Massive Monkees is a 28 member
b-boy
Breakdancing, also called breaking or b-boying/b-girling, is an athletic style of street dance originating from the African American and Puerto Rican communities in the United States. While diverse in the amount of variation available in ...
crew from
Seattle
Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...
, Washington that won the 2004 World B-Boy Championships in London and appeared on season four of MTV's ''
America's Best Dance Crew
''America's Best Dance Crew'', often abbreviated as ''ABDC'', was an American competitive dance reality television series that features both national and international dance crews. The show was produced by singer, record producer, and former ''Am ...
''. In 2012 they won the international b-boy competition
R-16 Korea
R16 Korea is an annual international b-boy tournament and urban arts cultural festival sponsored primarily by the Korea Tourism Organization and the South Korean Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. The main event features sixteen B-Boy crew ...
and thus became the first American crew to win in the history of the competition.
History
Founded in the mid-'90s, the Massive Monkees have 25 active members including former
Binary Star
A binary star is a system of two stars that are gravitationally bound to and in orbit around each other. Binary stars in the night sky that are seen as a single object to the naked eye are often resolved using a telescope as separate stars, in wh ...
rapper
One Be Lo
Nahshid Sulaiman (born Ralond Scruggs; November 7, 1976), better known by his stage name One Be Lo, is an alternative hip hop artist from Pontiac, Michigan. He is well respected for being one half of the rap duo Binary Star, and has released a n ...
, who performs as the
MC at their shows. The crew was created through the merger of the Massive Crew and the Universal Style Monkees. Massive Monkees' style is viewed as that of fundamental
B-boy
Breakdancing, also called breaking or b-boying/b-girling, is an athletic style of street dance originating from the African American and Puerto Rican communities in the United States. While diverse in the amount of variation available in ...
s/B-girls.
Additionally, Massive Monkees performs at high schools to diffuse the notion that
hip-hop and
gang
A gang is a group or society of associates, friends or members of a family with a defined leadership and internal organization that identifies with or claims control over territory in a community and engages, either individually or collectivel ...
s go hand-in-hand.
Members of the crew have performed with and/or choreographed performances for artists such as
LL Cool J
James Todd Smith (born January 14, 1968), known professionally as LL Cool J (short for Ladies Love Cool James), is an American rapper, songwriter, record producer, and actor. He is one of the earliest rappers to achieve commercial success, along ...
,
Public Enemy
"Public enemy" is a term which was first widely used in the United States in the 1930s to describe individuals whose activities were seen as criminal and extremely damaging to society, though the phrase had been used for centuries to describe p ...
,
Slick Rick
Richard Martin Lloyd Walters (born January 14, 1965), better known as Slick Rick, is an English-American rapper and record producer.
He rose to prominence with Doug E. Fresh & the Get Fresh Crew in the mid-1980s. Their songs " The Show" and " ...
,
De La Soul
De La Soul () is an American hip hop trio formed in 1988 in the Amityville area of Long Island, New York. They are best known for their eclectic sampling, quirky lyrics, and their contributions to the evolution of the jazz rap and alternative ...
,
Nas
Nas (born 1973) is the stage name of American rapper Nasir Jones.
Nas, NaS, or NAS may also refer to:
Aviation
* Nasair, a low-cost airline carrier and subsidiary based in Eritrea
* National Air Services, an airline in Saudi Arabia
** Nas Air ( ...
,
50 Cent
Curtis James Jackson III (born July 6, 1975), known professionally as 50 Cent, is an American rapper, actor, and businessman. Born in the South Jamaica neighborhood of Queens, Jackson began pursuing a musical career in 2000, when he produced ...
,
Jay-Z
Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4, 1969), known professionally as Jay-Z, is an American rapper, record producer, entrepreneur, and founder of Manhattan-based conglomerate talent and entertainment agency Roc Nation. He is regarded as one of ...
,
Ludacris
Christopher Brian Bridges (born September 11, 1977), known professionally as Ludacris (, homophonous with 'ludicrous' in American English), is an American rapper, actor, record producer and record executive.
Born in Champaign, Illinois, Ludac ...
,
Jurassic 5
Jurassic 5 is an American alternative hip hop group formed in 1994 by rappers Charles Stewart (Chali 2na), Dante Givens (Akil), Courtenay Henderson (Soup aka Zaakir), Marc Stuart (Marc 7); and disc jockeys Mark Potsic (DJ Nu-Mark) and Lucas Macf ...
