Wild Style
Encyclopedia
Wild Style is a 1983 hip hop film produced by Charlie Ahearn
. Released theatrically in 1983 by First Run Features and later re-released for home video by Rhino Home Video, it is regarded as the first hip hop motion picture. The film featured seminal figures within the given period
, such as Fab Five Freddy
, Lee Quinones
, Lady Pink, the Rock Steady Crew, The Cold Crush Brothers
, and Grandmaster Flash
. The protagonist "Zoro" is played by the legendary New York graffiti artist "Lee" George Quinones. An early version of the 'Wild Style' logo appeared in 1981 when Charlie Ahearn hired graffiti legend Dondi to paint the 'window down' subway car piece that appears in the film. The Dondi
piece was the inspiration for the animated title sequence designed by the artist Zephyr
in 1982. The 'Wild Style' logo was designed by Zephyr and painted as a 'burner' mural by Zephyr, Revolt, and Sharp in 1983.
, graffiti
and bboying.
following over the years after its initial release. Highly regarded hip-hop albums such as Illmatic
by Nas
, Midnight Marauders
by A Tribe Called Quest
, Black Sunday
by Cypress Hill
, Resurrection
by Common, Big Shots
by Charizma
, Operation: Doomsday
by MF Doom
, Check Your Head
by Beastie Boys
and Quality Control
by Jurassic 5
have featured samples from the film. In 2007, the VH1
Hip Hop Honors paid tribute to Wild Style in recognition of its influence upon the culture. The film was also voted as one of the top ten rock and roll films of all time by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
25th Anniversary Edition
Disc 2:
Charlie Ahearn (director)
Charlie Ahearn was born in 1951 in Binghamton, New York, and is a film director and creative cultural artist currently living in New York City. Although predominantly involved in film and video production, he is also known for his work as an author, freelance writer, and radio host...
. Released theatrically in 1983 by First Run Features and later re-released for home video by Rhino Home Video, it is regarded as the first hip hop motion picture. The film featured seminal figures within the given period
Old school hip hop
Old school hip hop describes the earliest commercially recorded hip hop music , and the music in the period preceding it from which it was directly descended . Old school hip hop is said to end around 1983 or 1984 with the emergence of Run–D.M.C., the first new school hip hop group...
, such as Fab Five Freddy
Fab Five Freddy
Fred Brathwaite , more popularly known as Fab 5 Freddy, is an American Hip hop historian, Hip hop pioneer and former graffiti artist...
, Lee Quinones
Lee Quinones
George Lee Quiñones is an American artist and actor. He is one of the several artists rising from the New York City Subway graffiti movement....
, Lady Pink, the Rock Steady Crew, The Cold Crush Brothers
The Cold Crush Brothers
The Cold Crush Brothers is a hip hop group that formed in 1979 in the Bronx, New York City, New York, alongside other early hip hop acts.-Formation:...
, and Grandmaster Flash
Grandmaster Flash
Joseph Saddler better known as King Grandmaster Flash, is an American hip hop musician and DJ; one of the pioneers of hip-hop DJing, cutting, and mixing....
. The protagonist "Zoro" is played by the legendary New York graffiti artist "Lee" George Quinones. An early version of the 'Wild Style' logo appeared in 1981 when Charlie Ahearn hired graffiti legend Dondi to paint the 'window down' subway car piece that appears in the film. The Dondi
Dondi
Dondi was a daily comic strip about a large-eyed war orphan of the same name. Created by Gus Edson and Irwin Hasen, it ran in more than 100 newspapers for three decades .-Interview:...
piece was the inspiration for the animated title sequence designed by the artist Zephyr
Zephyr
Zephyr may refer to:* A light or west wind* Zephyrus, one of the Anemoi and the Greek god of the west wind* Zephyranthes, a plant genus whose species include the zephyr lily* Zephyr , a well-known graffiti artist from New York City...
in 1982. The 'Wild Style' logo was designed by Zephyr and painted as a 'burner' mural by Zephyr, Revolt, and Sharp in 1983.
Synopsis
The film depicts several prominent figures from the early hip hop culture, engaging in activities such as MCing, turntablismTurntablism
Turntablism is the art of manipulating sounds and creating music using phonograph turntables and a DJ mixer.The word 'turntablist' was coined in 1995 by DJ Babu to describe the difference between a DJ who just plays records, and one who performs by touching and moving the records, stylus and mixer...
, graffiti
Graffiti
Graffiti is the name for images or lettering scratched, scrawled, painted or marked in any manner on property....
and bboying.
