Interview with the Original B-Boy Beaver (The Little Zulu Kings)






                                                             

Beaver (The Little Zulu Kings)

                                                           

NORIN RAD:"Where did you get that name "Beaver" from?"

BEAVER:"My grandmother gave me that name as a nickname." 

NORIN RAD:"When did you start breaking?"

BEAVER:"In the mid seventies."

NORIN RAD:"What was your relationship with Afrika Bambaata and the Zulu Kings back then when you first started?"


BEAVER:" We all grew up together. It all started in Bronx River Circle where Afrika Bambaataa would play music through his window. He lived in my building 1595 on the first floor. His window was on the side facing the Circle and Bronx River Center.  He would put one or two speakers outside of his windows and he would play different beats and that's when we would start breakdancing. Then on a later date Bam got a contract with the community center and he started playing on the stage in back of the center."

NORIN RAD:"Did he do this during day time?"

BEAVER:"During the day and night."

NORIN RAD:"So whenever you heard beats blasting from downstairs you would know that Bambaataa had the B-Boys rocking?"

BEAVER:"Absolutely! Most of the time we all hung out in the circle." 

NORIN RAD:"What kind of circle was that? Was it some sort of of construction with fences?"

BEAVER:"No. It had tables and benches outside with about a foot wall that formed a circle around the community center in the middle of Bronx River."

NORIN RAD:"What is your recollection of the hierarchy within the Zulu Kings?"

BEAVER:"You had the older crew which was lead by Squirpy. Squirpy also lived in my building. Squirpy was Shaka and I was Little Shaka. I was the leader of the younger Zulu Kings. Brothers had to dance in front of me to be able to join the crew. They would come to my house to try out to become a member of the Zulu Kings. We would set something up. Sometimes we would take them to Bronx River Center and go into one of the rooms there and they would try out. They would have to dance in front of me or there were times when I might have somebody battle them, you know? And if they beat the person that they battled against they would become a Zulu King.  Some qualified and some didn't. If they made it they would get a Zulu King card that I would sign on the back of the card. They had to pay 10.00 dollars for the cards and that money went toward our Zulu King t-shirts... "

May 27th, 1977: Battle between The Zulu Kings and The Shaka Zulus at JHS 123. Note: The Little Zulu Kings (Beaver's Crew)  are also mentioned as attraction along with the Zulu Queens

NORIN RAD:"Did these shirts come in a specific color combination?"

BEAVER:"Yes..they were black and white T-Shirts with "Zulu Kings" on the front and the B-Boys name on the back." 


NORIN RAD:"So your B-Boy name was both Beaver and Little Shaka?"

BEAVER:"Yes, Sir!" 

NORIN RAD:"Did Squirpy give you that name or did you choose it out of respect for him?"

BEAVER:"Well, you see Afrika Bambaataa started calling me Little Shaka because I was a leader. Shaka...It means "Ruler of many"!"

NORIN RAD:"Oh, so as Squirpy was the leader of the older Zulu Kings and was therefore called Shaka you were called Little Shaka because you were the leader of the younger Zulu Kings?"

BEAVER:"Yes, Sir!" 

NORIN RAD:"What were you looking for when people came to you in order to try for the Little Zulu Kings? What were the requirements that they had to meet? Was it charisma? Outstanding moves?"

BEAVER:"I was definetely looking for somebody that had his own style and that their moves were crisp. Their moves wasn't sloppy but they were sharp! You know I was looking for finesse...for you being able to do something without messing up."

NORIN RAD:"Okay, now let me ask you this...from what I have been told Bronx River was very tough back in those days, right? So wasn't it a rather dangerous undertaking for B-Boys from outside to come to your apartment in order to try for the Little Zulu Kings? How would that go down?"

BEAVER:"Most of the time as we went to block parties in different areas and people knew my name and they knew what I was coming with. When I came there I came there with my crew and we was coming to make noise, you know? So with that being said a lot of times they would approach me in their town, in their area or in their project...they would approach me to ask me about  breakdancing or about certain moves or about how could they try out,  how could they join the Little Zulu Kings. I lived on the 12th floor at 1595 and a lot of times people would come to my house and how they would find out where I live....? They would probably find out from Bam or probably somebody in the neighbourhood might have said something if they were looking for me. The people in the neighborhood knew that they weren't looking for me to harm me....but that they were looking for me to become a Zulu King or try to even join the Zulu Nation."

NORIN RAD:"Okay, but in general Bronx River was a rather tough place, right? I have heard that once you crossed that infamous East 174th Street Bridge as a stranger you had to be prepared to be checked."

