CRAZY LEGS

(President of the original Rock Steady Crew)

Real Name: Richard Colon
D.O.B: January 1, 1966

Robert “Crazy Legs” Colon is THE one and only b-boy legend, a living personification of hip hop. His walk to the shops is an art form. He is the b-boy equivalent to Michael Jordan and Bill Russell on a basketball court, the Michael Jackson and Fred Astaire on a dance floor. The hip hop culture of breakdancing from the Boogie–Down Bronx begins and ends with the footwork and toprock of Crazy Legs. The president of the Rock Steady Crew, he became a cultural icon when his talents took this new wave of a dance from the sidewalk cracks in the Bronx and Manhattan boroughs to the world stage.

Growing up poor in the projects of the Bronx, legendary b-boy Crazy Legs saw the gang activity that his fellow Puerto Ricans were involved in. Choosing to make something of himself, rather than getting sucked into the gang life, he got into breakdancing. At the tender age of ten, Legs and his cousin Lenny Len would spark battles with the leaders of the RSC, Jimmy Jo and Jimmy Lee. They lost but gained renowned respect for their skills. They were pitted against other area outfits in future battles and before too long, RSC were a force to be reckoned with as the strongest b-boy crew in the game. But it wasn’t until Legs’ parents moved them out of the Bronx to Manhattan did his story really begin.

Crazy Legs from Manhattan Island would return to the Bronx on the weekends to get down with the crew. Battling at parties and park jams put on by the superstars of hip hop, from Herc, Bam and Grandmaster Flash. This was the scene. The travelling expenses from Manhattan to the Bronx became too expensive for a young teen age Legs. At that point he began to explore the hip hop scene in Manhattan. This meant losing contact with some of the other members of Rock Steady. Crazy Legs wanted to start a crew of his own and went back to the Bronx to get Jimmy D's permission to start a new Rock Steady chapter in Manhattan. Unable to find Jimmy D he instead joined Rockwell Association (a competitor to Rock Steady) on suggestion of his cousin Lenny Len. They immediately added him to their crew and gave him a chapter in Manhattan. By 1984 the chapter had spilled over the five boroughs 500 strong under his direction.

This strong following gave Crazy Legs the spotlight this new art form of break-dancing needed, the street dancer starred in movies “Flashdance”, “Beat Street”, “Wild Style” and “Style Wars”. After an unforgettable performance at the Lincoln Centre with his now famous Rock Steady Crew, Legs had blossomed into a national icon drawn into the media spotlight popping up in such rags as, National Geographic, the New York Times, The Village Voice, Life Magazine and Time Magazine. It was at this stage, Leaders of the RSC named Crazy Legs president of the organization.

Crazy Legs was now a powerful marketable tool for major corporations sponsored in advertising for Coca-Cola, Sprite, Verizon Wireless, Sean John, Avirex and Nike. He participated in the Peabody Award-winning documentary “Dance In America: Everybody Dance Now” and co-starred and produced the documentary movie, “The Freshest Kids: History Of The B-Boy”. Through this he never stopped representing his crew and had continued success with the RSC showcasing at a tribute to the Nicholas Brother at the Kennedy Center, also in England in front of Queen Elizabeth II at the Royal Variety Performance, the Carnegie Hall on January 2001 and the Boston Ballet Gala. With other members of the Rock Steady Crew, Crazy Legs has toured extensively through the United States, as well as Japan, Australia, South America and much of Europe.

Crazy Legs has since choreographed music videos for Wyclef Jean earning him an MTV nomination for the Best Choreography Award and multi-platinum artist Moby. As well as tutoring John Leguizamo on how to breakdance for his Tony Award-nominated play “Freak”. He has performed in an off-Broadway play working with Savion Glover on a project called, “Jam On The Groove”.

In 1991 he won the Bessie Award for Choreography as well as the ’94 Hip Hop Pioneer Award from the Source Magazine. He was inducted into the Hip Hop Hall Of Fame in 2002 and presented with the Source Youth Foundation Image Award in ’03 That same year from the Bay Shore Schools Arts Education Fund he earned the AARTS Award and given the ultimate Puerto-Rican community honour in 2003 as the National Godfather of the Jersey City Puerto-Rican Day Parade. His dance program at the Point C.D.C. for young people in the South Bronx garnered him the “New Yorker of the Week” Award from New York 1 News.

As the president of Rock Steady Crew, Crazy Legs unites DJs, b-boys, MCs and graffiti artists as he hosts and organizes the annual community event, Rock Steady Anniversary honouring the deceased members of the original RSC. He also holds an annual Celebrity Basketball Tournament that raises money for the Greenwich Village Youth Council in NYC. In 2003, July 26 was proclaimed to be “Rock Steady Crew Day” by City Mayor Michael Bloomberg during their 26th Anniversary Celebration at Pier 54.

As of 2005, Crazy Legs is the president of Backspin Productions and remains president of the Rock Steady Crew. He never wore flashy gold rope or had to rhyme out soap-in-mouth lyrics to get respect. He just did what any ghetto superstar is sworn to do: He battled his way to the top. His legend lives on. Praise to another O.G. of hip hop