Junior: “If you want to be known, travel and show to the world who you are.”

B-boy Junior from Wanted Crew, France, is one of the first b-boys that become part of the Redbull All Stars team. Through his outstanding skills and exceptional style, Junior motivated so many people all over the world, that even some copycats appeared. But Junior was the first one. Enjoy that interview for Chronix Pro.

Good evening, Junior. Not many of us know about the story behind the way you started as a b-boy. Tell us, please when and where did you start? Who inspired you in the very beginning?

Hello, Slav. About my beginning, I don’t really have any specific date or year when I started. I don’t even really remember the first thing which made me start . I would say my passion of dancing started when I was living in my original country, in Congo. Since I was a kid, I was in that music and dance environment in my family. I was mixing some of my childhood idol, MJ´s moves with some acrobatic stuff. It’s only when I was 13-14 years old, I met two older friends of mine who taught me some basic b-boy moves.

Nowadays, the French scene is one of the biggest. Many battles happen there and many b-boys out there representing our culture. But how did this scene look like in the mid 90s and what is the biggest difference with the situation now? What is the most positive thing from that period which you miss most?

Yes, for sure I think France is the country with most of b-boy events per year. I could even say at least 100 events from the smallest to the biggest one! It wasn’t always like this. In mid 90s and early 2000 there were around 5 events a year. Only few people were dancing in the country. There was no internet, no workshops at this time. We had our big brothers from the crew or the place where we were dancing to improve our skills. That’s also the reason why each dancer and each crew could have their own style. This is what I’ve started to miss today.

On YouTube, we can see mostly big events in France or those which are well known for years. But 80% of the b-boys there are always the same. We see very rarely the underground scene of France. There are battles, beefs, b-boys who are there representing, but aren’t shown to the world and rarely invited by promoters. Probably, that’s why a lot of people around the world have a specific opinion about the French b-boy scene. Tell us more about the scene, facts that are not exposed to others? Name us, please some young cats or maybe b-boys who are in the game for a long time but don’t get the deserved attention?

If we see the same b-boys in the biggest French events, I don’t think that it’s because of a beef problem. For me the reason is that people are waiting to be invited to take part in battles. If you want to be known, you have to travel to the events and show to the world who you are. It means, that in the beginning we have to do some investment and sacrifices in order to reach the glory. 

You are part of the legendary Wanted Crew. Your show at Battle of The Year 2001 back in the days probably changed the game of the b-boy shows. Members of that crew represent different styles and approaches. We want to know the history of the crew. Who established the crew and how did it all start? Were there any goals for the crews in the beginning? And what are your plans for the future? 

The Wanted Posse was created in 1993 by Amahada aka Badson, Hugo aka Yugson, Njagui aka Hagson – three friends who first were dancing together “hype”. Then they started to include more dance styles, mostly bboying, hip hop and house dancing. Step by step the family became bigger and bigger with more next generation dancers like Babson, Dedson, Kimson, Yamson, Babyson, Abson. My Wanted Crew name is Buanson.

At the beginning, the only goal was to create a team with people who have the same perception of what dance is, as well as to do battles and shows together as a family. Now everyone has his own duties, some quit dancing, other dance just for fun but we all stay in touch in general! 

The ones who are still dancing professionally have made theater shows with other dancers or solo. Sometimes, we enter battles with the remaining b-boys and our goal now is to have a new generation of dancers in the team. But it takes time, we don’t want to take a dancer in the team in rush only because of his dancing level. We prefer to have people who grow with us in order to have the “Wanted” mentality and touch.

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Were there any big beefs between Wanted and any other crews and, if yes, then why? If you had the option to choose a crew you would like to battle against, what would it be?

Yes we were a lot in competition with crews like family which became Vagabonds and Division Alpha with Benji and Youval. I think a battle against Vagabonds (the original team) would be battle all of us would like to do.

As a pro b-boy for many years, you should have your own goals. Name some of them, please? And did you change your future goals now? 

When I started, my main goal was just to be among the best. Since I was a kid, dancing is for me the best way to get respect, so I put a lot in it. Recently, some of my new goals dancing-wise is to share, to spread hope, motivation and positive value to the world by my dance world. 

The path of the b-boy is a long, with many crossroads and etc. But, in the end, it comes to the point where one must ask himself – what I accomplished? It’s called Legacy. What does it mean to you and what do you want people to think about b-boy Junior? Share your thoughts about it.

Like I said b-boying and hip-hop, in general, gave me a lot, so it’s my duty to give back the maximum I can.

Tell us, please, something more about your legendary battle between you and Benji back in the days? This was a game-changing battle. Every b-boy that respect himself and the culture must have seen it. 

Yeah, that was a crazy moment. That’s what we can call an underground sh**! No judges, no rules, two b-boys with different styles representing their team, their schools, their families! 

Last but not least, many artists out there – bboys, b-girls, dj’s, graff artists, we can not know all of them but let’s make a list including some of them. Please, write down several people who you think Deserve To Be Known worldwide in our community. Rather it be and OG or dancers from the current scene?

Bboy Végéta is one of the most talented powermovers, he was part of our team on BOTY 2001. Abson, one of menthors, the guy who was jumping everywhere at the BOTY 2001. Aktuel Force – it’s our French Rock Steady Crew.Ibrahim Dembelé and Karim Barouch – my biggest inspirations when I started 

Thank you a lot, Junior!

You can follow Junior on Instagram here.

Core Team wants to thank Junior for this interview and support to our idea of spreading valuable knowledge. 

Image credits: Redbull BC One, www.prodance.co.uk