BEAVER:"Yes! Bronx River was a very tough neighbourhood...people were afraid to come to Bronx River. You had to get permission to come to Bronx River....the reason being is because not only did Bronx River develop a name for itself like the Zulu Nation, the Zulu Kings, the Shaka Zulus....before all of that Bronx River had a crew called The Black Spades which was a gang and they used to terrorize!"   

East 174th Street Bridge..Gate To Bronx River

NORIN RAD:"I heard you do have a brother by the name of Poo Poo who was also a B-Boy, is that correct?"

BEAVER:"Yeah, that's my brother..he did it not as much. He was like Kusa (another Zulu King B-Boy)...Kusa had a famous move called the Jelly Roll...my brother... he had a move called the Flop....and these moves were similar...the Jelly Roll was a flip and land on your back...the Flop was a back flip land on your stomach."   

Poo Poo (The Little Zulu Kings) Beaver's brother

NORIN RAD:"Is Poo Poo older or younger than you?"

BEAVER:"He is a year and a half older than I." 

NORIN RAD:"What were your signature moves back then?"

BEAVER:"Well, to be honest with you EVERY move that I did was MY signature move and I came up with my moves as I was dancing...I made up new moves when I was dancing....I didn't have a certain move...I mean I would do something like a spin on my back.....a twist with one of my legs behind my head....I was flexible (chuckles)...you know I did moves that were hard for anybody else to do."

NORIN RAD: "So was there any practicing at all when you did it back then?"

BEAVER:"Well, actually sometimes me and Poo Poo we would practise at our home but we would go out to the different block parties that were happening back then ....not just to those with Bam...in Bronxdale, Monroe and Castle Hill and that's where we would perform. They would form a circle and we would just dance! And most of the time we ended up having dance battles."

NORIN RAD:"So that means local B-Boys would step to you there and try to burn you?"

BEAVER:"Oh yes, and that's when they would get defeated! I was undefeated....but the majority of the time us...the Zulu Kings...we would all travel together and when we travelled it  might be Kusa...it might be Poo...Kusa and Poo Poo were best friends!cIt might be..there was a little brother by the name of Johnny that used to travel with us that was also a Zulu King...he was pretty decent with his moves and he might start it out..then there was another one named Stevie... another one named Anthony...we all danced, you know? They would start it out, you know...and if they couldn't handle the person that they was going against then I was taking over..."

Kusa (The Zulu Kings)

NORIN RAD:"So you were like the lethal weapon that came in when things were looking kinda bad for the Zulus?"  

BEAVER:"Yes! Yes! Nobody really wanted to challenge me because I was known all over..I was known for dancing and it got to a point were nobody wanted to challenge me but they wanted to challenge my crew."

NORIN RAD:"Let's talk about the toughest battle that you ever had back then...that one against Chris and Wendell you told me about..."

BEAVER:"Well, Wendell was from 169th Street & Webster Avenue but Chris lived in Lambert and he was one of the baddest B-Boys in Lambert. They did double team me....there was a block party at Bronx River....Afrika Bambaataa was playing behind the Bronx River Center and they informed me that Chris and Wendell were coming for me and as I said they double teamed me but I beat them. People had always wanted us to dance against each other but we never met up until that time and then they ended up becoming Zulu Kings."

NORIN RAD:"Did you ask them to join the Zulu Kings?"

BEAVER:"No, actually they asked me. They approached me and asked me what would it take to try out but being that I knew that they were good...I had heard about them over the years...so when they approached me of course I wanted them on my team because we were unstoppable together." 

NORIN RAD:"How did they actually try to beat you? What do you remember about that?"

BEAVER: (laughs) It's been a long time but I do remember....Wendell had a move where he would do like a flip in the air and kinda crossed his legs in a certain way......it was a nice move but of course I came back with something....I was always prepared because as I said I always had moves made up in my head that I would try as I was dancing."          



NORIN RAD:"Back in your era B-Boys had to match the music with their moves, right? It wasn't like today where it is pretty much normal to ignore the beat..."


BEAVER:"Let me tell you....IT WAS ALL ABOUT THE BEAT!!!!!  You wasn't dancing if you didn't dancing to the beat!!! It was all about the beat! When you heard that beat...your moves HAD to connect to the beat!"

NORIN RAD:"So you really didn't even have to think about the beat it just came natural?"

BEAVER: "Yes, it just came natural."

NORIN RAD:"So what would have happened if somebody back then had chosen to ignore the beat?"

BEAVER:"We would have looked at them as not being able to dance....like they were dancing off." 

