain't never lived a hiphop moment in their lives. I see peeps with resumes put out there- that are straight up false ! I hear radio and tv interviews done by those who market themselves the best -not by those who do the work in the Cyphers. I meet peeps who don't really want to learn our history -they really want the coles notes version in case they need to sound like they are down ! Instead of learning to love our history because its complex, and inspiring ! Why -because they want to jump to the head of the line and look cool along the way and don't care about how they get there. And every TV, radio, and print interview just builds a twisted resume - a big house of cards. And eventually people may look at this house of cards like its actually a house !!!! It may even someday get looked at as history and truth.

The danger to me is the mentality. I strongly believe that in life that there isn't always a short cut -and even if there is - it shouldn't be jumped at.

Tell your story -be proud of your accomplishments , but try and present a balance representation about who you are and what you have done . And build a resume not on marketing -but on skills and achievements ! Try to stay humble or you may miss the greatest gifts in life in the blink of an eye !

[Duryn Duran]

thanx buddha! good share, ive been thinking about this alot in the last few months... somehow i felt like i should take the shortcut as well, or that i should have achieved more than i have so far, and since everybody around me seems to use the shortcut as well. not just in bboying but in many other things too, like travelling, job etc...
thank you for not being the only one thinking that way!
pz

[MR_CLEAN]

most people started bboying to impress someone...whether it would be females or their friends.

Plus most bboys are broke, I think if bboys have worked so hard they want some sort of output and I think media exposure is good enough to show that they are going somewhere with these skills if they aren't getting money.

I don't think these things you are complaining about is pet peeves about bboys, it's only human nature.

Well for me, I slowed down on my dancing - I haven't been really going to jams like i should be. The only time I really bboy anymore is if I run into a cypher, whether that cypher is a party, jam, or just a moment where theres good energy around me and it seems good to bboy.

[Speedster]

Thank you for your wise words. This is indeed a problem, especially for bboys who are '1 trick wonders'. I agree that the root is the mentality. The introspective aspect and honesty of bboying should never be lost to the artificial facade of fakers. The house of cards will fold eventually, and I believe the real workhorses will be left standing.

[BSONE]

I agree!

[Simeon]

That is inspiring! Thanx..

I know when I was younger I wanted things now! .. now I can wait a bit.. and when I get older, I will be able to wait a bit longer.. heh. I think thats what it is. Bboys are so young most of the time.

I think that sometimes people get into publicity, because the ones that should be out there, dont care about getting public.

[BCR]

buddah dropping a truth bomb....

[moga]

This makes me think of martial arts - without discipline and consistent, SELFLESS training you get nowhere. Cheap shortcuts never pay!

[RUSH]

ppppppft word life bro!

this thread is the truth.....pay ur dues, earn your stripes and stay humble thts how its gotta be.

respect to the OG's

[Cathill]

its true man, what you genuinely desire, isnt necessarily whats immediately infront of you...yeah, you need to work for it....its hard, but thats dreams and life

[MarkusMeatvest]

true... but sometimes people need to appreciate whats immediately in front of them more than they do

[DrunkenArtist]

word, true words and knowledge right there! you're right though, it seems nowadays there are too many masters and not enough students.

but i mean look at society, it's force feeding us this mentality. The mentality that we should try to be pro or "famous" in the shortest amount of time possible.

shit, nowadays you go to a Jam, you got some bboys who don't even cypher, they just there to network and try to be seen with the big names, it's like what's became of this culture now?

but yo respect on the knowledge man.