Canadian breaking star Philip Kim shares his 3 favourite rap albums
The world champion will be dancing in Paris at the Olympics this summer
Breaker Philip Kim, who competes as Phil Wizard, is headed to Paris for the Olympic Games.
A world champion, Kim won gold at the 2022 World DanceSport Federation (WDSF) World Breaking Championship, the 2023 WDSF Pan American Breaking Championship and the 2023 Pan American Games. He will make his Olympic debut as one of the 16 B-boys battling it out on the dance floor when the sport takes place on the Olympic stage for the first time this summer.
At the Olympics, breakers are required to combine powerful athletic moves such as windmills and headspins with dance, showcasing strength, skill and rhythm.
"My relationship with music is a bit different," Kim told CBC Music about the songs that inspire his dancing. Music, specifically rap, is a key element of breaking, as the sport was born as part of hip-hop culture in the '70s alongside rapping, DJing and graffiti.
From conscious rap to U.K. grime, Kim shares the three hip-hop albums that get him moving.
1. 2014 Forest Hills Drive by J. Cole
"For me, that album has inspired me so much as a dancer," Kim said of J. Cole's 2014 album. "Just lyrically, the way he puts together his flows, the way he puts together the combination of lyricism and the beat."
"For us [breakers] music is a huge inspiration, and I still listen to that album all the time while I'm breaking and it has inspired me so much in my dance," he added. "[I love] the energies that he brings forth [and] the flows that he has. And so, yeah, Forest Hills Drive by J. Cole and he's probably my favourite rapper right now."
2. Sometimes I Might Be Introvert by Little Simz
A more recent discovery for Kim is English rapper Little Simz. "My relationship with music, especially with her hip-hop music, is very dance-focused. She just has an incredible, diverse range of beats," he said.
"The flow also, with her accent — she's from the U.K., I think she's from London or somewhere in the U.K — [I like] the way it sounds [with] the energy she has. And every time I listen to different music, it transcribes into my dance in the different energies that they bring out. And so it really emphasizes and kind of inspires my dance."
His favourite song from Sometimes I Might Be Introvert is "I Love You, I Hate You."
"[It] sounds so simple, but it's that lyric [on] its own, 'I love you, I hate you' [that sums up] my relationship with dance," he explained. "There [are] so many times where I love it and there's so many times where I hate it, but it's just this constant back and forth. [With] that beat as well, I love dancing to that song."
3. good kid, m.A.A.d city by Kendrick Lamar
His third choice is Kendrick Lamar's debut album, good kid, m.A.A.d city, because "there's a lot of dope beats on that one."
"Kendrick, for me, is like one of the [greatest of all times], especially in recent time," he says. "He's just an artist through and through, and that really inspires me — the way he puts his albums together, how much thought he puts into it, it really inspires me to be a better artist as well. Again, lyrically, musically, [he has] masterpieces after masterpieces. So, team Kendrick."