NORIN RAD: "As for the parties at Bronx River Center and JHS 123 what kind of music do you recall being played there? Was it breakbeats all night?"

BEAVER: "Well at 123..that's the high school....there was some of everything. Bambaataa used to play slow music....when it was time to dance.. you know breakdance...he played the B-Boy music..the Hiphop (not Rap Music!)...There was a time when he played music so you could get your grind on.....But at Bronx River Center it was more of Hip Hop Beats (breakbeats)...you know there was always a lot of breakdancing going on there."

NORIN RAD:"Could you describe the feeling that you had when you heard those breakbeats at Bronx River?"

BEAVER:"Well, I'mma tell you...when they played those songs an adrenaline rush did come because when they played those songs you was ready to get your dance on!"


NORIN RAD:"How would you find out about those parties outside of Bronx River which you have just mentioned? I mean those parties certainly weren't advertised on television or the radio, right?"

BEAVER:"Right! Well, let me say this with Disco King Mario from Bronxdale...he had a crew  
 that used to go out and pass flyers out.."

NORIN RAD:"I see."

BEAVER:"Even when Afrika Bambaataa would perform...he would make up flyers and we (The Little Zulu Kings)  would go out and pass those flyers out. We would go to the other neighbourhoods and pass the flyers out! We would go to Castle Hill...we would ride our bikes or hop on the bus, or take a cab or do stuff like that. You know today they have Uber but back then we would call a taxi cab and go to different neighbourhoods. We also had what you'd call mopeds or ten speed bikes and so we would pass those flyers out and let people know that a block party is getting ready to start at such and such time and that's how we communicated with everybody  in different neighbourhoods! The word always got out!"

NORIN RAD:"So Afrika Bambaataa entrusted you with this kind of responsibility?"

BEAVER:"Oh yes, yes!!! We was all Zulu Kings and we were in the Zulu Nation as well. So we made sure that people knew about the block parties and what was going on in Bronx River. You know Bam didn't just do parties in Bronx River...he did block parties in Castle Hill, he had block parties in Monroe Projects, he did block parties in Soundview, Bronxdale, Lambert...out there on Webster Avenue. So he would travel to different places and do parties.....and you know when I say "block parties"...a lot of times what we did in other neighbourhoods... because Bronx River had the Circle and they had the Bronx River Center and in the back of that center was a stage...we had that set up.  Other neighbourhoods they did not always have that so when they weren't doing it in the parks they would cut off the street. They would put cones up and block the street....so they would have a big party on the street..the party would be three or four blocks....or five blocks! And a lot of times we would get permission from the police to block the street off so it was okay."

NORIN RAD:"And back then the DJs used to have big soundsystems so you would hear the beats from many blocks away, right?"

BEAVER:"Oh my gosh! Right, they had the monster equipment..the speakers were unbelievably huge and loud!"

NORIN RAD:"So would you help Bambaataa with carrying his record crates and his soundsytem?"

BEAVER:"We did that and he also had a crew that would carry the equipment, the speakers...they would put the speakers on big carts and roll them...four wheel carts...he also had it where he had made carts that connected to the speakers so they could roll..and then he had a crew that would carry all the crates (boxes full of records), you know?! They would carry the turntables, the amps, all that."

NORIN RAD:"Would Bambaataa also put a rope around his DJ equipment that you weren't allowed to cross unless you were down with him?"

BEAVER:"Afrika Bambaataa whenever he played in the back of Bronx River Center on the stage he would rope it off. He'd put a rope around the speakers, around the equipment...you couldn't come up to the stage, you know?  Even when he was playing out on the street he would rope off the table that the turntables sat on. Monk (another Zulu King B-Boy)...he passed away a couple of years ago...he did make sure that the stage was clear at Bronx River..little short guy.. Monk...we was kool."  

NORIN RAD:"Were there any Puerto Rican B-Boys among the Zulu Kings or Little Zulu Kings that you recall?"

BEAVER:"Yes! Yes! There was a Puerto Rican B-Boy by the name of Peter....Peter from Bronx River.... who also was a Zulu King. He didn't dance as much but he was pretty good! The last thing I heard was that he was killed."

NORIN RAD:"Oh okay, and did you ever battle against any Puerto Rican B-Boys? I'm asking you this question because you are held in regard by many Puerto Rican B-Boys from the Bronx and I would like to trace back how you actually influenced them."

BEAVER:"No!!! No!! They came on the scene later on.... like I after I got out of it."

NORIN RAD:"Oh, okay! But I have heard that you and a guy called Peanut once looked for a Puerto Rican B-Boy called Vinnie from the Sal Soul Crew at a swimming pool on Crotona Avenue back in 1975 and that you were defeated by him."

