YRAC SPOTLIGHT INTERVIEW- Hardcore Detroit: Bringing a Street Dance to a Professional Atmosphere
By: Nadirah Angail
YRAC Editor/Journalist
Detroit Michigan, home of Ford Motor Company, Motown Records and… B-boying? That’s right, B-Boying. It may not have started there, but it’s definitely found a home in this northern city, thanks to Hardcore Detroit.
Don’t know what Hardcore Detroit is? Picture this: a crew of 25, highly-skilled men and women performing some of the hardest and most entertaining break dancing moves you’ve ever seen. And behind it all is a beautiful, Muslim Couple.
Meet Haleem Rasul, the captain of this dynamic dance crew. He’s a passionate young B-Boy who took his love for Hip Hop and turned it into a thriving business. Inspired by the Detroit-based dance show The Scene and a close family member, Haleem (aka Stringz) began to dance as a teen. He had fun as a recreational dancer for some years, and finally began to take it seriously his junior year of high school. Throughout the 1990’s, he danced and networked with other local and national B-Boys, unknowingly preparing himself for the great task he’d later accomplish. “Growing up, I never saw myself as a leader. I see this all as a blessing. I assumed I’d graduate and work for a company, but the Most High put me in certain positions where I found myself tackling certain things,” said Stringz of his accomplishments.
Fast forward to 2001. Haleem used his technical dancing skills, network of dancers, and business knowledge to officially create Hardcore Detroit. With a set of worthy dancers (there’s no getting in this crew unless you battle your way in) he set out to “balance a street type dance with a professional atmosphere.” He traveled to near and far places like Chicago, New York, Los Angeles and even Sweden, exchanging moves and knowledge with some of the best.
Within a few short years, they had managed to put Detroit on the map and establish themselves as the premiere dance crew in the city. Now, Hardcore Detroit is well known in the Hip Hop world. “We’ve made such a presence that nobody in the world can take our name,” Stringz explained about their reputation. And it’s a good thing he’s done this, because others have tried to take the name “Hardcore Detroit” and use it as their own. Luckily, Haleem was smart and popular enough to stop their efforts. While his supports kindly informed the other Hardcore Detroit that the name was already taken, he trademarked the name for his business and shut down the possibility of ever being robbed again.
Hardcore Detroit is more than just a name. It is a description of who they are and what they’re about. “I wanted to change the idea of the word “hardcore.” Make people think positively about it. It’s Edgy. It’s serious. It’s hard…This is what makes us stand out from the rest, because we know the true essence of B-Boying,” said Stringz, who is just as knowledgeable about B-Boy history as he is the dance moves.
With a solid reputation and list of accomplishments under his belt (including performing for the Detroit Institute of the Arts) Stringz was sitting on top of the world. He was the king of Detroit B-Boying. All he needed was a queen…
Enter Mary Mar (aka B-Girl Ma Ma), the First Lady of Hardcore Detroit. They met on the dance floor and have been together ever since. Ma Ma is a born dancer. Even at the early age of 5, she had already found her love for movement; but it wasn’t until she was older that she entered the world of B-Girling.
It started with a simple question: “Is this your break dancing gang?” a naïve Mary asked a group of intriguing breakers.
“It’s not called a gang. It’s a crew,” they informed her. That was her first lesson 8 years ago. She went on to learn many more important lessons about the beautiful culture of Hip Hop, which she feels has been misrepresented by main stream media. “MTV is brainwashing us. Hip Hop is not about booty popping! It’s about bringing people together,” she exclaimed. And that’s what she and her husband strive to do, bring people together in an effort to spread and preserve true Hip Hop.
“A lot of people call themselves B-Boys, but aren’t representing for real Hip Hop, not true to the culture… How are you gonna say you’re a B-Boy and you don’t like Hip Hop music?” This is the problem that Ma Ma has with some B-Boys and B-Girls who want to do the moves without knowing the true technique or the 4 elements of Hip Hop, which are graffiti, djaying, emceeing, and breaking.
It is hard enough being a B-Girl in a world full of B-boys (Ma Ma is 1 of only 2 B-Girls in Detroit) but being a Muslim B-Girl puts her in a special rank all her own. She faces criticism from those who disapprove of a Muslim woman dancing in mixed company. She admits that she tried to stop dancing when she reverted to Islam in 2006, but couldn’t keep herself away from something she loves so much.
“It’s something I still struggle with, but there is a double standard for men and women. No one says anything about men dancing in front of women…Allah (swt) knows my intentions. I’m not dancing to be sexy or to attract men,” she clarified. And this is evident in her style of dress. Though other B-Girls have been known to wear tight-fitting, revealing clothes, Ma Ma breaks in pants, long sleeve shirts, and scarves. “My dress is pretty much the same. I’ve always been modest… I like it better this way, because I used to have a problem with strange men touching my hair.”
It wasn’t just her husband that attracted her to Islam. It was the message of Allah’s oneness. Raised as a Buddhist, she was already familiar with this concept. “Traditionally, Buddhism is about following the teachings of Buddha, not about worshipping many deities.” Now, she’s more patient and feels she owes that to Islam. She advises anyone who is considering Islam to “study and do you. If you feel Islam in your heart, then He’s telling you something.” Be sure to listen.
Some relationship experts consider working with your spouse a bad idea, but Haleem and Mary prove them wrong every day. In marriage, spirituality and business, they are partners, and its working out perfectly. “I consider the fact that we work together a benefit. We’re a dynamic duo. He’s my best friend.”
Copyright© 2009
</a