Breakdancing Is Now an Olympic Sport, But the Hip-Hop Community of Paris Is Skeptical

“Break will always be from the street,” says another b-girl who goes by the name Frozen. “Everyone has their own style, and creativity is important. We can’t lose this feeling of free dance.” Frozen appreciates the benefits of institutional projects and sponsors, how it offers financial opportunities, but insists that breaking and hip-hop should remain community-led, with or without investment from corporations, the government, or the Olympics. The future of breaking in the Olympics, past Paris 2024, is currently uncertain: It will not return to the events program in 2028 when Los Angeles will act as host city. The International Olympic Committee has not disclosed the reason for the decision, but it has prompted Ykanji of Juste Debout to question why France is whole-heartedly embracing breaking’s inclusion in the Games when even the birth country of hip-hop is “reluctant.” Ykanji says he is proud of hip-hop and always happy to see it evolve and adapt with the times, but in his view, there is a consistent underlying issue at play, whether it’s the Olympics or Law 1149. “It’s never a conversation with people from within. It’s always led by those who have political ambitions and know nothing about hip-hop,” he...