B-Boy "Monks" get down in Union Square for MCA Day

Robed crew of breakers bust a move in honor of late Beastie Boy Adam Yauch



New York City. Saturday afternoon. If you were hanging out in Union Square, you might have caught some highly nimble Tibetan monks getting down in homage to the late Adam Yauch, aka MCA of the Beastie Boys.

Video: "Monks" Breakdance In Union Square In Honor Of MCA Day

Or more likely, they were just dudes dressed in the garb of Tibetan monks -- but dudes with moves! This robed crew of breakers were kickin' it root down to celebrate the third annual MCA Day in New York, celebrating the life of the late great Beastie Boy, who lost a three-year battle with cancer on May 4, 2012 at the age of 47.

As you'll see, robes aren't the most conducive clothes for breaking. But they do all right:

I was up until three in the morning watching b-boy battle videos. It was totally worth it.

Damn, I just spent the last hour watching b-boy videos. It was time well spent. You can always count on Korean b-boys throwing some crazy, never-before-seen s%*t in their routines. Case in point, Morning of Owl doing some inexplicable feats of holy amazeballs in this battle at the R-16 international b-boy tournament in Seoul. This is the kind of clip that gets ya viral:

q & a with planet b-boy director benson lee

The fantastic documentary Planet B-Boy is now playing in select theaters. It's a great film, a real crowd-pleaser, telling the story of international B-boy crews competing for the coveted title of champion at the Battle of Year. I can't recommend it enough. Read my review here. To learn more about the film, go here.

I recently got to chat with director Benson Lee about making the film, examining the culture and politics of b-boys, and hanging onto passion for your art. He had some pretty cool things to say. Check it: