Steve da Silva', better known as Suga Pop, is an American "

street dance Street dance is an umbrella term for a large number of social dance styles such as: breakdancing, popping, locking, house dance, waacking etc. Social dance styles have many accompanying steps and foundations, created organically from a culture, ...

" practitioner and choreographer based in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. He is known for his work in "popping" and "locking", styles of dance collectively grouped under the umbrella term "

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African Americans in the m ...

styles". These styles are associated with the U.S. West Coast, particularly California. He has been affiliated with the performance groups

Electric Boogaloos The Electric Boogaloos are a street dance crew responsible for the spread of popping and electric boogaloo. The name "Boogaloo" came from a song called "Do a Boogaloo" by James Brown, which was also adapted as a Boogaloo street dance done from Oak ...

and

Rock Steady Crew Rock Steady Crew is an American breaking and hip hop group which has become a franchise name for multiple groups in other locations. The group's 1983 international hit song " (Hey You) The Rock Steady Crew" (from the group's first studio album ...

.Henderson, April K. "Dancing Between Islands: Hip Hop and the Samoan Diaspora." in ''The Vinyl Ain't Final: Hip Hop and the Globalization of Black Popular Culture'', ed. by Dipannita Basu and Sidney J. Lemelle, pp. 180-199. London; Ann Arbor, Michigan: Pluto Press, p. 200,

History

Suga Pop worked with artists such as

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...

James Brown James Joseph Brown (May 3, 1933 – December 25, 2006) was an American singer, dancer, musician, record producer and bandleader. The central progenitor of funk music and a major figure of 20th century music, he is often referred to by the honor ...

Lionel Richie Lionel Brockman Richie Jr. (born June 20, 1949) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and television personality. He rose to fame in the 1970s as a songwriter and the co-lead singer of funk band the Commodores; writing and recordi ...

Janet Jackson Janet Damita Jo Jackson (born May 16, 1966) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and dancer. She is noted for her innovative, socially conscious and sexually provocative records, as well as elaborate stage shows. Her sound and choreog ...

, and

Sheila E Sheila Cecilia Escovedo (born December 12, 1957) better known under the stage name Sheila E., is an American percussionist and singer. She began her career in the mid-1970s as a percussionist and singer for The George Duke Band. After leaving t ...

in the 1980s and 1990s, touring as a dancer, featuring in televised performances such as

Herbie Hancock Herbert Jeffrey Hancock (born April 12, 1940) is an American jazz pianist, keyboardist, bandleader, and composer. Hancock started his career with trumpeter Donald Byrd's group. He shortly thereafter joined the Miles Davis Quintet, where he help ...

's performance of " Rockit" at the 1984

Grammy Awards The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

, and appearing in such seminal pop musical videos as Michael Jackson's "

Beat It "Beat It" is a song by American singer Michael Jackson from his sixth studio album, '' Thriller'' (1982). It was written by Jackson and produced by Jackson and Quincy Jones. Jones encouraged Jackson to include a rock song on the album. Jackson l ...

" and " Thriller," and Janet Jackson's " That's The Way Love Goes." After touring as a dancer with Lionel Richie, and then with Sheila E in support of

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. Th ...

Purple Rain Tour The Purple Rain Tour was a concert tour by American recording artist Prince and The Revolution following up on the success of his sixth studio album '' Purple Rain'' and his 1984 film '' Purple Rain''. According to ''Spin'', the tour sold over ...

of 1984-1985, Suga Pop ventured into music collaboration and production. He has subsequently played live with such acts as

A Tribe Called Quest A Tribe Called Quest was an American hip hop group formed in Queens, New York City, in 1985,Q-Tip

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 ...

, Amp Fiddler,

Cypress Hill Cypress Hill is an American hip hop group from South Gate, California. They have sold over 20 million albums worldwide and have multi-platinum and platinum albums. They are considered to be among the main progenitors of West Coast and 1990 ...

Brand Nubian Brand Nubian is an American hip hop group from New Rochelle, New York, composed of three emcees (Grand Puba, Sadat X and Lord Jamar), and formerly three DJs (DJ Alamo, DJ Sincere, and DJ Stud Doogie). Their debut studio album, '' One for All'' ...

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 ...

, Third Bass, and the

Boo-Yaa T.R.I.B.E. Boo-Yaa T.R.I.B.E. is an American hip hop band from Carson, California, consisting of the American Samoa Devoux brothers Paul (died 2020), Ted (died 2018), Donald, Roscoe, Danny (died 2022), David and Vincent. It is noted for its use of a live ...

, in addition to recording and releasing his own material under the band name Pop's Cool Love, and mostly recently, under the name Pop. A video for the single "My Suga" was loaded to YouTube in 2011, and the single is available on iTunes.

Legacy

Suga Pop is recognized as a key contributor to the international street dancing scene, regularly teaching and delivering workshops on the dance forms of locking and

popping Popping is a street dance adapted out of the earlier Boogaloo (funk dance) cultural movement in Oakland, California. As Boogaloo spread, it would be referred to as Robottin in Richmond, California, Strutting movements in San Francisco and San ...

around the world. He is recognized by other dance practitioners as playing a key role in teaching these West Coast forms to dancers in New York in the early 1980s, and in subsequently teaching the New York street dance form b-boying or breaking in Los Angeles, after returning from the East Coast.

References

*Culture Moves: Suga Pop. 2005. Center for Pacific Islands Studies, University of Hawai'i at Mānoa. 9 April 2008 {{DEFAULTSORT:Suga Pop American male dancers Popping dancers Living people People from Honolulu Year of birth missing (living people)