VENICE BEACH, Calif. — “I still consider breaking through as a limit.”

Reggie Noble talks on the roof of a loft gallery on Windward Avenue, across from the centerpiece of the Venice Beach Boardwalk, one in all the most famous boardwalks in Southern California. There are murals on the wall depicting Gang Starr’s 1998 album, and the one actually visible from the street depicts Wesley Snipes and Woody Harrelson from their cult film set on this very place.

You probably know him as Redman, the rapper who rose to fame as an EPMD acolyte in the early ’90s, grew up as a solo artist, and teamed up with Method Man to form one in all the best duos the game has ever seen. The 4 pillars of hip-hop: breakdancing, graffiti, DJing and MCing are still very near his heart.

He opens the proceedings with a performance at the Red Bull BC One competition, during which the best US breakdance champions are chosen, who will then play in the finals in Brazil in December. Downstairs, b-boys and girls of all types are milling around the gallery, enthusiastic about the afternoon ahead.

“There’s still a strong element of hacking everywhere, especially on the East Coast and overseas, right? And when you have one of the elements of hip-hop that’s been brought to where kids want to do it, it’s just like rap. It’s no different from rap,” he said. “Like everyone else, he wants to be a rapper. There are many people who want to breakdance, who want to dance, who just want to make a living dancing. They don’t care about money. They want to do something that will make them feel good.”

16 dancers of each sexes participate in the competition called Cypher. This is a single-elimination event and judging is easy. Judges raise their hands a method or the other to vote. There is not any one who can be embarrassed by a low and even non-existent result.

Why does all this matter? Because the weight of what Rachael Gunn completed at the Paris Olympics still hangs over the world of breakdancing, whether anyone likes it or not. As a lifelong fan of hip-hop and its culture, there was nothing funny about the sight of a white woman named “Raygun” jumping, jumping and jumping around the Olympic stage, causing laughter around the world.

When rumors emerged that she hadn’t exactly “cheated” her strategy to the Olympics, but had taken advantage of a shady system – which one way or the other involved her husband – it felt like a kick to the gut. Let’s just ignore the fact that there have been apparently few blacks in the Paris competition, and next to “Nicki” was a Lithuanian woman in a durag.

“Honestly, I looked at it as if it was a privileged move. He must be someone important. Australia is, is a serious country. It’s not just a city, it’s a country,” Redman said with an incredulous laugh. “So you’re trying to tell me that the whole country said, ‘Yes, she’s going to represent us there,’ I don’t think that’s what happened.”

The event was a reminder of how great this whole idea might have been if the International Olympic Committee had waited to host the competition in the country where breaking was invented, quite than a half-hearted effort that seemed designed to undermine it. Add to that the fact that Gunn played in our faces and made a reputation for herself by desecrating this art form.

It was pretty clear: breakdancing must have made its debut at the 2028 Los Angeles Games, and where everyone was standing can be the perfect place to host it. Besides, you do not have to arrange entire competitions to see people dancing in the streets on a given weekend.

How an energy drink like Red Bull became the sport’s final frontier isn’t the point, but it surely definitely seems essential. Some of us won’t ever forgive the Olympics for botching a culture’s entry into the global arena. However, this didn’t make it difficult to make use of this feature. The crowd was stuffed with semi-celebrities, but mostly families and other crowd pleasers who just desired to be an element of the event.

The winners were Vicki Chang, aka La Vix, of San Jose and Jeremy Viray, aka Icey Ives, of Anchorage, Alaska. Additionally, Victor Montalvo, medalist of the Paris Games, was honored by the city of Los Angeles.

The sights and sounds of real hip-hop don’t at all times outshine the antics of faux imitations, backed by “scholarship” or not. Which was a shame, because as the sun set over the Pacific and various other groundbreaking codes entered the crowd – together with young children imitating what they saw and just doing something between tumbling and dancing on the makeshift linoleum – you may feel the purpose and camaraderie in the air.

