Stepping out of a yellow taxi in New York City, outside the Hammerstein Ballroom, the location of the 2009 Red Bull BC One, the first thing I hear is the music coming from inside the venue; it’s Jay Z’s “Empire State of Mind”. Add this to the fact that I’m here in the USA for the first time, and about to take my seat ringside at one of the most prestigious B-boy competitions in the world and you can see why I suddenly get butterflies in my stomach.

I make it inside and take my seat just in time to see the competitors take to the circle for the introduction, sixteen of the world’s best, picked for their uniqueness and dedication to B-boying, and definitely deserving of the deafening applause from the crowd. It’s certainly emotional for everyone here. The sixteen competitors form a ring running around the circle; standing in the middle is our MC for the evening, a certain KRS-One. It’s a powerful scene. KRS-One, the man who is hip hop, surrounded by the latest and greatest ambassadors of B-boying, united where it all began. Our DJ for the evening is DP One, a New York resident and B-boy. If anyone knows the beats to spin this evening, it’s him.

B-Boys to the circle. The battles commence.

Read the rest of the report at the Red Bull Reporter website here.