Hip hop: programme aired on 4th March 1984

H.I.P.-H.O.P., Sidney's master class on TF1

Hip hop certainly was certainly learnt in the streets, in the battles, over the Internet and now in schools, but the most effective teacher was television. The programme - H.I.P-H.O.P. hosted by Sidney in 1984, rapper, dancer and DJ, first black presenter on French TV, was a resounding success. Even though at the beginning, Sidney had to call upon his mates to fill the TV set, word of mouth did the rest, to such an extent that bouncers had to be employed to contain the growing crowd, composed mainly of young people of African immigrant origin (North Africa and sub-Saharan Africa). Already known for his proven performance on radio 7, Sidney was contacted by Marie-France Brière and without any hesitation accepted to be the host on the set designed by New York graffiti artist Futura 2000.

"When we started the programme, remembers Sidney, Futura immediately came to help us with the decor. It was zero-budget, a piece of lino and two bicycles for the decor. Fifteen minutes of air time in the studio, with a dance lesson, live concerts, interviews and a «challenge» for the breakers. We started out like that. Just after Starsky and Hutch, every Sunday at 2:30 pm. "We suddenly started seeing dancers like Actuel Force, the Paris City Breakers, Solo, Franck le breaker fou and Scalp de La Courneuve»

A lot was happening in the districts. All the young people watched Starsky and Hutch (which in a way helped make hip hop a success) and then they remained glued to the TV, watching the rap show (not) presented by Sidney. Dancers of the time wouldn't have missed this great television moment and its dance lessons for the world. Then it was time to put the lessons into practice, in a hallway, on a piece of cardboard, in a basement, or a gym.

We got the best and most experienced: Sugarhill Gang, Kurtis Blow, Afrika Bambaataa, Herbie Hancock, The Breaks, The Tribe, The Art of Noise and Joey Starr... Even Madonna came to sing Holiday. Broadcast in France, Americans like Grand Mixer DST and Herbie Handcok were a little envious. The videos quickly got around and could be seen all around the world. The important school of hip hop was born and has continued to have its followers. From one dancer to the next, using the electric boogie technique for example, whereby energy is transferred from one dancer to the next, and the dance spread. This is also how it was for Sidney: "Mister Freeze taught me to dance. He was the dancer of Flash Dance, the first to do a backward more, even before Michael Jackson. «It was the smurf, with his white gloves and a white hat, just like the Smurfs . Breakers (floor dance) and smurfers (standing dance) would be setting the tempo.