Unlike meticulously choreographed gymnasts or figure skaters, the breakdancers at the 2024 Olympics have no idea in advance what music they’ll hear while competing. And that’s the way they like it.
“It’s all based off of improvising and adapting in the moment,” Victor Montalvo, 30, one of the four U.S. breakdancers, tells Billboard. “You never know what’s going to happen.”
Breaking — short for breakdancing — refers to the spinning-on-the-floor moves that became iconic in the Bronx in the late ’70s, during the early development of hip-hop music and culture. In recent years, it has turned into a sport, with competitions all over the world, and the Olympics picked it up for the first time at the 2024 Paris Games, which open Friday, July 26. The one-on-one breaking battles begin Aug. 9 (for women) and Aug. 10 (men); top talents outside the U.S. include Canadian B-Boy Phil Wizard, Lithuanian B-Girl Nicka and Japanese B-Boy Shigekix.
Jeffrey “B-Boy Jeffro” Louis, 29, an American team member who has four silver medals from various breaking competitions in recent years, favors old and new hip-hop tracks heavy on lyrics. “Then not only am I riding the beat, I’m also able to connect with everything that they’re saying,” he shares with Billboard. “I’m able to be the visual, the illustration to the words.
“The beat is constant. To have lyrics, it’s not constant, it changes every second — every millisecond. I’m able to add my own style to it,” he continues. “That’s where I blow my opponents out.”
In separate interviews, Montalvo and Louis share with Billboard their favorite songs to break to, from old-school gems to recent hits and hip-hop classics.
