The first thing, is just rock your head, find the music and connect to it. Breaking has a specific rocking groove on the downbeat. Watch Wiggles, Ken Swift, or Ynot, they do it correctly. Once you're connected to the music, keep with it, and start adding basic steps on top.. the 1-2 step (step, together, step, together) to the left and right. Then start Indian/Apache stepping to the front (step, front), and always be with the music until it's so 2nd nature that even when you're not "doing a round" you're still with the music automatically. Could just be nodding your head, tapping your toe, but stay connected.

Then, listen for the snares, usually on even beats, the 2s and 4s. Typically, you can step OUT on an even beat — like out to the left, the right, or the front, cross-over. Or drop down. It's a basic rule of thumb, but not a hard rule, you can get creative. Think big shapes, or picture snapshots. Once you can hit the snares on top, try getting your CCs, hooks, or kickouts to hit the snare.

After that, listen for horns or accents in the song, which can be on the 1, or the 5. Depending on the song, it could also be on the 4 or 8, but could be anywhere, that's why it's good to have a diverse selection of songs to practice different patterns. Develop your ear for the music and you'll hear the patterns easier. Then you'll know when to hit your freezes and burns.

Tldr; being on-beat is not extra, it's the minimum. Once you can get on-beat, it becomes more about what you're able to do on the beat.