“I’ll admit I laughed at the Australian girl, but it surely began to trouble me in a short time, yes, because I felt it was only a distraction from what she really was, and because my first exposure to hip-hop culture was, it was attempting to be a b-boy trying out pop and lock,” said DJ Babu, member of the world famous Beat Junkies and Dilated Peoples. “So this (Red Bull BC One) is about seeing this dream come true and turn out to be a reality, I give it some thought emotionally and then I reduce it to memes and jokes… that really bothered me. I didn’t even like talking about it.

“But what a milestone for hip-hop and culture generally, to have it legitimized on arguably the biggest stage one could ever perform on. Overall I used to be really completely happy and proud. Recognizing any element at the next level is amazing, but it surely’s not perfect. This was the first yr and it’s just disappointing that I believe it won’t come back.

On December 7, the best breakers in the world will compete in Rio de Janeiro. What happened in Paris this summer was NOT this. When they arrive in Brazil, there will likely be no drug tests, PhDs or governing bodies that will spoil the viability of the genre created by black and Latino kids in New York in the Seventies.

“We can avoid this if we have communication and we have to educate ourselves,” Redman told the crowd. “So I salute Red Bull for taking this culture seriously and organizing events like this so that we can all learn from it.”

People was once afraid that corporate greed and interests would spoil the soul of culture. Now not less than one corporation is keeping the art alive.

“It’s a bit tricky because, like anything else, everything takes time to develop and refine, and mistakes need to be fixed and lessons learned from them. It’s almost like a big mockery, especially since I’m here in Los Angeles and the Olympics are coming here. I can only imagine what b-boying would look like at the next Olympics after his first attack,” DJ Babu said.

“I used to be unfortunately dissatisfied to listen to that it would not be coming back to Los Angeles. I mean, I hope that’s the case in the future, but a part of me tends to feel that b-boying will likely be effective with or without the Olympics should you come from that culture and realize it.

LAIE, Hawaii – Per week ago, Golden State Warriors forward Jonathan Kuminga was driving to work optimistic about a potential breakout NBA All-Star season. But because the DRC native approached the Chase Center, his joy turned to sadness when he learned that his legendary compatriot Dikembe Mutombo had died.

“I was driving to the arena with a friend on media day, listening to music and driving to ‘The City’ (San Francisco),” Kuminga said Oct. 4 during Warriors practice at BYU-Hawaii. “He opened his Instagram and the primary photo that appeared was of Mutombo’s death. And then I turned off the music. We just stayed silent and didn’t consult with one another for a while.

“I began considering, ‘Why? What’s up? What’s occurring? It was bad news to listen to it so early. Overall bad news. It was very sad. I knew he was sick. A number of months ago I texted him to ascertain on him. I knew he was sick, but I didn’t know he was very, very sick.

Mutombo died on September 30 on the age of 58 from brain cancer. The Basketball Hall of Famer ranks second in NBA history in blocks behind fellow African Hakeem Olajuwon. The eight-time NBA All-Star was named the league’s Defensive Player of the Year 4 times and had his No. 55 jersey retired by the Denver Nuggets and Atlanta Hawks.

Mutombo could also be remembered much more as a humanitarian. The NBA’s first global ambassador opened a much-needed hospital and faculty in his hometown of Kinshasa. Mutombo also played perhaps the most important role in persuading the NBA to start out the African Basketball League and was a regular at BAL events.

“I knew about Mutombo before I knew about the most popular NBA players like Kareem (Abdul-Jabbar) and all the other greats. My dad always talked about him and played against him growing up,” said Kuminga, whose hometown of Goma is about a three-hour flight from Kinshasa. “(Mutombo) built a big hospital to assist the numerous individuals who were in search of him. There was no hospital in Congo that performed many tests, akin to MRIs. The hospital was also built in his mother’s name. It was great that he did it.

