Get Free Shipping on orders over $79
THESE ARE THE BREAKS! - Lino Delgado

THESE ARE THE BREAKS!

By: Lino Delgado, Paul Vincent Ruma, El-Houari Si Abdelkader (Editor)

Paperback | 8 April 2025

At a Glance

Paperback


RRP $37.39

$35.75

or 4 interest-free payments of $8.94 with

 or 

Ships in 5 to 7 business days

Discover the extraordinary life of Lino "Lean Rock" Delgado-world-renowned DJ, international breaking champion, and acclaimed music producer-celebrated with official commendations by both the state of Massachusetts and the city of Boston in 2021.

THESE ARE THE BREAKS! offers an intimate glimpse into the world of Hip Hop culture, where Lean Rock battles the highs and lows of achieving mastery, confronts the shadows of perfectionism, and navigates the complexities of mental health. This is a story of resilience, growth, and the personal cost of greatness-told from within the movement, by one of its most iconic artists.

Praise for THESE ARE THE BREAKS!

These Are the Breaks! is a thoughtful and engaging reflection on adulthood, family legacies, and Hip-Hop culture... but it is much more than that. It is also an honest account of personal struggle, a deeply-rooted history of the Boston breaking scene, and a heartfelt meditation on the value and significance of Hip-Hop culture itself.

-Joseph Schloss, Ph.D., author of Foundation: B-Boys, B-Girls and Hip-Hop Culture in New York

Part autobiography, self-help, breaking technique, DJing philosophy, and part advice to students of Hip Hop, These Are the Breaks! offers insight, advocacy, and a reflection on what serves and harms the breaking community. Lean Rock has written something invaluable that I wish I had when I was a student.

-Imani Kai Johnson, Ph.D., author of Dark Matter in Breaking Cyphers: The Life of Africanist Aesthetics in Global Hip Hop

THESE ARE THE BREAKS! was co-authored by cultural historian Paul Vincent Ruma, whose decades of experience in global Hip Hop culture helped shape and preserve Lean Rock's story for future generations.

Industry Reviews

In These Are the Breaks!, Lean Rock steps out from behind the turntables to tell his story. The result is a personal Hip Hopography - of dance and DJing in the global breaking cypher, but also of finding health, balance, and wellness while coping with the grind of success. This is a story told with the honesty and vulnerability that characterize Hip Hop at its best.

-Emery Petchauer, Professor, Michigan State University

In a world where the weight of existence can feel overwhelming, the high achievers of Hip Hop culture have forged a powerful coping mechanism, fusing music and movement into a mesmerizing art form. In this deeply personal memoir, Lean Rock chronicles his highs and lows, revealing how dancers navigate life's breaks, turning struggle into rhythm, the dance floor into refuge, and movement into survival.

-Niels "Storm" Robitzky, Breaking icon and Professor, Anton Bruckner Private University

"Lean Rock captures the reality of being a professional b-boy and DJ like no book before - unpacking the struggle of making a living through Hip Hop and the physical, emotional, and mental toll it takes on practitioners. Fueled by his lifetime of hands-on experience, he explores corners of Hip Hop culture that academia has yet to touch."

-Dart Adams, Journalist & Historian, author of Instead, We Became Evil

More in Biographies

Bread of Angels - Patti Smith

RRP $34.99

$28.75

18%
OFF
The Mushroom Tapes : Conversations on a Triple Murder Trial - Helen Garner
I'm Glad My Mom Died - Jennette McCurdy

RRP $24.99

$21.75

13%
OFF
Unlocked : The Must-Read Rugby Memoir of 2025 - Eben Etzebeth

RRP $34.99

$28.75

18%
OFF
Henry V : The Astonishing Rise of England's Greatest Warrior King - Dan Jones
The Buddha : Biography of a Myth - Donald S. Lopez

RRP $45.95

$35.99

22%
OFF
Episodes : The Diary of a Recovering Mad Man - Gucci Mane

RRP $49.99

$38.75

22%
OFF
Call the Midwife : A True Story of the East End in the 1950s - Jennifer Worth
Notes on Being a Man - Scott Galloway

RRP $36.99

$29.75

20%
OFF
Simply More : A book for anyone who has been told they're too much - Cynthia Erivo
100 Diaries That Chronicled World Events - Colin Salter

RRP $44.99

$35.75

21%
OFF
Wings : The Story of a Band on the Run - Paul McCartney

RRP $79.99

$58.99

26%
OFF
Mamba & Mambacita Forever - Vanessa Bryant

RRP $70.00

$49.75

29%
OFF
On My Watch : Leading NATO in a Time of War - Jens Stoltenberg

RRP $39.99

$31.75

21%
OFF
Star of the Show : My Life on Stage - Dolly Parton

RRP $85.00

$61.99

27%
OFF