R.I.P.
TRACE 2 TBB 4 LIFE
7-13-62 to 2-2-13
Today we lost a true Bronx B Boy Legend.. Original TBB TRACE 2.. a real brother and mentor to me... a great guy with a big heart... tears in my eyes....I miss you already my brother.
Once upon a time in a land far, far, away.......just kidding.....it all started for me in "75 or '76, can't remember which year, when batch came over my house for a visit. I had not seen him since the summer before and i noticed he looked different. by that I mean, he was dressed like a true bboy of our time. he had on a black wide brim hat, a white tank top tee, black sweats and the karate slippers that were popular in those days. he began telling me about the things he'd done over the last summer and that he was now a graffiti writer called BATCH. he also told me that he was doing something called rocking and started showing me how it was done. he turned on the little JVC boombox he brung along and started doing some toprock in the middle of my room.
as he was toprockin' I thought to myself, ok this looks pretty kool. but when he hit the floor, I said to myself WTF is this nigga doing on my floor! this has got to be the stupidest thing I've ever seen in my life! of course, I didn't let him know how I really felt. didn't wanna diss my cousin, I'm kool like that.lol. so when he invited me to go hang with him at his neighborhood, I went. that's when I first met The Bronx Boys. the first guy from the crew I met was my brother weebles. who
was the inventor of the float..which is called the hand glide these days.then there was RUM-6
(R.I.P.) I also met my brothers TRAC-2, P.BODY 170, BOS, BLUE EYES, SHAGGY, MANNY, BRAT, and a whole lot of kool brothers. when I seen the way the guys danced against each other in a competitive way, I started getting more and more into it, and by the end of my stay there,which lasted two days. I was hooked! what attracted the most was the comeraderie between the crew.
they would battle against each other, every man for himself, but in a battle, it was straight crew.!
when I got home I found myself practicing in my room, on the same floor that batch had earlier
shown me the dance.I was obsessed with learning this dance. I ate, slept, and dreamed the dance.finally, the time came when I felt ready to dance in public. nobody knew that I was practicing or that i was even trying to learn.I could've easily had been getting help from trac, or weebles or any of the guys to help me out, but I wanted to do this on my own. I didn't wanna look like a fool in front of the crew, so I went to a jam that wasn't anywhere near Mapes ave and 180th street. I went to a jam on burnside ave that was being thrown by a D.J. called CISCO on davidson ave.. there wasn't that many people at the jam. and I thought this is perfect!
there weren't that many bboys at the time so it took a while for a cypher to pop up. when it did ,
I spectated for a minute, and when i saw my chance, i went for it.I was so nervous that I felt my legs shaking. being that I was always a very shy kid this was a big step for me to do on my own.
so i did my toprock, i went down and did the six step footwork I learned, and a simple chair freeze.
then i got up and just walked away. I didnt need to stay there since I'd done what I came to do. as I walked away I heard someone in the crowd saying YOU SEEN THE WHITEBOY ROCKING ?
that's when i knew I was a bboy. once i started dancing with the crew. I was dancing every day, everywhere and every chance I got. my back was always bruised from backspins, my sneakers were always scuffed on the sides from all the footwork, and my hands were full of callouses and bits of glass from the concrete. it was all worth it though. then, since spy , jojo, and shorty rock lived right down the block from where I lived I brung them with me to a battle that trac had set up. that's when everybody met the C.C. CREW. and the rest, as they say, is history.being with the bronx boys rocking crew has been an experience I will cherish forever. even though I was dancing from the time batch showed me, up until '79 when batch broke up the crew,I'm proud of the fact that all our names are still relevant in the game. thanx to trac and the incredible knack he has for details. I wanna thank my brother batch for turning me on to this wonderful thing we have. and I Wanna thank my brother aby for keeping us alive as a crew. To all my new TBB/TBG
fam....I see the pride in your comments for the crew you now represent, but it's nothing compared to pride we feel for the way you all are doing everything for the good of the crew..just like we did way back when......god bless you all...the one and only TRACE2 TBB4LIFE
as he was toprockin' I thought to myself, ok this looks pretty kool. but when he hit the floor, I said to myself WTF is this nigga doing on my floor! this has got to be the stupidest thing I've ever seen in my life! of course, I didn't let him know how I really felt. didn't wanna diss my cousin, I'm kool like that.lol. so when he invited me to go hang with him at his neighborhood, I went. that's when I first met The Bronx Boys. the first guy from the crew I met was my brother weebles. who
was the inventor of the float..which is called the hand glide these days.then there was RUM-6
(R.I.P.) I also met my brothers TRAC-2, P.BODY 170, BOS, BLUE EYES, SHAGGY, MANNY, BRAT, and a whole lot of kool brothers. when I seen the way the guys danced against each other in a competitive way, I started getting more and more into it, and by the end of my stay there,which lasted two days. I was hooked! what attracted the most was the comeraderie between the crew.