BEAVER:"That's been made up! I have never been defeated and I don't know who Vinnie is or who Peanut is and I have never danced against anybody by those names and again... most of those guys came in after...way after I stopped B-Boying in 1980.  What I see in that is  a lot of people want street credit. They feel if they mention my name and say they defeated me or taught me or what have you..they think that people will respect them and give them that credit that they think they deserve."  

NORIN RAD:"Thank you for clearing that up! Could you describe how B-Boys used to dress back in your era? You would wear Pro-Keds, Kangols, Sweatshirts with Old English Letters ironed on them , right? Stuff like that... "

BEAVER:(laughs)"Yes, Sir!!! With me..Yo, my crew we wore every color Kangol, you know Kangol hats....every color Puma....the suede Pumas...every color Adidas...Shelltoe Adidas we wore those in leather...every color Fletcher hat.....we wore British Walkers when we went to the clubs....we wore Playboys.......you know Izods... Lacoste Shirts and polo shirts...every color Super Pro-Keds.  The Super Pro-Keds had the red and blue stripe on the side...we wore every color of that...we wore every color of the 69er with the three stripes....then in the later years we started wearing every color Converse of the All Stars....Lees...Lee Jeans....you know Cortefiels, Cazal glasses..we started weaing all that."   

Pro-Keds 69ers with the three Stripes

NORIN RAD:"Would you say that dressing fly was a part of the B-Boy identity back then?"

BEAVER:"Oh, absolutely! You couldn't go and B-Boy if you wasn't fly!! (laughs) You couldn't do it! Whenever you travelled to go to another project to breakdance you gotta go fly because for one you are not just going there to breakdance...you are going there to check out the females all that..so you gotta look fly. So you go fly and you just so happen to be caught up in breakdancing. You wanna be out there breakdancing lookig good!"

NORIN RAD:"Which importance had Top Rocking to the B-Boys of your era? From what I have heard so far the whole dance started on top with legends like Trixie, Sasa etc.  and I would like to understand how it gradually turned into a floor centered dance form."

BEAVER:"Yeah, yeah..we all did Top Rock dancing but it always ended up, you know, down low on the floor  because there was always battles against B-Boys from different neighbourhoods. But everybody did Top Rock dancing...shaking and doing different moves on top but it always ended up down low, you know? Doing acrobatic moves that'll help you to win the battle."

NORIN RAD:"Was there like only one specific style of Top Rock dancing out when you did it back then? I'm asking this question because today many out here think that there merely one style existed namely that in which a B-Boy crosses his right leg over to the left side and then bounces back to his starting position in order to then cross his left leg over to the right side. Could you elaborate on that?" 

BEAVER:"There was all types of different styles! Everybody would have their own style of top rock dancing...What you've just about crossing the leg and then going back...everybody did that but everybody also had other moves that they would add to that. Like some would get into a person's face and make like a square and act like they had a bat and threw a ball and knock their head off...they would do different things like that and then they would also freeze."  

NORIN RAD:"Thank you! If one listens to those beats that were played back then at the jams it becomes quite obvious that they differed in terms of pace and mood...Like you had fast beats such as "Apache" that fill you with adrenaline but there were also joints like "Ain't No Half Stepping" by Heatwave that were a much slower and didn't come off as agressive....Would B-Boys  actually adjust their top rock dancing according to these different flavours of beats?"

BEAVER:"Absolutely! You had to adjust your pace to whatever the beat was.....if the beat was fast you would adjust your pace.....if it was slow you would do a slower pace. So for instance what you just called out...."Ain't No Half Stepping" that beat was kinda slow but the way Bambaataa used to mix that beat....he used to mix it sometimes with "Apache", you know? So it was very exciting because they would take the slower beat and blend them in with the faster beat! That made you wanna go off even harder!"  

NORIN RAD:"Okay, and what kind of floormoves and footwork shuffles were you doing exactly?"

BEAVER:"Again it goes back to...you know, I had the sweep  as far as a floor move. The front sweep and the back sweep. Flips, you know I twisted my body...I mean I was doing some of everything on the floor.Spinning on my back, spinning on my head..I was doing those before it got popular."

NORIN RAD:"I see....and you were the one that actually took the front sweep that the older Zulu Kings would also do and then developed the back sweep out of it, right? And you were the only one capable of doing it."

BEAVER:"Yes! I not only did with one foot backwards but I would do it with both feet backwards  and nobody could do that! When were doing the front sweep I would also do the front sweep with both feet and then reverse it and nobody could master that!"