King Uprock Interview

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Today's installment into the "Docmaker on the Go" vlog takes us back to the early days of Uprocking, the dance style that gave birth to the bBoy style of dance. We are given the great opportunity to hear about the origins of this style from none other than Ralph Casanova, otherwise known as "King Uprock."
Here is a short history of King Uprock as well as his group the Dynasty Rockers as taken from the "Hip Hop Network".
"Profile of Ralph Casanova a True Pioneer in Hip Hop History (King Uprock)(R.C.) Dynasty Rockers Name, Ralph Casanova, a.k.a. King Uprock is a 36 year old veteran of the Uprock Dance. He is currently Rocking to the best of his abilities and in top form, with so much Love for the dance. Born in the "Boogie down", Bronx, moved to Brooklyn at the age of 5 years. While growing up in Brooklyn he watched Gangsters UpRocking and was interested at the age of 10.

Uprock began in the year 1968 by the late Rubber Band man and Apache. These two guys were gangsters taking this dance to a higher and positive level. Dynasty Rockers were the first to flash letters on sweat shirts and jackets in 1973. Manny Figueroa, Eddie Figueroa, Danny Boy and Carlos Rivera were the first Dynasty members. Watching these legends along with other pioneers like Lil Dave of the "Lil Dave Rockers" and Rocky Nelson from "MTC", and Papo & Junior of the "Dynamic Spinners". It was amazing to see many moves in this dance.

I had to watch and learn from these Pioneers. In those days no-one was teaching Uprock. It was about watching and learning, then executing by experience in a dance competition. In Brooklyn there were contests every two weeks. DJ Crazy Rob used to put it out for the Rockers at these contests. Uprocking is like boxing. You were like a contender looking for a shot at the title. The best way to show your skills is to compete against any of these legends. As years went by, I danced against these legends and took the number one spot in 1980. Uprocking is a combination of salsa and the hustle. Many Uprockers became great hustlers so they can flow lovely.

In the early years it was called the Rock Dance, then the burn came in. People started getting confused so it was called "UPROCKING", which is a combination of salsa, the hustle, freestyling, burns and jerks. Creativity and execution of the moves in accordance to the music being played was the way it is judged. Now in the 90's, I have battled Full Circle, RSC (Rock Steady Crew), Step Fenz and many other groups from USA and other countries in this Uprock dance. Today I have united with a few Original Rockers from Brooklyn, like Burns One, Lil Dave, Mr Loose, Danny Boy, Edwin, Crum, Clarkie, Noel, Diana, and a few new UpRockers like Forest Gump, Break Easy, Ariel, Baby Freeze to show the real style of Uprocking. Most uprockers were DJs also. UpRock, unlike Breaking, which use many cuts and scratches, uses the Blending and mixing element of DJ'ing.

I am an old school Uprocker and dont get much respect from some of the new school brothers who don't know the real history of Uprock or of bboyin. It is ok, because when it come to showing the move "It is On" the Floor that counts. So guys get ready for competition battle especially the new Generation of uprockers. King Uprock. "

Okay, so now just sit back and enjoy a couple of minutes of the legend, himself, sharing his history as well as some vintage footage of King Uprock in action. This shoot is a small part of the larger SKILLZ DVD Magazine project that I have been working on with my friend and fellow filmmaker: Javier Goin.