B-boy

B-boy was originally a term applied to a breakdancer. Over time, the term has expanded to include any individual who identifies with that area hip-hop subculture. The former synonym breaker retains the stricter original meaning, and another term B-girl has evolved to refer to females.

Etymology

DJ Kool Herc apparently coined the term b-boy in 1969 in New York City. During performances where Herc was DJing, he would yell out "b-boys go down!" which cued the dancers to begin breakdancing. 1969 was also the year that James Brown recorded "Get on the Good Foot," a song that promoted high-energy, acrobatic dancing and that Afrika Bambaataa (founder of the Zulu Nation) claims led to breakdancing (Toop, 1991). Many oldschool breakdancers prefer to be referred to as b-boys. "B-boy" was the original term for urban style dancers, though "breakdancer" is now better-known because it has been used more commonly by the media.

The 'B' in b-boy doesn't correspond to a specific word, but most likely means "Boogie", "Bronx" or "Break." The "b" in b-boy probably does not stand for "Boogaloo". Boogaloo was a style developed in the West Coast and pertains more to the general Funk-style dance scene than to the b-boying and Hip Hop scene, although those two cultures did end up intermingling. Funk styling, or Popping, is an entirely different dance with origins in California and the funk scene, not New York and the Hip Hop scene.

B-girls

A b-girl (breaker girl) is is the female counterpart to a b-boy in the hip hop culture. This term specifies a female who is a break-dancer and more recently, a female who represents the true hip hop culture. The term has been used since hip hop's inception during the 1970s. Notable b-girls include the late Bunny Lee (the first female member of The Rock Steady Crew), Baby Love, Roc-a-fella (not the record label), Asia-One, Suga Pop, and others. Actress Debi Mazar started out her career as a b-girl in New York City before turning to acting.

A b-girl (bar girl) can also be a female hired by a bar to accompany male clients who buy them drinks. This accompaniment can often involve performing sexual acts with the men they are accompanying. They have existed since the 1960's if not earlier.

Actually, the practice existed in the 1940s and 1950s as well. In most cases, bars hired the women to sit at the bar and socialize with men who bought them drinks, usually watered down, if not just tea. Cheap champagnes sold for $50 and $100 a bottle, which the women would order when the patron was in a cooperative mood. The B-girls shared in the huge profits on the weak drinks they ordered. Some of the B-Girls were hookers as well.

Sources

• David Toop (1991). Rap Attack 2: African Rap To Global Hip Hop, p.113-115. New York. New York: Serpent's Tail. ISBN 1852422432.