Style-wise in poppin', the Electric Boogaloo style (also known as boog style) remained dominant worldwide. The EBs continued to teach workshops and judge contests in Europe and Asia. But in LA, we were starting to see the emergence of other styles as represented by new school poppers. As a community, we were branching out. Tutting, waving, and animation were getting more attention. New school dancers who did these styles were getting better at their craft and showcasing them at events. And the term "pop-locking" was being used again by local LA OGs, such as OG Jeckle (from the Northeast LA area), who grew up using that label.We came to hear that "pop-locking" was a term uniquely used by some LA OGs in the 80s. They adopted this label and used it to describe their dance style while other groups may have simply seen it as poppin'.
The Annual Homeland Jam was started in 2005 by BBoy Iceman. And this event helped to bring further attention to poppers of different styles. It was a stage where we saw new poppers coming to their own. The event became a local gathering catering specifically to the poppin' and lockin' communities. Before the Homeland Jam, poppin' and lockin' contests were usually held as sideshows at bboy events. But now, here was one event that supported these dancers. Part of this momentum came from another event called How Tha West Was Won, started by Mr. Smooth and Gerardo in 2003-2004. While HTWWW came beforehand, the Homeland Jam was able to distinguish itself by its homegrown community feel and the perception that it wasn't affiliated with the Electric Boogaloos.
Around this time, two of the most prominent LA-centric poppin' crews began to emerge - Machine Gone Funk (MGF) and Funny Bones Crew (FBC). Both crews had members and some origins in other cities: MGF in the Bay Area and FBC later had some members in Phoenix, Arizona. Both crews would also develop a rivalry that would carry over into the late 2000s. It's worth mentioning both MGF and FBC because they each had members that would be talked about and studied at contests. MGF had Kid Boogie, Bionic Man, J-Smooth, Toshi, Nikodemus, Pharside, Boogaloo Pimp, Kana, Tapu, Jr Boogaloo, Tabo, Kazoo, Tony Styles and more. FBC had Burst Rock, Warlock, Frantick, Tronick, Jet Li, Lobo, Mr. Wizard, Johnny 5, BBoy Don and more. Several of these dancers went to Homeland on a regular basis while gaining notoriety in the competitive circuit. While MGF members based their foundation on the EB style, FBC members were very non-EB and embraced more of the pop-locking feel represented by some LA OGs. Their rivalry would later be seen by a larger audience at Freestyle Session 2007 at the Hollywood Palladium in a crew vs. crew battle, but we'll reserve that for a later installment.
The Homeland Jams in 2006 and 2007 helped to push poppin' and lockin' to a higher level in Los Angeles. The 2006 Homeland Jam was called the Skeeter Rabbit Getdown, in honor of Steven "Skeeter Rabbit" Nicholas who passed away in spring 2006. There was a 1-on-1 poppin' contest that year won by Breeze Lee. We also started to see the lockin' community grow as seen in the lockin' cypher held at this Homeland Jam. The seeds were being laid for the current new school lockin' community in LA. Many Homelanders from the early 2000s remember Gary, aka Lockin' Fossil - a gentle man in his 40s who was also a cancer survivor. He started dancing in 1978 and was often seen teaching lockin' to young kids at Homeland. He would also get down at clubs and the Choreographer's Carnival at the Key Club in Hollywood. Fossil is responsible for teaching some lockin' foundation to two young women who would affectionately be called "Fossil's Angels:" Tiffany "Jimini" Bong and Donna "Sunny D-lock" Arrogante. Both Jimini and Sunny D-lock would be responsible for teaching a new school lockin' generation in the mid to late 2000s via weekly classes at Homeland and through their affiliation with dance troupe Culture Shock Los Angeles. Unfortunately, Fossil wouldn't live to see this legacy. He passed away in 2007 when his cancer came out of remission.
Fossil's passing, along with Skeeter Rabbit and Tapu, hit home for many young new school poppers and lockers. It was the first time when many of us were experiencing real loss and grief over loved ones in the dance community. The frailty of life became a specter on our minds, reminding us that time was precious. Our relationships were valuable. And every opportunity to dance was a divine gift. Homeland reacted to these losses by having memorial cyphers where dancers would gather and celebrate the lives of lost souls. We saw cyphers for Tapu and Jr Boogaloo's son. And the 2007 Homeland Jam premiered a 1-on-1 lockin' contest in memory of Fossil.
The 2007 Homeland Jam also introduced a 2-on-2 poppin' contest that distinguished itself from the usual 1-on-1 contests year round. Most poppers were used to competing solo. But now, they were forced to come up with routines and work with partners. This contest prerequisite helped to push the overall creativity bar for poppers. We saw Pandora and Preying Mantas, Jrock and Funktion, and Frantick and Tronick facing off in a three-way battle at the 2007 Homeland Jam. New ideas were being introduced into what we knew as poppin' beyond what we'd seen from routines from the Electric Boogaloos or Bay Area struttin' groups like Demons of the Mind. A newer breed was interpreting poppin' with reinvigorated energy.
All of this activity was brewing in and around Homeland during the mid 2000s. We were seeing our dance home evolve as the world was changing around us. We'd also just started to share videos of ourselves dancing online via services like putfile.com and a then unheard of site called Youtube. None of us could have known how big of an influence the online world would have on our dance culture in the coming years.
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