they would battle against each other, every man for himself, but in a battle, it was straight crew.!
when I got home I found myself practicing in my room, on the same floor that batch had earlier
shown me the dance.I was obsessed with learning this dance. I ate, slept, and dreamed the dance.finally, the time came when I felt ready to dance in public. nobody knew that I was practicing or that i was even trying to learn.I could've easily had been getting help from trac, or weebles or any of the guys to help me out, but I wanted to do this on my own. I didn't wanna look like a fool in front of the crew, so I went to a jam that wasn't anywhere near Mapes ave and 180th street. I went to a jam on burnside ave that was being thrown by a D.J. called CISCO on davidson ave.. there wasn't that many people at the jam. and I thought this is perfect!
there weren't that many bboys at the time so it took a while for a cypher to pop up. when it did ,
I spectated for a minute, and when i saw my chance, i went for it.I was so nervous that I felt my legs shaking. being that I was always a very shy kid this was a big step for me to do on my own.
so i did my toprock, i went down and did the six step footwork I learned, and a simple chair freeze.
then i got up and just walked away. I didnt need to stay there since I'd done what I came to do. as I walked away I heard someone in the crowd saying YOU SEEN THE WHITEBOY ROCKING ?
that's when i knew I was a bboy. once i started dancing with the crew. I was dancing every day, everywhere and every chance I got. my back was always bruised from backspins, my sneakers were always scuffed on the sides from all the footwork, and my hands were full of callouses and bits of glass from the concrete. it was all worth it though. then, since spy , jojo, and shorty rock lived right down the block from where I lived I brung them with me to a battle that trac had set up. that's when everybody met the C.C. CREW. and the rest, as they say, is history.being with the bronx boys rocking crew has been an experience I will cherish forever. even though I was dancing from the time batch showed me, up until '79 when batch broke up the crew,I'm proud of the fact that all our names are still relevant in the game. thanx to trac and the incredible knack he has for details. I wanna thank my brother batch for turning me on to this wonderful thing we have. and I Wanna thank my brother aby for keeping us alive as a crew. To all my new TBB/TBG
fam....I see the pride in your comments for the crew you now represent, but it's nothing compared to pride we feel for the way you all are doing everything for the good of the crew..just like we did way back when......god bless you all...the one and only TRACE2 TBB4LIFE
*TRACE2- BACKSPIN TO PRETZEL.. IN REFERENCE TO THE ACTUAL FREEZE CRAZY LEGS DOES IN THE MOVIE FLASHDANCE…… YOU CAN SEE ONE OF HIS HANDS GO THROUGH ONE OF HIS LEGS AND THE OTHER AROUND HIS NECK, AND AS HE LOCKS THEM IT LOOKS LIKE A PRETZEL…. AND THE REASON THAT THIS IS TRACE'S MOVE IS BECAUSE ITS EXACTLY HOW TRACE DID IT..…
CRAZY LEGS "W" WHICH IS TRACE2's ORIGINAL MOVE CALLED THE BACK BREAKER AND BOTH MOVES WERE CREATED IN 1979.
(THE BACKSPIN THAT CRAZY LEGS DOES IN FLASHDANCE WAS CREATED BY MONGO …(IT WAS THE SECOND VERSION OF THE ORIGINAL BACKSPIN CREATED BY MONGO AND TRAC IN 1978) THE ORIGINAL BACK SPIN WAS CREATED BY JOJO… BUT HE WAS NEVER A TBB MEMBER… HE WAS EXTENDED FAMILY… HE WAS AFFILIATED WITH TBB, CC CREW, AND STARCHILD BECAUSE HE HUNG AROUND THEM BUT WAS NEVER A MEMBER… THE ONLY CREW HE EVER REPPED WAS ROCK STEADY.
BUT ALL THE MEMBERS OF THESE CREWS AT THAT TIME WERE ALL EXTENDED FAMILY WEARING DIFFERENT CREW SHIRTS.
CONDOLENCES
In loving memory of TRACE2 by BOM5 TBB
This goes out to Aby Tbb and the rest of T.B.B Rocking Crew.
Sending my condolences to all of you and the rest of the immediate family of Trace 2.
