Rosano Martinez
“I first fell in love with hip-hop when I saw the Rock Steady Crew on Malcolm Mclaren’s Buffalo Gals filmclip in 1983. It was the first time I saw people who looked like me on television. It was a very exciting time. A lot of new and creative movements were emerging from the street which influenced everything from fashion, art music, dance, and of course, me!”
Our very own Rosano Martinez was Australia’s first signed hip hop artist – composing, recording and art directing with Sony Music, Virgin, EMI, and Warner Music. Along with his friend Sergio Montoya (also a breakdancing legend in his own right), Rosano was a member of The United Break Team, Puma’s first sponsored professional breakdance crew. Both Sergio and Rosano supported the legendary Rock Steady Crew on their Australian Tour in 1984.
As if that wasn’t enough, Rosano was behind seminal hip-hop groups Westside Posse, Sound Unlimited and Renegade Funktrain, as well as a founding member of the country’s most influential grafitti group: Future Art Beat 4.
Rosano was there in the thick of it, living and breathing hip-hop back when Australia was taking its baby steps cultivating the culture that exploded in the US and continues to reshape urban and contemporary history.
*Source: www.dancestudio101.com.au