Q&A: BBOY Killy

The Red Bull BC One Cipher had some fresh talent. Photographer:@mpumelelomacu

Success begins with dreaming which is the easiest part, then pursuing your dreams (way harder). Thereafter there’ll be one inevitable outcome; either victory or failure. The latter is the most unbearable reality of pursuing success. Case study:  Bboy Marshall at this year’s Back to the City BC One Cyphers in Jozi. He travelled from Zambia to compete – sadly, judges eliminated him in his 1^st round battle against Killy. Marshall visibly fought back emotions as he stormed of stage. Hopefully, the fact that Killy whipped everyone else’s ass that night consoled him.

Forget a hand stand, do a spinning HEAD STAND. Photographer:@mpumelelomacu

 Killy, (Lehlohonolo Hato, 26) from Soweto duelled Just Bashi  in the finals. At first it appeared Bashi would win after some dangerous looking head spins/flips. Then Killy took of his hoody, revealing a buff torso, Oh - oh. That’s when shit hit the fan for Bashi. Demonstrating amazing upper body strength, Killy attacked with a devastating barrage of power moves & incredibly fast spins that transformed him into a human top. Bashi never knew what hit him. 

The battles got of to a slow start but picked up pace as they progressed. Photographer: @mpumelelomacu

@Mook_etsi: What do you call your power move?

@killyskills: It’s called 2000 and it involves spinning on both hands with your legs pointing straight up. I learnt it while attending the 2009 Music Mayday in Rotterdam, Holland from my mentor Lil King. To spin faster he said, “Tuck your chin closer to your chest.”

Bboy Killy's signature power move, "2000". Photographer:@mpumelelomacu

@Mook_etsi: What makes a dope bboy?

@killyskills: Being an all-rounder. You can’t just be good at footwork but suck at ground work or vice versa. I guess it is a delicate combination of style, power and tricks.

Killy's hand stands impressed the judges. Photographer: @mpumelelomacu

 @Mook_etsi: What do you call your winning combo?

 @killyskills: Flair- Push of to Elbow Freeze & Elbow Air

Killy executing his power combo: "Flair - Push of to Elbow Freeze & Elbow Air". Photographer:@mpumelelomacu 

@Mook_etsi: WTF? That sounds dangerous.

@killyskills: It is that’s why it took so long to master. It took me three years to learn how to do a proper flair, plus another year to learn how to push of into the air using my elbows.

@Mook_etsi: So where to from now?

@killyskills: I want to see the world some more, learn from international breakers and obviously make tons of money as a bboy.

Killy ecstatic over his win. Next step is the national finals in Cape Town happening in July. Photographer:@mpumelelomacu 

The respective winners of the other ciphers are: JungleKat from Port Elizabeth, Benny from Cape Town and Tarquin from Durban. The national finals will take place on July 6 in Cape Town and the world finals will take place in Seoul, South Korea on November 30th.