‘Appalling’ tracksuit heist at art gallery saddens hip-hop pioneer

A pioneering Ottawa b-boy is hunting for his vintage velour tracksuit after it was stolen from a hip-hop exhibition at a local art gallery.

Stephen Leafloor, also known as “Buddha,” is one of the founding members of the Canadian Floor Masters. The crew helped bring “breaking” — or what’s often known as breakdancing — to Ottawa in the early 1980s. They opened for James Brown, Ice-T and Grandmaster Flash. 

Leafloor called the blue and red Fila tracksuit “a vintage relic” from the early days of hip-hop with both emotional and historic value.

The theft makes him feel disrespected.

“It was a beautiful tracksuit,” he said. “It’s that crushed velvet velour … You feel magical.”

The theft was captured on camera at the Ottawa Art Gallery on Daly Street, where Canadian Floor Masters memorabilia was displayed as part of an exhibition on the local history of hip-hop. 

The gallery’s director said it happened Nov. 5.  Alexandra Badzak said the entire operation took fewer than three minutes that afternoon.

“It was very quick,” she said. “They were out the door, unfortunately, before security was able to apprehend.”

Badzak said surveillance footage revealed that the thief climbed up on a glass display case and apparently used a tool to cut the wires holding up the tracksuit. Scuff marks are still visible on the walls. 

‘I felt sick,’ curator says

Senior curator Rachelle Dickenson called the theft “appalling.” She said the tracksuit is representative of a period in hip-hop fashion and losing it affected her deeply.

“I felt sick,” she said. “The first thing I thought of was that I needed to call Buddha.”

Leafloor was out of town when Dickenson broke the news. 

He’s been drawn to “swag” from an early age. He still remembers what motivated him to pick up the tracksuit in the late 1980s during a trip to Detroit. 

“When I saw it way back then, I was like, yo, LL Cool J rocks this — I want one too,” Leafloor said.

He posted a Facebook message on the theft, which has produced an outpouring of support and indignation. But Leafloor isn’t holding out hope that he’ll recover his tracksuit.

He said he can’t put a value on an item with such a deep personal connection.

“I wish it would come back, just because it’s emotionally part of my life,” he said. “It’s part of who I am.”

No plans for stricter controls

Dickenson said the Ottawa Art Gallery has hourly security patrols, but anyone can simply walk in and out of the gallery, which is free and open to the public. 

She said the gallery will raise up suspended exhibits higher to make sure the public can’t access it, even by climbing up.

There are no plans to impose stricter controls on public access to the gallery itself, she added.

“We’re not prepared to risk community comfort and that sense of ownership that community should have when they come into the Ottawa Art Gallery,” Dickenson said.

“This is an appalling incident. It’s a very rare incident. But it’s more important to us that folks feel like it’s their space too. Why would we punish everybody for the actions of one person?”

She said she’s currently tracking online shopping websites to see if the tracksuit turns up. If search efforts are unsuccessful, she said insurance is expected to cover its value.

Leafloor has no animosity toward the art gallery, which he commended for working collaboratively with the dozens of people from the hip-hop community. 

“I wouldn’t make the decision that I’m pulling all my stuff out, because this is an important exhibit. Go see the exhibit if you want to feel and touch the vibes of the generations of hip-hop,” he said.

He hopes his experience doesn’t discourage others from lending their artifacts.

“This can have a beautiful impact on how we celebrate our history, and I would hate that not to happen out of fear.”

LISTEN | Leafloor talked about the exhibit in July:

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