Breakdance: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

A long playing record of "Breakdance.." by various artists. The record (2016.31.4.2a) is unopened and still in its plastic packaging. The record cover (2016.31.4.2b) has a depiction of a brick wall below a city skyline. Shadows of break-dancers and graffiti of the names of members of the New York City Breakers are visible on the wall. Yellow lettering at the top of the cover reads: [BREAKDANCE]. Lettering at the top of the brick design reads: [The Best Music For Breaking / Learn to Moonwalk, Electric Boogie, Footwork, / Headspin & Top-Rock]. Lettering in the top left of the cover reads: [BONUS / INCLUDES DETAILED / POSTER & INSTRUCTIONAL / RAP ON HOW TO BREAK.]. A K-Tel logo is visible in the bottom right corner. The back of the cover has the same city skyline as the front on the top. Below that there are four sections: definition of breakdancing and photographs; list of the songs; advertisement for the book "Breakdance and the New York City Breakers;" glossary of terms.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: 1984
• Published by: K-tel, Canadian, founded 1962
• Subject of: Michael Holman, American, born 1955
• Subject of: New York City Breakers, American, founded 1982
• Subject of: Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, American, 1978 - 1988
• Subject of: Freeez, British, 1981 - 1985
• Subject of: 10 Speed
• Subject of: Dazz Band, American, founded 1980
• Subject of: Alex &The City Crew
• Type: record covers
• Type: long-playing records
• Medium: vinyl , ink on paper
• Dimensions: H x W: 12 5/16 × 12 1/4 in. (31.3 × 31.1 cm)
• Place depicted: New York City, New York, United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Break dancing
• Topic: Dance
• Topic: Hip-hop (Music)
• Object number: 2016.31.4.2ab
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
• Data Source: National Museum of African American History and Culture

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of African American History and Culture through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed. The underlying object's rights statement is: © K-tel International Inc Permission required for use. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.