Impact
The film has received a large cultCult film
A cult film, also commonly referred to as a cult classic, is a film that has acquired a highly devoted but specific group of fans. Often, cult movies have failed to achieve fame outside the small fanbases; however, there have been exceptions that have managed to gain fame among mainstream audiences...
following over the years after its initial release. Highly regarded hip-hop albums such as Illmatic
Illmatic
Illmatic is the debut album of American rapper Nas, released April 19, 1994, on Columbia Records. Following his signing to Columbia with the help of MC Serch, recording sessions for the album took place during 1992 to 1993 at Chung King Studios, D&D Recording, Battery Studios, and Unique Recording...
by Nas
Nas
Nasir bin Olu Dara Jones, who performs under the name Nas , formerly Nasty Nas, is an American rapper and actor. He is regarded as one of the most important figures in hip hop and one of the most skilled and influential rappers of all-time...
, Midnight Marauders
Midnight Marauders
- Additional credits :- Accolades :The information is taken from Acclaimedmusic.netand other website links below. designates lists which are unordered.-Cover art:...
by A Tribe Called Quest
A Tribe Called Quest
A Tribe Called Quest is an American hip hop group, formed in 1985, and is composed of rapper/producer Q-Tip , rapper Phife Dawg , and DJ/producer Ali Shaheed Muhammad. A fourth member, rapper Jarobi White, left the group after their first album but rejoined in 2006...
, Black Sunday
Black Sunday (album)
Black Sunday is the second album by rap group Cypress Hill. It was released on July 20, 1993. It debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 selling 261,000 copies in its first week, recording the highest Soundscan for a rap group at the time. The album went Triple platinum in the U.S...
by Cypress Hill
Cypress Hill
Cypress Hill is an American hip hop group from South Gate, California. Cypress Hill was the first Latino hip-hop group to have platinum and multi-platinum albums, selling over 18 million albums worldwide...
, Resurrection
Resurrection (Common album)
Resurrection is the second album by American rapper Common . Released in 1994 , the album received a great deal of critical acclaim, but not a significant amount of mainstream attention. Resurrection was entirely produced by No I.D. , and Ynot...
by Common, Big Shots
Big Shots (album)
Big Shots is Charizma & Peanut Butter Wolf's first album. While the tracks for Big Shots were recorded in the early 90's while signed to the Disney owned Hollywood Basic record label, an album was never released due to artistic conflicts with the labels executives...
by Charizma
Charizma
Charles Hicks a.k.a. Charizma was an MC from San Jose, California, United States. He is most known for his work with Peanut Butter Wolf; the two of them formed a duo together, but their music was cut short when Charizma was murdered in late 1993.-Biography:Charizma was 13 when he got his first...
, Operation: Doomsday
Operation: Doomsday
Operation: Doomsday is the debut solo album by hip hop artist Daniel Dumile, under his MF DOOM alias, marking Dumile's return to the hip hop scene after KMD's demise...
by MF Doom
MF Doom
Daniel Dumile is a hip hop artist who has taken on several stage names in his career, most notably MF DOOM, where the "MF" stands for metal face, and for tracks he has produced, metal fingers...
, Check Your Head
Check Your Head
Check Your Head is the third studio album by the Beastie Boys, released on April 21, 1992.Three years elapsed between the release of Paul's Boutique and their recording of this album. Check Your Head was recorded at the G-Son Studios in Atwater Village, California in 1991...
by Beastie Boys
Beastie Boys
Beastie Boys are an American hip hop trio from New York City. The group consists of Mike D who plays the drums, MCA who plays the bass, and Ad-Rock who plays the guitar....
and Quality Control
Quality control
Quality control, or QC for short, is a process by which entities review the quality of all factors involved in production. This approach places an emphasis on three aspects:...
by Jurassic 5
Jurassic 5
Jurassic 5 was an American alternative hip hop group formed in 1993 from members of two previous groups, Rebels of Rhythm and Unity Committee by rappers Charles Stewart , Dante Givens , Courtenay Henderson , Marc Stuart , and disc jockeys Mark Potsic and Lucas Macfadden...
have featured samples from the film. In 2007, the VH1
VH1
VH1 or Vh1 is an American cable television network based in New York City. Launched on January 1, 1985 in the old space of Turner Broadcasting's short-lived Cable Music Channel, the original purpose of the channel was to build on the success of MTV by playing music videos, but targeting a slightly...
