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.
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, 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
