“Making hip hop’s first and most beloved feature film, Wild Style, with Charlie Ahearn and creating the original music is one of my proudest accomplishments.” - Fab 5 Freddy
In celebration of Arrow Films restoring the original Wild Style film in 4K, Mr Bongo is proud to present this special-edition reissue package. The release comes as a double LP pressed on transparent blue and orange vinyl, offering a freshly curated tracklist that brings together the finest songs from previous editions, the full sought-after instrumental album, and Kenny Dope’s top edits. Also included are an A2 colour poster, five film set photos, a flexi disc containing Fantastic Freaks Live at the Dixie, and a Wild Style sticker sheet.
Originally released on Animal Records, founded by Chris Stein of Blondie fame, the soundtrack focuses on the hip hop scene as it evolved from the streets to the recording studio. Co-produced by Stein and Braithwaite, it features the Double Trouble pairing of Rodney Cee and KK Rockwell, The Chief Rocker himself Busy Bee, and the mighty line-ups of both The Cold Crush Brothers and The Fantastic Freaks, to name but a few. The music offers a transportive glimpse into the streets of the South Bronx, capturing the free-form, roaming nature of the film - it’s rough around the edges, but utterly absorbing.
Behind those foundational voices of hip hop’s first wave was a selection of backing beats that have underpinned and influenced the genre ever since. Easily mistaken for lifted breakbeats from old records, the songs on the Wild Style soundtrack are all unique creations. Overseen by Braithwaite and Stein, with Stein also on guitar and effects, they were intended as a homage to those early breakbeats. Drummer Lenny “Ferrari” Ferraro, who played for Aretha Franklin before emerging on the punk scene, and bassist David Harper laid down many of the iconic grooves, two somewhat forgotten participants in shaping a legendary sound.
Over time, the Wild Style soundtrack, with its Charlie Chase and Grand Wizard Theodore scratches, recurring sounds and motifs, and indelible lyrics, has become a hip hop touchstone: endlessly sampled and referenced, the bedrock of so much music to follow. It perfectly encapsulated the essence of the film, the scene, and hip hop’s emergence from the Bronx to the attention of the wider world. It was, and remains, the blueprint.
Tracklist:
1. Grand Wizard Theodore - Military Cut (Scratch Mix)
2. The Chief Rocker Busy Bee - M.C. Battle (The Chief Rocker Busy Bee Vs Lil Rodney Cee & D.J. Grand Wizard Theodore)
3. Cold Crush Brothers - Basketball Throwdown (Cold Crush Brothers Vs. Fantastic Freaks)
4. Fantastic Freaks - Fantastic Freaks At The Dixie
5. Grand Wizard Theodore - Subway Theme
6. Cold Crush Brothers - Cold Crush Bros. At The Dixie
7. Double Trouble - Double Trouble At The Amphitheater
8. Grandmaster Caz - South Bronx Subway Rap
9. Busy Bee - Street Rap (Subway Mix)
10. Busy Bee - Busy Bee At The Amphitheater
11. Fantastic Freaks - Fantastic Freaks At The Amphitheater
12. Grand Wizard Theodore - Gangbusters
13. Rammellzee & Shockdell - Rammellzee & Shockdell At The Amphitheater
14. Fab 5 Freddy - Down By Law
15. Fab 5 Freddy - B Boy Beat (Instrumental)
16. Fab 5 Freddy - Yawning Beat (Instrumental)
17. Fab 5 Freddy - Crime Cut (Instrumental)
18. Fab 5 Freddy - Gangbusters (Instrumental)
19. Fab 5 Freddy - Cuckoo Clocking (Instrumental)
20. Fab 5 Freddy - Meetings (Instrumental)
21. Fab 5 Freddy - Military Cut (Instrumental)
22. Fab 5 Freddy - Razor Cut (Instrumental)
23. Fab 5 Freddy - Subway Theme (Instrumental)
24. Fab 5 Freddy - Busy Bees (Instrumental)
25. Fab 5 Freddy - Down By Law (Instrumental)
26. Fab 5 Freddy - Baby Beat (Instrumental)
27. Fab 5 Freddy - Jungle Beat (Instrumental)
28. Kev Luckhurst - Wildstyle Scratch Tool
29. Fab 5 Freddy - Baby Beat (Kenny Dope Edit)
30. Fab 5 Freddy - Jungle Beat (Kenny Dope Edit)
