RIP Frosty Freeze

[Mrs. Peel]

So young!

 

http://www.cnn.com/2008/SHOWBIZ/Movies/04/...t.ap/index.html

 

NEW YORK (AP) -- Wayne Frost, a hip-hop pioneer known as "Frosty Freeze" whose acrobatic performance with the legendary Rock Steady Crew in the 1983 hit movie "Flashdance" set off a worldwide breakdancing craze, has died. He was 44.

 

Frost died Thursday 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.

 

Breakdancing emerged from the Bronx and Harlem in the early 1970s, part of the hip-hop culture that also included graffiti, MCing or rapping, and disc jockeys scratching and mixing vinyl records on turntables.

 

During extended pauses, or breaks, in the music, b-boys would mimic James Brown's showmanship and footwork and Bruce Lee's martial arts, adding their own signature moves.

 

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

 

Frost got his start in 1978 with the Bronx-based Rock City Crew. In 1981, he became part of the Rock Steady Crew, joining such acclaimed breakdancers as Ken Swift and Lil Crazy Legs.

 

Frost toured the world with the Rock Steady Crew and other hip-hop artists, including Fab 5 Freddy, Futura 2000 and Kool Lady Blue.

 

As a member of the Rock Steady Crew, Frost also appeared in several movies on hip-hop culture, including "Wild Style," "Beat Street" and "Style Wars." He also appeared on the cover of the Village Voice in 1981.

[Twisted Acres]

I can so vividly remember making deliveries throughout Manhattan in the summers of '81 & '82 and seeing crew after crew set up in spots throughout midtown, boomboxes cranking, and gigantic crowds ooh-ing and aah-ing at the sick moves that kids were coming up with... Rock Steady used to always set up at Lincoln Center or in Times Square, and everybody knew they were the best.

 

Thinking back, it seems like it was a different city then. The days when Manhattan had that slightly-scary edge to it that seem so long-gone. The Manhattan where you had to walk FAST along 42nd Street and keep your eyes low... when Union Square wasn't a destination, but an area to get through as quickly as you could, even in mid-day. Rest in peace, Frosty Freeze.

[Mrs. Peel]

You're so freakin' cool, Mart.

[Sir Stewart]

Yeah - that was pretty cool to read, TA.

RIP Freeze

[EL the Famous]

Yeah - that was pretty cool to read, TA.

RIP Freeze

 

seconded on both counts.

[bjorn_skurj]

I can so vividly remember making deliveries throughout Manhattan in the summers of '81 & '82 and seeing crew after crew set up in spots throughout midtown, boomboxes cranking, and gigantic crowds ooh-ing and aah-ing at the sick moves that kids were coming up with... Rock Steady used to always set up at Lincoln Center or in Times Square, and everybody knew they were the best.

 

Thinking back, it seems like it was a different city then. The days when Manhattan had that slightly-scary edge to it that seem so long-gone. The Manhattan where you had to walk FAST along 42nd Street and keep your eyes low... when Union Square wasn't a destination, but an area to get through as quickly as you could, even in mid-day. Rest in peace, Frosty Freeze.

I kinda miss that New York. (Written from my safe perch up in Poughkeepsie.)

[Twisted Acres]

I kinda miss that New York. (Written from my safe perch up in Poughkeepsie.)

 

I kinda know what you mean, despite being mugged more than once in that New York (not that that can't still happen), in broad daylight no less.

 

I always tried to imagine just how many "D" batteries those boomboxes would go through in those New York summers... them things could CRANK. And the cassettes always had fantastic graffiti on them. Like the trains.

[bjorn_skurj]

I have a very fond memory of being let loose during a high school physics trip to the Hayden Planetarium for an hour or so. My friend Dave and I headed to the nearest bar and got smashed, then had pizza. Probably we were offered weed about six times while walking from the bus to the bar to the pizza to the planetarium, where we then watched laser rock. (It was the Van Halen-Rush-Police and somebody else edition.)