The breaking community has lost one of the icons of the culture just weeks after the New York City-birthed art form was announced as a sport at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.
Adolfo "Shabba-Doo" Quinones — perhaps best known as "Ozone" in Breakin' and Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo — has passed away just a day after letting his supporters know that he was on the mend after a negative test for COVID-19.
"I’m feeling all better I’m just a wee bit sluggish from my cold, but the good news is I’m Covid 19 negative! Woo hoo!!!," he wrote.
The dancer-actor-choreographer was a founding member of The Original Lockers along side fellow innovators Don “Campbellock” Campbell and Toni Basil who formed the crew 1971. Their pioneering moves inspired a generation and fueled a culture.
In addition to his involvement with The Original Lockers, Quinones helped choreograph tours for a variety of A-list artists — including Madonna, Lionel Richie, and Luther Vandross.
Quinones was also the mastermind behind Three Six Mafia’s epic performance during the 78th Academy Awards when the group snagged an Oscar for best original song for their song “It’s Hard Out Here for a Pimp.”
Quinones was 65.