*PLEASE NOTE: This is a pre-order only of this cassette, and will be shipping 21st November 2025*
If you order additional products from our site they will be sent out with 'Wild Style', so please place a separate order for those.
Blurring the lines between fiction and documentary, the seminal film Wild Style, directed by Charlie Ahearn and developed alongside Fred Braithwaite aka Fab 5 Freddy, offered an iconic snapshot of the emerging New York hip hop scene in the early ‘80s. Considered one of the first hip hop films, it documents the styles, culture, attitudes, and most importantly, the music of this evolving era. The accompanying soundtrack remains one of the most influential in hip hop history, featuring a who’s who of artists who stood out during the movement’s nascent block party days.
“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 a series of special-edition reissues, one of which is a reissue of the sought-after original cassette from 1983 using replica artwork.
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:
A1. Grand Master Caz And Chris Stein – Wild Style Dance Rap 1
A2. The Chief Rocker Busy Bee V.s. Lil Rodney Cee With D.J. Grand Wizard Theodore – M.C. Battle
A3. The Cold Crush Bros V.s. The Fantastic Freaks – Basketball Throwdown
A4. Kevie Kev (Waterbed Kev), Master Rob, Prince Whipper Whip, M.C., Rubie Dee, Dota Rock, D.J. Grand Wizard Theodore, D.J. Kevie Kev Rockwell – Fantastic Freaks At The Dixie
A5. Grand Wizard Theodore And D.J. Kevie Kev Rockwell – Military Cut-Scratch Mix
A6. Grand Master Caz, JDL, Easy AD, KG, And D.J. Charlie Chase, D.J. Toney Tone – Cold Crush Bros. At The Dixie
B1. Double Trouble, Rodney Cee, K. K. Rockwell – Stoop Rap
B2. Rodney Cee, K. K. Rockwell, D.J. Stevie Steve – Double Trouble At The Amphitheatre
B3. Grand Master Caz And Chris Stein – Wild Style Subway Rap 2
B4. The Chief Rocker Busy Bee, DJ AJ – The Chief Rocker Busy Bee, D.J. AJ At The Amphitheatre
B5. D.J. Grand Wizard Theodore And Kevie Kev Rockwell – Gangbusters Scratch Mix
B6. Rammellzee And Shock Dell With The Grand Mixer DST – Rammellzee And Shock Dell At The Amphitheatre