,
Atmosphere
An atmosphere () is a layer of gas or layers of gases that envelop a planet, and is held in place by the gravity of the planetary body. A planet retains an atmosphere when the gravity is great and the temperature of the atmosphere is low. A s ...
,
Tyrese
Tyrese Darnell Gibson (born December 30, 1978) is an American actor and singer. He released his self-titled debut album in 1998, which featured the single " Sweet Lady", peaking at number twelve on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100. His second ...
,
Missy Elliott
Melissa Arnette Elliott (born July 1, 1971), better known as Missy Elliott or Missy “Misdemeanor” Elliot, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer. She embarked on her music career with R&B girl group Sista in the earl ...
,
Immortal Technique
Felipe Andres Coronel (born February 19, 1978), better known by the stage name Immortal Technique, is an American rapper. Most of his lyrics focus on controversial issues in global politics, from a radical left-wing perspective.
Immortal Techn ...
,
Beyoncé
Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter ( ; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Beyoncé's boundary-pushing artistry and vocals have made her the most influential female musician of the 21st century, according to ...
,
Macklemore
Benjamin Hammond Haggerty (born June 19, 1983), better known by his stage name Macklemore ( ; (formerly Professor Macklemore), is an American rapper and songwriter. A native of Seattle, Washington, he has collaborated with producer Ryan Lewi ...
and
Alicia Keys
Alicia Augello Cook (born January 25, 1981), known professionally as Alicia Keys, is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. A classically trained pianist, Keys started composing songs when she was 12 and was signed at 15 years old by Col ...
. Members of Massive Monkees have been featured on
MTV
MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...
's
Made
Made or MADE may refer to:
Entertainment Film
* ''Made'' (1972 film), United Kingdom
* ''Made'' (2001 film), United States Music
* ''Made'' (Big Bang album), 2016
* ''Made'' (Hawk Nelson album), 2013
* ''Made'' (Scarface album), 2007
*'' M.A.D.E. ...
, in a
Kenneth Cole print advertising spread, in a promotional video for
Xbox
Xbox is a video gaming brand created and owned by Microsoft. The brand consists of five video game consoles, as well as applications (games), streaming services, an online service by the name of Xbox network, and the development arm by the na ...
HD DVD, ''
Showtime at the Apollo
''Showtime at the Apollo'' (formerly ''It's Showtime at the Apollo'' and ''Apollo Live'') is an American variety show that first aired in syndication from September 12, 1987 to May 24, 2008. In 2018, the series returned on Fox with Steve Harvey h ...
'' and KUBE93’s birthday party with Missy Elliott and Tyrese. The Massive Monkees were on the
Vans
Vans is an American manufacturer of skateboarding shoes and related apparel, established in Anaheim, California, and owned by VF Corporation. The company also sponsors surf, snowboarding, BMX, and motocross teams. From 1996 to 2019, the comp ...
Warped Tour
The Warped Tour was a traveling rock tour that toured the United States plus three or four stops in Canada annually each summer from 1995 until 2019. It was the largest traveling music festival in the United States and the longest-running touring ...
, did an Xbox commercial, and helped with philanthropic efforts in
Cambodia
Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailand t ...
. Certain members of the Massive Monkees were featured in 5
viral video
A viral video is a video that becomes popular through a viral process of Internet sharing, typically through video sharing websites such as YouTube as well as social media and email.Lu Jiang, Yajie Miao, Yi Yang, ZhenZhong Lan, Alexander Haupt ...
s produced by Caid Productions for the new "Coosh" headphones a subdivision of the disposable lighter and razor giant
Bic. On April 26 of 2004, Seattle Mayor
Greg Nickels
Gregory J. Nickels (born August 7, 1955) is an American politician who served as the 51st mayor of Seattle, Washington. He took office on January 1, 2002 and was reelected to a second term in 2005. In August 2009, Nickels finished third in the p ...
proclaimed this day the official Massive Monkees holiday in Seattle. In 2007 they won the Mayor's Arts Award, presented by
Greg Nickels
Gregory J. Nickels (born August 7, 1955) is an American politician who served as the 51st mayor of Seattle, Washington. He took office on January 1, 2002 and was reelected to a second term in 2005. In August 2009, Nickels finished third in the p ...
.