“Many of my people from my hometown went to India and South Africa to get medical attention. They don’t even have to go that far anymore. They just need to go to Mutombo Hospital. He also meant a lot to the student-athletes (from Congo). It means everything.”

Starting at small forward, Kuminga scored seven points on 3-of-8 shooting from the sector, 7 assists and 4 rebounds in 19 minutes in the Warriors’ 91-90 opener victory over the LA Clippers on the Stan Sheriff Center on the University of Hawaii on October 5. Kuminga said Mutombo was his mentor, with whom he normally spoke via text message, and added that the last time he saw Mutombo was two years ago, when the Warriors were playing preseason games in Japan.

“The last time I saw Mutombo he said, ‘Just keep doing it, keep working. You will have a great future. Always remember where you come from,” Kuminga said.

The Democratic Republic of Congo has produced several NBA players akin to Mutombo, Kuminga, Bismack Biyombo, DJ Mbenga, Christian Eyenga, Emmanuel Mudiay and Oscar Tshiebwe. Not only does Mutombo have probably the most noteworthy basketball resume, but he was also the one player to seem in the NBA All-Star Game.

Over the previous three seasons, Kuminga had shown flashes of NBA All-Star talent. The 6-foot-10, 225-pound athlete posted profession averages of 16.1 points and 4.8 rebounds in 26.4 minutes last season. With guard Klay Thompson heading to the Dallas Mavericks this summer as a part of a signing, Kuminga is predicted to play a much larger role offensively alongside Warriors star Stephen Curry. 2025 NBA All-Star Game scheduled for San Francisco Kuminga has additional motivation and a person goal of appearing in the All-Star Game for the primary time this season.

“This is my trajectory. That’s what I’ve been working on,” Kuminga said. “I did as much as I could, practicing, getting my body ready, learning the sport and dealing on things defensively. It’s just a matter of once we start playing now and I can show what I’ve been working on and the way my game has developed.

“We have a different team. I’m unsure what’s going to occur. But whatever happens, my mind is prepared for anything.

Asked about expectations for Kuminga, Warriors coach Steve Kerr said: “He needs to maintain improving because he’s on the correct track. Everyone is doing higher. The three-point shot is a big deal, especially in today’s NBA. If he can catch and shoot consistently, it can open things up for each him and others.

“Defensively, I just keep getting better and we use that athleticism, that strength, in a way that really impacts our opponents. These are the things we focus on.”

Kuminga, who turned 22 on Sunday, also hopes to increase his contract with the Warriors. The Warriors and Kuminga have expressed mutual interest in wanting to agree on an extension before the Oct. 21 rookie extension deadline. Kuminga is making $7.6 million in the ultimate 12 months of his contract and can be a restricted free agent in 2025 if a contract extension is just not agreed upon by the deadline.

“My agent is handling it. I need to focus on what I’m trying to achieve. The more I achieve, the more these things take care of themselves,” Kuminga said.

After Mutombo’s departure, there are several African basketball stars in the NBA, and there are potential stars on the horizon.

There were 19 African-born players in the NBA last season, including Kuminga, 2023 NBA MVP Joel Embiid and Indiana Pacers forward Pascal Siakam. NBA Academy Africa has also paid dividends recently, as Duke signed center Khaman Maluach, the Toronto Raptors signed big man Ulrich Chomche, and the Utah Jazz signed Babacar Sane to an Exhibit 10 contract.

Kuminga is confident that Mutombo’s legacy will continue to exist amongst current and future African NBA players.

“I’m just trying to be great here and do the best I can,” said Kuminga, who last visited Congo after the Warriors won the 2022 NBA championship. “Mutombo did every thing he could and got here back and it helped. That’s what it’s all about. Do as much as you may, whatever it’s, so long as you give back and show the remainder of us how much it matters.

“I helped. I’m sending some stuff back. Helping people. Giving back the shoes. Helping some kids. When I come back someday, I’m working on organizing a camp and helping some (Congolese) students by providing them with scholarships for school and education.”