Wild Style was the first glimpse the world got of block party culture, graffiti raids and the roots of the vibrant new music which had risen out of the burnt-out ruins of the South Bronx. In the 30 years since its birth, hiphop has grown into a glossy big bucks shadow of its former funky self, rather like the city which spawned it. The DVD, book and this soundtrack are a rare look at a long-lost world. The original album was released on Blondie’s Animal label, with Chris Stein bringing in Fab 5 Freddy as musical director. The stellar cast of old school giants includes Grandmaster Caz, Cold Crush, DST and Grand Wizard Theodore let loose on galvanising funk, rhymes flowing and often volcanic. Stein’s trio provides music too, expanded as instrumentals on another CD of out-takes. With dialogue snippets, the atmosphere is as electrifying as the third rail. Sadly, this innocence and level of street level creativity would soon be snuffed by crack, corporate greed and zero tolerance. This is absolutely essential for anyone into hiphop.
5 Out Of 5
Reviewed By: Kris Needs