Some members of the Massive Monkees were also a part of the
Seattle SuperSonics
The Seattle SuperSonics (commonly known as the Seattle Sonics) were an American professional basketball team based in Seattle. The SuperSonics competed in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member club of the league's Western Confe ...
NBA
The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...
team's "Boom Squad". The Boom Squad performed at the SuperSonics home games until the team moved to
Oklahoma City
Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, it ranks 20th among United States cities in population, a ...
in 2008. They were recognized as top-notch NBA performers when they were invited to perform at the 2005 All-Star Game in Denver's
Pepsi Center
Ball Arena (formerly known as Pepsi Center) is a multi-purpose indoor arena located in Denver, Colorado. It is situated at Speer Boulevard, a main thoroughfare in downtown Denver, and is served by two nearby exits off Interstate 25. A light r ...
. Members of the crew worked on the 2008 documentary/instructional video titled ''The Way of the
B-boy
Breakdancing, also called breaking or b-boying/b-girling, is an athletic style of street dance originating from the African American and Puerto Rican communities in the United States. While diverse in the amount of variation available in ...
.'' They have also produced highlight DVDs called The 2-Oh-6 Step (Part 1 and 2), which have been sold in international markets. On April 10, 2013,
Jay Park
Jay Park ( Korean name: Park Jae-beom (Hangul: 박재범; Hanja: 朴載範); born April 25, 1987) is an American rapper, singer-songwriter, record producer, dancer and entrepreneur of based in South Korea. He is a member of the Seattle-based ...
, member of associated
Seattle
Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...
-based b-boy crew,
Art of Movement
Art of Movement (AOM) is a Seattle-based b-boy crew founded in 2002 by brothers Junior and Tony Orduna. The crew received attention due to member Jay Park's popularity as a singer and rapper. Cha Cha Malone is a producer and composer, and wo ...
, released the music video for his single, "Joah", which features a short dance break at Massive Monkees Studio: The Beacon.
Competitions
The Massive Monkees have competed in both national and international competitions. Their first major B-boy title was won at the 2000 B-boy Summit, when members Juseboogy and Twixx took the 2-man title. Since then they have won dozens of other awards including first place in the 4-on-4 category at the 2004 World B-Boy Championships that took place at
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
’s
Wembley Arena
Wembley Arena (originally the Empire Pool, now known as OVO Arena Wembley for sponsorship reasons) is an indoor arena next to Wembley Stadium in Wembley, London, England, used for music, comedy, family entertainment and sport. The 12,500-sea ...
.
One of their best known battles is when they battled the Circle of Fire at the Showbox 2003 in a boxing ring.
In 2009, they competed on the reality dance competition ''
America's Best Dance Crew
''America's Best Dance Crew'', often abbreviated as ''ABDC'', was an American competitive dance reality television series that features both national and international dance crews. The show was produced by singer, record producer, and former ''Am ...
''. They placed third in the competition after the runner-up Afroboriké and the winners
We Are Heroes, and before that, in 2007 crew member TWIXX was selected to compete in the premier 1 on 1 b-boy battle, Red Bull BC-One. Recently, Massive Monkees won the international competition in the crew battle R16 Korea 2012.
America's Best Dance Crew
Massive Monkees were chosen to be one of the 9 crews fighting to become
America's Best Dance Crew
''America's Best Dance Crew'', often abbreviated as ''ABDC'', was an American competitive dance reality television series that features both national and international dance crews. The show was produced by singer, record producer, and former ''Am ...
in the
4th season of the show. They also auditioned for the second season of
ABDC
''America's Best Dance Crew'', often abbreviated as ''ABDC'', was an American competitive dance reality television series that features both national and international dance crews. The show was produced by singer, record producer, and former ''Am ...
, but did not make it on.
Week 1: Crews Choice Challenge:
Massive Monkees went up against Artistry In Motion and Southern Movement and were picked first. Massive Monkees danced a mastermix of the song of their choice, "
Kill Joy" by
N.E.R.D.
N.E.R.D. (stylized as N⋆E⋆R⋆D and N.E.R.D, a backronym of No-one Ever Really Dies) is an American hip hop and rock band, formed in Virginia Beach, Virginia, in 1999. Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo were signed by Teddy Riley to Virgin Reco ...
Week 2:
Beyoncé
Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter ( ; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Beyoncé's boundary-pushing artistry and vocals have made her the most influential female musician of the 21st century, according to ...
