In 2008, in the mainstream, you tend to hear more about a two-step with a drink in the hand than breakin', and crossing out names with paint than bombing trains. Still, in most commercials pandering to an urban audience, there's forever room for B-boys and B-girls, and chances are, graffiti is in the background of any such print campaign.

Helping Hip Hop reclaim its forgotten elements, Brooklyn's PowerHouse Books has two new books that remind us of our roots. Charles Peterson's CYPHER finds the famed Rock photographer globe-trotting, and at times, letting the globe come to him, to let his camera lens and some sophisticated prose unearth the bond that lies in the B-boy circle, and just how much this thriving culture ought to remind Hip Hop how to carry itself.

HipHopDX: As Hip Hop music, or rap paid less attention to the breakin' element of the culture, from your photographs and observations, do you think the breakdance community has woven itself tighter, identifying separately from "Hip Hop" as it was once defined?
Charles Peterson: I think in some ways it actually has. Of course they are all fans of Hip Hop music, but they also do their thing to Soul, breaks, House, you name it - DV One even spins German Prog Rock group Can.

I also think they are less about throwing poses and attitude. That only gets you so far - one has to step up and step into the cypher. And it takes a lot of skill and conquering of fear to do that which also sets them apart. To me they are almost more like the skateboard subculture which defines itself as both part of but also separate from the punk/rock scene, and actually brings in lots of separate influences and personalities.

DX: From the title CYPHER onto the photographs, your collection truly shows the fraternity of breakers. Talk to us about that, and to what extent is it the same across the globe, or different.
Charles Peterson: Well, my initial idea for CYPHER was to do a global take of the B-boy world, but that was a little unrealistic for financial reasons. But what I soon realized is that B-boys and B-girls travel the world themselves so I really didn't need to leave home, so to speak! For example, Korea was really on my radar, and I managed to capture some of the best crews at a large event in L.A. [called] Freestyle Sessions. So the world of breaking is borderless and at this point I'm pretty sure one could find practitioners in just about every country in the world. In the book I have a photo of schoolkids throwing freezes in downtown Saigon. I just happened upon them - I saw them forming a circle and was like - ah ha! So even the unspoken language is the same. The cypher, the footwork, the freezes - these all translate without the need for a common linguistic language - it's all about body language. And it can be practised by anyone anywhere which is the ultimate definition of globalization.

DX: By nature, dance is fast paced, driven off of motion. What secrets of its universe do you think are unveiled in a cleverly timed photograph within it? What have you learned from these moments in time?
Charles Peterson: Oh man, good question! I think a certain grace and classicism is unveiled that links breaking to the lineage of serious dance, such as modern, ballet, etc. Breaking can be so fast and have a certain wow effect to it, but often the subtleties and beauty of the movement is lost in the speed of the motions. Dance is universal, and ancient. It's that connection with timelessness, despite the fashions - which I enjoy, that I hoped to bring across with my photographs.

DX: As major media continues to exploit break culture, to what extent do you think the community has reacted? In the wake of McDonald's showing young, Black kids breaking over winning at Monolopoly, has the "cypher" tightened?
Charles Peterson: That happens to every pop culture of course. I'm [in] Paris, where I had an opening of my Nirvana photos, where a movement called parcours was really underground among the North African kids but is now everywhere (read James Bond). There's a new dance movement called Tecktronic that I'm sure will cross borders and oceans soon enough. My point is that everything gets co-opted sooner or later. Everybody needs to make money. It's a bummer but can also mean validation on another level. If McDonald's gives some kid a few [thousand dollars] to dance in a commercial, that means that kid or his crew can travel to a lot of jams. Eventually, the corporate interest fades ands moves onto something else but the true believers keep soldiering on because it's fun and it's what they know and believe in and nobody can take that away from them.

DX: Along those lines, in a culture that's perceived as so intentional, so stylized, how much would you say --- and would your work say, that the element of cool, hip, swagger - call it whatever is completely natural to these subjects? At the epicenter of cool, is anything really forced?
Charles Peterson: I actually think very little is forced. Of course, the younger you are, the more everything is forced! That's part of being young - what you believe in is the most important thing in the world. But with B-boys and B-girls the energy they project is so strong and addictive. Very different from the young hoodlums I have living across the street from me - gold chains, black Lexus, sideways caps, Hennessy bottles that end up on our lawn. Incredibly forced - and annoying. Not cool at all. But most of the B-boys and girls I've met have a respect for themselves and others sorely missing in a lot of the "rap" scene. A lot of that comes from the immense core strength needed to break - that strength serves them well in their lives as well. It's almost like practicing a martial art. And that's the energy and attitude that inspired me to make these photos. Continued on page 2 »