The Rock Steady Crew was 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 with Rock Steady just in time to add new life to the art form and take it to the next level. This was at a time when Crazy Legs moved to Manhattan. Going back to the Bronx every weekend became too difficult for Crazy Legs pockets, so he started to explore the hip-hop scene in Manhattan more which ultimately meant losing touch with other members of Rock Steady. Crazy Legs would spend most of his time developing his craft in tenement building hallways and battling b-boys that he would come across and eventually hanging out with the ones that he felt had an original style.
The turning point for Rock Steady was in 1981 when people began to take notice of all the noise they were making in Manhattan. In August of 1981, photographer/sculptor Henry Chalfant offered them the chance to perform at the Lincoln Center Outdoors Program. This performance, which was also a battle with rival b-boys from The Dynamic Rockers, was crucial because it was covered by local television stations The New York Times, The Village Voice, The Daily News and National Geographic, and 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. Since Afrika Bambaataa was known by many as the “Godfather of Hip-Hop”, the Rock Steady Crew was honoured to be on the same bill. After their performance the entire Rock Steady Crew became members of Afrika Bambaataa’s Zulu Kings, knowing that they would also become an integral part of the Zulu Nation. Soon after that performance the Rock Steady Crew took the downtown club scene by storm, becoming caught up in a culture clash of Rastafarians, punk-rockers and hip-hop heads.
As the word spread, Rock Steady expanded into a huge family consisting of women, children, roller skaters, artists and DJs. The crew’s popularity attracted Kool Lady Blue who started managing them. 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, DJs and graffiti artists straight from the “concrete jungle” to London and Paris. It was the first hip-hop tour of its kind and it opened the door for many more to follow.
The record Hey You, The Rock Steady Crew was in the Top 10 charts in Great Britain and sold over a million copies. The crew, however, saw very little of the proceeds. Due to their lack of knowledge of the music industry at such a young age, the company took advantage of them and would not allow them any creative input toward their own project.
In 1991 Mr. Wiggles approached Crazy Legs about an idea he and Fable (Magnificent Force) had for a hip-hop musical titled So, What Happens Now?. Crazy Legs (with the help of Mr. Wiggles) then needed to persuade Ken Swift to start dancing again in order to have Ken involved as well. The musical was the critic’s choice in the New York Times and received rave reviews in The Village Voice, The Daily News and El Diario. They also received a standing ovation lead by Gregory Hines at the Kennedy Center Honours where President George Bush, Gregory Peck and the Nicholas Brothers were all in attendance.
With the Rock Steady Crew’s 29th anniversary on the horizon, they have plenty more goals in sight. They remain very active in the community and are involved in several different outreach programs as well as holding food drives and donating time and money to non-profit organizations. They hope to set up a Rock Steady Foundation for children. This program will provide dance classes and other activities that will help to influence the youth to stay on the right path throughout life.
A Rock Steady Crew Anniversary is held annually to symbolize the preservation of the history and evolution of hip-hop culture. This monumental community event brings out DJs, b-boys/b-girls, graffiti artists, emcees and thousands of other positive hip-hop heads from all around the globe.