Challenge:
For the second week of America's Best Dance Crew, the 8 remaining crews danced to
Beyoncé
Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter ( ; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Beyoncé's boundary-pushing artistry and vocals have made her the most influential female musician of the 21st century, according to ...
's music. Massive Monkees had "
Work It Out". Their challenge was to dance with hula-hoops.
Week 3: Martial Arts Challenge:
For the third week of America's Best Dance Crew, the 7 remaining crews performed a type of Martial Arts into their routine. Massive Monkees were assigned Extreme Martial Arts with the song, "
Bounce
Bounce or The Bounce may refer to:
* Deflection (physics), the event where an object Collision, collides with and bounces against a plane surface
Books
* Mr. Bounce, a character from the Mr. Men series of children's books
Broadcasting, film and ...
" by
MSTRKRFT. Their challenge was to incorporate the 540 into their routine.
Week 4: Bollywood Challenge:
In week 4 of America's Best Dance Crew, crews incorporated
Bollywood
Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, refers to the film industry based in Mumbai, engaged in production of motion pictures in Hindi language. The popular term Bollywood, is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (fo ...
within their hip-hop routine. Massive Monkees had to dance to
Bhangra and "
Bang
Bang or bangs may refer to:
Products
* M1922 Bang rifle, a US semi-automatic rifle designed by Søren Hansen Bang
* Bang, a model car brand
* Bang (beverage), an energy drink
Geography
* Bang, Lorestan, a village in Iran
* Bangs, Ohio, Uni ...
" by
Rye Rye
Ryeisha Berrain (born November 25, 1990), known by her stage name Rye Rye, is an American rapper, singer, dancer and actress. Signed to N.E.E.T. Recordings, she released her first mixtape RYEot PowRR in 2011 and her anticipated debut album ''Go! P ...
featuring
M.I.A.
Week 5: Dance Craze Challenge:
For the fifth week of America's Best Dance Crew, the crews all were assigned a dance craze and had to use the trampoline in their performance. Massive Monkees had to do
B Hamp's"
Do The Ricky Bobby" on a trampoline.
Week 6: VMA Challenge:
In this episode of America's Best Dance Crew, the final 4 crews danced to an iconic VMA performance. Massive Monkees were in the bottom 2. Their assigned VMA performance was "
Tearin' Up My Heart
"Tearin' Up My Heart" is a song by American boy band NSYNC, from their eponymous debut studio album, N Sync'' (1997). The song was written by Max Martin and the producer Kristian Lundin. It was released by BMG Ariola in Germany on February 1 ...
" by
*NSYNC, which impressed former
N Sync member and judge, JC Chasez.
Week 7: Decades Of Dance and Last Chance Challenge:
Massive Monkees were eliminated by We Are Heroes.
Members
*Armagedden
*Anna Banana Freeze
*Benny Blanco
*Cornbread
*Dancin Domes
*DJ Bles One
*DJ DV One
*Dubs
*Flow Funk
*Geronimo
*Granite Rok
*Brysen JustBe
*Jeromeskee
*JoRawk
*Juggernot
*Junior
*Mafi
*JuseBoogy
*Lil Lazy
*Lonestar
*Lotuz
*Miguel
*
One Be Lo
Nahshid Sulaiman (born Ralond Scruggs; November 7, 1976), better known by his stage name One Be Lo, is an alternative hip hop artist from Pontiac, Michigan. He is well respected for being one half of the rap duo Binary Star, and has released a n ...
*Peanut
*Rock'Hus
*Rodericko
*Rhythm Rage
*
Salah
(, plural , romanized: or Old Arabic ͡sˤaˈloːh, ( or Old Arabic ͡sˤaˈloːtʰin construct state) ), also known as ( fa, نماز) and also spelled , are prayers performed by Muslims. Facing the , the direction of the Kaaba wit ...
*Seansteady
*Secret Skwerl
*Tim the Pitt
*Twixx
References
External links
Massive Monkees- Official Website
Breakdancing Lessons: Windmills 3SF- Application to learn Windmills by World-Class B-Boy Jeromeskee (Massive Monkees / Rock Steady)
Massive Monkees performing liveSeattle Timesarticle
article
{{authority control
America's Best Dance Crew contestants
American breakdancing groups
American hip hop dance groups
Organizations based in Seattle
Organizations established in 1996