Building on the foundation laid by early street dance crews, the late ’70s witnessed an athletic revolution that codified Breakin’, or “Bboying,” as it would come to be known, as the most iconic pillar of urban dance. (Both of these terms come directly from the West Bronx Burning tradition, though they came to be applied more generally to the hybrid street dance standardized during this later period.)

New, larger crews like the Rock Steady Crew (with ties to the earlier Bronx Boys), the Dynamic Rockers, and the Floor Masters (later, the New York City Breakers) emerged. They were driven by a younger generation of dancers and fueled by the further evolution of DJing and the transformation of more straightforward MCing into extended rapping, as well as the first commercial rap releases by artists like Kurtis Blow. This fresh sonic battlefield demanded a new physical response.

Few from this generation had direct ties to the Burning or Rocking of the earlier generation, but they developed the footwork and floorwork of the early crews while offering their own simplified take on Rocking—“Toprocking,” or “Uprocking.” The repertoire of explosive, acrobatic power moves expanded, and freezes—sudden, poised halts—gave a playful nod to the skit tradition of Burning. Their style was reflected in a new uniform, shifting from the flashier dress of the earlier generations to functional athletic gear: Puma suits, sneakers, and Kangol hats.