Synopses & Reviews
Synopsis
It is impossible to tell the story of street dance without telling in the stories of people. And 'Crash Kid: A Hip-Hop Legacy, ' is the book which tells the story of street dance by telling the story of its kids. And the story of one kid in particular. 'Crash Kid, ' Massimo Colonna, was a young man who became synonymous with the breakdance movement and all aspects of the inauguration of American street culture into the lives of young Romans. This was the kid who was a master at that pivotal move of the genre, the head spin, and who with that move became one of the most pivotal players in this group of young people. The city of Rome had never seen anything like this. A form of dance where the dancehalls were the streets, a form which was so underground, that it was almost a black art. And yet it was Massimo's dedication towards the form which was making this art form the new way to party. And it was through an organic and exponential growth of the party, that this new form of dance and culture was beginning to thrive. To make its way towards the mainstream. 'Crash Kid: A Hip-Hop Legacy, ' is a book which brings it all together. A book which is about the street, the party, the dance, the lives of one special kid in particular, who circa 1980, was inaugurating this new form of dance into the street culture of Rome. And this exponential growing of a genre is seen across more than four hundred images of the party and the dance scene, at this particular time in history. Massimo and his friends used breakdance and street art as a way of breaking a symphony into parts, out over the city streets. The 'Zulu' parties, the 'Bambaataa' parties, the 'Fast Breaking Crew, ' of Rome. Massimo, always there, a kid who was an oxymoron to his own name, for he did not crash, was famous for not crashing, but for staying perfectly balanced on his head. And spinning on and on. The book proves that when you try to piece together the story of Roman breakdance, you discover that what you are in fact piecing together are the lives of all those kids who were dancing and breaking on the streets of Rome around the time, during the mid-1980s. And these are the kids who remember Massimo, many of them now key figures themselves in the Roman and Hip-Hop scene. We learn about who Massimo was through the stories of key players such as MC Shark, Amir Issaa and the joint creators of the book itself, Ben Matundu and Napal. Massimo and his friends used breakdance and street art as a way of breaking a symphony over the city streets.
Synopsis
- Chronicles the life and art of Massimo 'Crash Kid' Colonna - Crash Kid still represents a pivotal figure in the development of Hip Hop culture in Italy - The artist made his debut in Rome in 1983 as a break dancer, laying the foundations of what is today recognised as the Italian Hip Hop movement - Contains more than 400 never-before-seen original images from the 1980s Crash Kid: A Hip Hop Legacy documents the life and art of Massimo 'Crash Kid' Colonna, who remains a pivotal figure in the development of Hip Hop culture in Italy. The artist made his debut in Rome in 1983 as a breakdancer, laying the foundations of what is today recognized in Italy as the Hip Hop movement. The book documents the birth of Street Culture in Italy (from the first Hip Hop concerts of the '80s to the birth of the 'Zulu Party') through unpublished images from the artist's archive. There are also contributions from other leading figures of the Italian and international Street scene. Crash Kid's career as a breaker and writer are explored to reveal his dedication and influence to the Hip Hop scene overall. The book confirms him as a legendary reference point in the Hip Hop movement. Text in English and Italian.