Bodega Dreams

'Unique Force'
By SnapShot & WandeePop

This is a new section we decided to add because lately we have been getting questions about who we are, where we come from and our history with hip hop.

We love that people are interested so we decided to share some of our personal stories and events here in this section called 'Bodega Dreams'.

WandeePop & I were raised on Longwood Ave. & Fox Street in the heart of the South Bronx before Hip Hop had an official name. She lived in the next building on the same floor from me. So we were able to see eachother from building to building. Which was convienent when we had to sneak in the house terrified of our mothers because we were late for curfew. Those were the days when kids were actually afraid of their parents;-)

We met through mutual friends and I was good friends with her cousin, Lissette, at the time. We were instant friends. We all enjoyed the same things; playing double dutch/double orange, Tag, skulles, Hop Scotch and going to the PAL 'Lynch' Recreation Center. They had pool tables, video games and arts & crafts. We especailly loved working summer youth as counslors for the day trips at the PAL. Every year we looked forward to 'Field Day'. That's when all the PAL locations compete in various activities. We always won the double dutch competitions. One year we competed for a National Double Dutch Competition and won the grand prize of being featured in a commercial.

Not too long after we met Re-Run. He was the PAL dance instructor who taught the kids the latest hip hop freestyle moves that were popular around the neighborhood. Hip Hop did not have a name yet so we were dancing without giving it a label so naming the moves was important, which is why there were names like Fred Sanford, Dale Webo, Bill Cosby, Smurfs etc. We mimicked characters we seen on TV and created moves.

Re- Run was looking to put a crew together for battles and performances. So we naturally got involved and 'Unique Force' was created with Re-Run as the manager/choreographer; Michelle, Lissette, Wandee, Millie, Myself, Baldwin, Jermaine and Calvin.

To Be Continued...