Various
Wild Style LP

Animal Records – founded by Chris Stein of Blondie fame – only ever released one album in its brief early-80s history, but what an album that was. Wild Style remains the most seminal soundtrack in hip-hop history, a snapshot of the scene as it evolved from the streets to the recording studio. But it’s not just a vital document, it’s also a damn good listen.

The line-up is a who’s who of those who stood out from hip-hop’s nascent block party days. The Double Trouble pairing of Rodney Cee and KK Rockwell, The Chief Rocker himself, Busy Bee, the mighty line-ups of both The Cold Crush Brothers and The Fantastic Freaks. The music captures the free-form, roaming nature of the film – it’s rough at the edges, it’s occasionally amateurish, but it’s completely, utterly glorious.

The original Animal tracklisting, of which this is a reissue, is full of recurring sounds and motifs, all of them co-produced by Chris Stein and Fab Five Freddy, stepping away from breakbeats to produce a sound that reminds you of them, while being totally unique. The epic drums are courtesy of Lenny ‘Ferrari’ Ferraro, a Vietnam vet and punk drummer whose career spanned stints backing Aretha Franklin and Lou Reed.

Over time, those sounds – the Charlie Chase and Grand Wizard Theodore scratches, the indelible lyrics - have become hip-hop touchstones, endlessly sampled and referenced, the bedrock of so much music to follow. That’s because the soundtrack perfectly encapsulated the essence of the film, the scene and hip-hop’s emergence from The Bronx to the attention of the wider world. Presented in this reissue with the original artwork, it remains the blueprint.

NEW / Released in 1983 / Reissue 2022

Tracklist:

A1 Grandmaster Caz & Chris Stein – Wild Style Theme Rap 1

A2 Busy Bee vs Rodney Cee & Grand Wizard Theodore – MC Battle

A3 Cold Crush Brothers vs Fantastic Freaks – Basketball Throwdown

A4 Kevie Kev (Waterbed Kev), Master Rob, Prince Whipper Whip, Rubie Dee, Dota Rock, Grand Wizard Theodore & Kevie Kev Rockwell– Fantastic Freaks At The Dixie

A5 Grand Wizard Theodore & Kevie Kev Rockwell – Military Cut-Scratch Mix

A6 Grandmaster Caz, JDL*, Easy Ad, KG*, Charlie Chase & DJ Toney Tone – Cold Crush Bros At The Dixie

B1 Double Trouble (4), Rodney Cee & Kevie Kev Rockwell – Stoop Rap

B2 Rodney Cee, Kevie Kev Rockwell, DJ Stevie Steve – Double Trouble At The Amphitheatre

B3 Grandmaster Caz & Chris Stein – Wild Style Subway Rap 2

B4 Busy Bee & DJ AJ – At The Amphitheatre

B5 Grand Wizard Theodore & Kevie Kev Rockwell – Gangbusters Scratch Mix

B6 Rammellzee, Shockdell & The Grand Mixer DST – At The Amphitheatre