Monday, April 07, 2008



Wayne "Frosty Freeze" Frost (Rock Steady Crew), RIP
"Wayne "Frosty Freeze" Frost, a hip-hop pioneer whose acrobatic performance with the legendary Rock Steady Crew in the 1983 movie "Flashdance" helped set off a worldwide breakdancing (B-BOYING!) craze, has died. He was 44.

Wayne "Frosty Freeze" Frost died Thursday at Mount Sinai Medical Center after a long illness, said Jorge "Fabel" Pabon, a senior vice president of the crew where Frost and other so-called b-boys (for beat or break boys) made their name performing complicated and daring dance routines.

"He was one of most charismatic b-boys that ever lived," said Benson Lee, director of the new documentary film "Planet B-Boy"...

Wayne "Frosty Freeze" Frost was known for his energetic style, intricate choreography and fearless moves including back flips and head spins. One was even dubbed the "Suicide."

Frosty Freeze got his start in 1978 with the Bronx-based Rock City Crew. In 1981, he became part of the legendary (hey you the) Rock Steady Crew, joining such acclaimed breakdancers [B-BOYS!] as Ken Swift and Crazy Legs.

Wayne "Frosty Freeze" Frost toured the world with the Rock Steady Crew and many other pinoeering hip-hop artists.

Frosty Freeze's appearance with Rock Steady Crew in "Flashdance" spread the breakdance [B-Boy!] phenomenon globally, said Joseph Schloss, a visiting scholar in the music department at New York University. "He was one of the first B-boys that most people ever saw," Schloss said."

(Via JSmooth quoting the LA Times, who insist on calling it breakdancing, hence the BBoy references in brackets)

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