Jump Monkey Blog

Derrick “Empire X” Murph
Hometown: Sarasota Florida

1) What kind of dancing do you do? I’m a freestyle dancer. I do think breaking is cool but I don’t like the fact that there’s no creativity involved. I see the same move’s done over and over again. To me there’s a lot more to dancing then just power moves and freezes. I don’t really see any creativity with a lot of dancer’s these day’s. When I was hardcore in to dancing it was about being creative doing moves no one else has done. You still get this with freestyle dancing and house dancing but to me breaking has lost the since of creativity. Doing a flair and a 90 to me does not make you a dancer. Be more creative it’s not all about power moves.

2) Why do you dance? First off I dance for me. Not for the people that may be watching and definitely not to show off. Don’t get me wrong dancing is an art form that should be shared but it’s not about how much better you are then someone else.

3) In what year did you start? I have been dancing since I was about 10 years old. As of late I have slowed down a bit do to the lack of good clubs and good music.

4) What do you like most about dancing? The since of freedom I get from it. When I dance it’s like I can let everything go and forget about all the bull that’s going on these days.

5) What do you not like about dancing? The one big thing I hate is that fact that I know one day I will be too old to do it. I don’t like that the younger and new dancers are somewhat lost on what it’s really about. I would like to see more creativity coming from these new dancers. Show me more then just power move’s.

5) What inspires you or makes you want to keep dancing? My dancing partner and best friend REWIND. The only time I really dance anymore is if we are both out doing the damn thing.

Hometown: Columbus, OH (born), Baldwinsville, NY (raised), Sarasota, FL (living now).
Body type: Athletic, Flexible
Religion: Catholic
Smoke/drink: Don’t Smoke / Drink occasionally.
Children: Plan on having a b-boy /b-girl someday.
Education: Graduated from the State University of New York at Oswego, BA in Information Science.
My name is Kevin Wright, but I’m known on the floor as Lynx, and my Capoeira name is Padre. Lynx came from people telling me I have “speedy legs” for up/top rocking. Padre means Father (like a priest), and I got that because I would always wear white everyday, carrying a small leather journal so I could write down song lyrics. I’m an American white boy who grew up in a small town, listening to HipHop ever since I had access to a tape player. My parent’s didn’t really like it, but “parents just don’t understand.” On the musical side, I feel the passion of artists/groups like Nas, Gangstarr, KRS, Roots, Mos Def, Talib Kweli, etc. If you drop a New York beat like Nas’s “Memory Lane” and you’ll light a spark to my soul.

I BBoy for my culture, which is HipHop. HipHop has given me so much. BBoy Junior from NYC, a good friend, who gave me a style to run with, once said “HipHop gave me wings.” That statement sums it up.

I first started playing Capoeira in 2001. It gave me some rhythm and deeper understanding of life. Later in college, 2003, there was a crew forming, so I thought to myself, I love Capoeira and HipHop… why don’t I combine them? So I did. I became addicted instantly with only a couple sessions. We set up practices, at least 3 times a week, and shows every month or so. We tried to network with everyone we could, pushing the positive movement. Eventually, we named our crew “B-Boy Lifestyles.” There is a strong NYC style within the crew, hitting beats hard with a strong uprock.

What I enjoy most about breakin’ is the unity. It brings all cultures together, regardless of religion, race, or gender. There is beauty in every movement, whether it’s graceful or fierce. Watching someone explode with strong set really motivates me to work my hardest in tuning every movement I make.

I haven’t broken anything yet from breaking, but I do put my body into positions that it doesn’t like too much. So, occasionally I will over extend my shoulders or back, and it’ll be sore for a week or so. I did hurt my knee (bursitis) about 6 months ago, but I’m making good recovery time. I just gotta watch how much stress I put on that one knee. During my down time I work on handstands because I had to do something but I couldn’t put pressure on my knee at all. I couldn’t just sit and watch my crew train, that bums me out to much. If I lose my legs someday, I’m still gonna find a way to break… you can’t let things like that hold you back. You stuck in a wheelchair? Rock that sh*t.

What inspires me most is to keep myself surrounded by HipHop every day. I listen to music in my car, I watch video’s on bboyworld.com my lunch break, train when I get home, and think about it before I fall asleep. It keeps my life full of positive energy.