Hip Hop Honors paid tribute to Wild Style in recognition of its influence upon the culture. The film was also voted as one of the top ten rock and roll films of all time by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum is a museum located on the shore of Lake Erie in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States. It is dedicated to archiving the history of some of the best-known and most influential artists, producers, engineers and others who have, in some major way,...
Soundtrack
- Military Cut – Scratch Mix by DJ Grand Wizard Theodore
- MC Battle – Busy Bee StarskiBusy Bee StarskiBusy Bee Starski born October 26, 1962, in the Bronx, New York, is an old school hip hop musician, and MC...
Vs. Rodney Cee - Basketball Throwdown – Cold Crush Brothers Vs. Fantastic Freaks
- Fantastic Freaks At The Dixie - Fantastic Freaks
- Subway Theme – Scratch Mix by [DJ Grand Wizard Theodore, Chris SteinChris SteinChristopher "Chris" Stein is co-founder and guitarist in the New Wave band, Blondie. He is also a producer and performer for the classic soundtrack of the hip hop film Wild Style....
] (Previously Unreleased) - Cold Crush Brothers At The Dixie – Cold Crush Brothers
- Busy Bee's Limo Rap – Busy Bee
- Cuckoo Clocking (previously unreleased)
- Stoop Rap – Rodney Cee & KK Rockwell aka Double Trouble
- Double Trouble At The Amphitheatre – Double Trouble
- South Bronx Subway Rap – [Grandmaster Caz, Chris SteinChris SteinChristopher "Chris" Stein is co-founder and guitarist in the New Wave band, Blondie. He is also a producer and performer for the classic soundtrack of the hip hop film Wild Style....
] (Original Version) - Street Rap by Busy Bee – Busy Bee (Previously Unreleased)
- Busy Bee At The Amphitheatre – Busy Bee
- Fantastic Freaks at The Amphitheatre - Fantastic Freaks
- Gangbusters – Scratch Mix by DJ Grand Wizard Theodore
- Rammellzee & Shock Dell At The Amphitheatre – RammellzeeRammellzeeRammellzee was a visual artist, graffiti writer, performance artist, hip hop musician, art theoretician and sculptor from New York.-Life and work:...
& Shock Dell - Down By Law – Fab 5 Freddy (Previously Unreleased)
25th Anniversary Edition
Disc 2:
- Wildstyle Lesson - Kev Luckhurst aka Phat Kev
- Limousine Rap (Crime Don't Pay Mix) - Wild Style Allstars
- Basketball Throwdown (Dixie: Razorcut Mix) Cold Crush Brothers vs. Fantastic Freaks
- Stoop Rap (LP Version South Bronx Mix) - Double Trouble
- Street Rap (Subway Mix) - Busy Bee
- Stoop Rap (Film Version) Double Trouble
- B Boy Beat (Instrumental) - Wild Style Allstars
- Yawning Beat (Instrumental) - Wild Style Allstars
- Crime Cut (Instrumental) - Wild Style Allstars
- Gangbusters (Instrumental) - DJ Grand Wizard Theodore
- Cuckoo Clocking (Instrumental) - Fab 5 Freddy
- Meetings (Instrumental) - Wild Style Allstars
- Military Cut (Instrumental) - DJ Grand Wizard Theodore
- Razor Cut (Instrumental) - Wild Style Allstars
- Subway Theme (Instrumental) - DJ Grand Wizard Theodore, Chris SteinChris SteinChristopher "Chris" Stein is co-founder and guitarist in the New Wave band, Blondie. He is also a producer and performer for the classic soundtrack of the hip hop film Wild Style....
- Busy Bees (Instrumental) - Busy Bee
- Down By Law (Instrumental) - Fab 5 Freddy
- Baby Beat (Instrumental) - Wild Style Allstars
- Jungle Beat (Instrumental) - Wild Style Allstars
- Wild Style Scratch Tool - Kev Luckhurst aka Phat Kev
Trivia
- DONDIDondi (artist)Donald Joseph White, "DONDI" is considered one of the most influential graffiti artists in the history of the movement.-Early life:...
was featured in parts of the film, acting on behalf of Lee QuinonesLee QuinonesGeorge Lee Quiñones is an American artist and actor. He is one of the several artists rising from the New York City Subway graffiti movement....
. The "ZORO" whole car was also done by Dondi. - IZ the WizIZ (graffiti artist)Michael "Iz the Wiz" Martin was one of the most prominent graffiti writers of the New York graffiti movement of the late 70s and early 80s.-Biography:...
was also featured in the film, playing the role of the train yard detective.