I met Trace in the late 70's and always thought of him as a humble and welcoming brother. I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity as a kid to get pointers and learn a move of 2 from him. One of my most important memories as a bboy, includes Trace's presence. When Lenny Len and myself had the opportunity to battle Jimmy Dee and Jimmy Lee to get in to Rock Steady Crew, Trace 2 served as one of the judges along with Mongo Rock and Weebles. It was a battle that we lost, but we gave them a run for their money. It makes me feel good to know that I had such an honorable b-boy as one of the judges for that battle.
And of course I can't for get how damn tall he was. It always amazed me how such a tall brother could get down with so much flava and style. For me and I'm sure many others that grew up in the Bronx during those times, Trace 2 was one of the big dogs and Super Heros of our time.
I know it may confuse a lot of you out there that are reading this. It may make you wonder, "who was is or was Trace 2?". I know a lot of you can't see that it was possible, that there were names in the hood that were big, before Myself and others that I put in to Rock Steady Crew in the 80's. Or even crew like New York City Breakers and Dynamic Rockers. Let me just say to those of you that think that we all started in the 80's. You're sadly wrong!!! Because, the ones that you saw on the TV screen or movie theaters were inspired by people like Trace 2, Spy, Mongo Rock, Willie Will and many others. They were the ones that gave us inspiration and helped with what we needed to know in order for us to continue as they were closing out their b-boy careers at such an early age. They were our Broadway dance musicals, they were who we wanted to be when we had nothing else to look forward to or even be inspired by. In the 70's, they were our Wild Style and Beat Street. People like Trace 2 should always be held in high regard. They are the rest of the story in the b-boy scene that everyone is so desperately trying to figure out and make sense of. They are the impact that caused the impact in the 80's.
I don't expect all of you to completely understand where I'm coming from, but i promise you that I'm not leading you in the wrong direction when it comes to the facts of people like trace 2. So keep this in mind. If you were inspired by myself or anyone around me. Know that Trace 2 was part of that inspiration and set a place for him on your mental mantle of Hip Hop History for the Unsung Heros and great Inspirations. Because if I was there, a part of him was there too!
R.I.P Trace 2
Crazy Legs
Rock Steady Crew.
As I started this week and looking back into my life, I had my ups and my downs!! As a kid I enjoyed life with no worries. Just waking up and being a kid, play a little baseball, football, boxing and basketball. Being born in the Bronx back in the 60's, We had a lot of games we learned through the older kids in our block. Some of you know exactly what I’m talking about!!! :) Anyway, going back to what I wanted to say. Just this week I lost a friend, a friend that play all those games I told you we learned in the Bronx back in the days (70’s). It is hard to put things like this into words, but I will try!! He was a son, a brother, a cousin, and a father. I knew him as all of those. To me he was a brother and a lifelong friend who found me on facebook because I had moved from the Bronx back in 1984. We use to call him White Boy, aka Trace2!! He went to school with us and was in my sister’s class. I met Trace2 back in 1974/1975, but he didn’t start to B-Boy until something like 1976/ 1977. Spy and I (Shorty Rock) use to hang out all the time like brothers!! Our thing was flying birds and B-Boy-ing. Once we met White boy, aka Trace2, he wasn’t into B-Boy-ing. Spy and I were already making a name for ourselves battling other Crews around the Bronx. This is going back to 1973/1974 when we use to battle any Crew that was around at the time. Our name was the C.C Crew and there was only a few of us, but we dances every day for hours inventing moves and bring them out in battles. Once White boy, aka Trace2 started B-Boy-ing we would B-Boy for hours making up moves and routines. All this would happen in the hallways of the buildings around our hood, Harrison Ave between 180 and 181 ST. This is just a little history about some of our B-Boy days in the middle to early 70’s.
For those of you who got to know Trace2, and became a friend to him know that he was someone you could talk to and have a wonderful time with. White boy, aka Trace2, you will always be remembered and my kids have heard about our days back in the 70’s. All the ups and downs we had growing up in the hood we knew as our own. Much LOVE, Peace, and Respect for my brother who will never be forgotten, RIP Brother!!
My Good Byes!!! Shorty Rock From The Bronx!!!
Just thought I would send ya'll a Reminder on how Precious today is cuz u not promised tomorrow...Big BroTracetwo Tbb it was an HONOR to have known you and gain some of the gemz and knowledge u passed my way..Again my FB peeps Im gonna tell you DON'T Wait show love to the Pioneers of our dance & Culture...Because Trace u Truly were a LIVING LEGEND blessings Fienz aka the "lil dood" not the "Gordito".Haa that was from the first Convo I ever had with Trace on three way with Trac Mateo.. LUV YA! BIG HOMIE!!!
FIENZ LOF
R.i.P trace2 u always be in my heart and FOD's
ReplyDeleteYo RIP. Check out 2006's From Mambo to Hip Hop
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