Hey Everyone!
I know it’s been a while but welcome back to my blog! Today, I wanna talk about the superb opportunity I was given to attend a lunch chat with and interview the creators of Snack Break Movement Arts, a street dance theatre and hip-hop education collective made to engage in hip-hop and street dance as a form of cultural and collective knowledge systems. This dream of Joshua and Emily Culbreath, also known by their artist names as Lady Em and B-Boy Supa J, interested me deeply as I have a deep passion for music and it’s influence in many diverse sections of our lives.
“You know, hip hop, it makes me a better person. I think, the learning through hip hop practices and being in a community with people, I think it’s a way of life that brings people together and has a propensity for peace, love, celebration, survival and peaceful activism.” – Emily Culbreath
Both artists explained how their interest in hip-hop developed through different experiences. Lady Em first became interested in hip-hop through music, through the work of late producer J-Dilla, which she listened to frequently during high school. While studying dance at the University of Colorado Boulder, she trained under choreographer, Rennie Harris, who is best known for bringing hip-hop dance to the concert stage. This mentorship lead her to authentic hip-hop culture and African American vernacular dance styles such as ‘house’ and ‘popping.’ B-Boy Supa Josh’s journey began in the mid-1990s after watching films like Beat Street and Breakin’, which introduced him to breaking culture. Through dance and community spaces, he realized that hip-hop extended beyond music to include fashion, art, language, entrepreneurship, and knowledge sharing.
A key theme discussed during the interview was storytelling. The artists emphasized that storytelling has long been central to Black and Brown traditions. They explained that dance and hip-hop performance carry personal and collective histories, allowing artists to share their experiences and reflect on our individual lives. This understanding eventually influenced the creation of Snack Break Movement Arts. The idea originated during the COVID-19 pandemic when lockdowns and social unrest kept many artists isolated. Wanting to reconnect with their community, they organized a virtual performance space where people could “take a snack break,” relax, and enjoy dance and music together.
Another important concept highlighted was policentrism, meaning that every participant in a hip-hop space; whether that’s the DJ, dancer, MC, or organizer contribute equally to the culture. Ultimately, the artists hope audiences leave their events understanding that hip-hop is a collective, future-focused practice that connects generations, builds community, and encourages people to learn from the past while creating change for the future.
In conclusion, I am so glad to have been able to do this interview as it gave me a lot of perspective on the way hip-hop truly runs in all part of our life and in the world. I also feel artists like Joshua and Emily Culbreath are so important to connecting the ways in which music has influenced such a great power over us in a positive way. We at the Griot Institute thank the Culbreaths again for their time and phenomenal performance back in February and I thank you all for reading! Have an amazing day!
Sincerely,
Jesse Leon ‘28