Sold Date: April 13, 2023
Start Date: March 10, 2023
Final Price: €24.99 (EUR)
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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.

Trackliste

A1 Grand Master Caz & Chris Stein - Wild Style Theme Rap 1
A2 Busy Bee vs Rodney Cee - Mc Battle (DJ Grand Wizard Theodore Scratch Mix)
A3 The Cold Crush Brothers vs Fantastic Freaks - Basketball Throwdown
A4 Fantastic Freaks - Fantastic Freaks At The Dixie
A5 DJ Grand Wizard Theodore & Kevie Kev Rockwell - Military Cut (Scratch Mix)
A6 Cold Crush Brothers - Cold Crush Brothers At The Dixie
B1 Double Trouble (Rodney Cee & Kk Rockwell) - Stoop Rap
B2 Double Trouble - Double Trouble At The Amphitheatre
B3 Grand Master Caz & Chris Stein - Wild Style Subway Rap 2
B4 DJ Aj At The Amphitheatre - The Chief Rocker Busy Bee
B5 Gangbusters (Scratch Mix)
B6 Rammellzee & Shockwell - Rammellzee & Shockwell At The Amphitheatre