Wild Style [Original Soundtrack]

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Wild Style [Original Soundtrack] album cover
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EDITOR'S PICK

Total Tracks: 17   Total Length: 47:13

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Brian Coleman

eMusic Contributor

04.22.11
One of the best hip-hop compilations ever made.
2005 | Label: Mr. Bongo WordlWide Limited / The Orchard

This is the not only, in this writer's opinion, the best hip-hop compilation ever made. It's also one of the best movie soundtracks of all time, in any genre. Charlie Ahearn's 1983 part-fact/part-fiction hip-hop flick has withstood the test of time, where pretenders like Breakin' and the well-intentioned Krush Groove have faded.

The basic electro-funk tunes used as interstitial soundtrack music were also used by DJs backing up artists onstage: Busy Bee, Fantastic Freaks, Double Trouble and the Cold Crush Brothers. The results, heard on cuts like “Fantastic Freaks at the Dixie,” “Cold Crush Bros at the Dixie” and “The Chief Rocker Busy Bee and DJ AJ at the Amphitheatre” are stunning, making you regret that many of these artists peaked here, never making the transition into the recording studio.

It's not all about backing music, though — some of the album's illest tracks are presented a capella: “Stoop Rap” (with Double Trouble) and the oft-sampled “Basketball Throwdown.”

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Junior High...Early 83

f.corey

I can remember waiting for this to come out only to be the one that couldn't cut class to see the flick thanks to Catholic School. I did go later that night at the late Loews Criterion on 42ND Street. This soundtrack takes me back to the days when you could (sometimes) actually party in NYC without seeing who was gonna die at parties end. Authentic battles, pop & crackles all over the track, grimmy NYC subway beats & breaks that nearly bring back the aroma of those old metal behemoth graphitti filled cars and perfomances from TRUE pioneers of the game. When NAS says "HIP HOP IS DEAD"...this is the type of music he was talking about!!! Not "My Laffy Taffy". LISTEN and enjoy this bygone masterpiece.

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They Say All Music Guide

Wild Style largely went unseen upon its 1983 release, but its soundtrack became one of the key records of early-’80s hip-hop, providing rappers with a treasure trove of beats and rhymes. None of the cuts on Wild Style became crossover hits, but the songs became underground staples, inspiring new rappers and offering rhythms that were sampled over the years. Although much of this music now sounds dated, the rhymes and rhythms remain exciting, illustrating why Wild Style was one of the cornerstones of underground hip-hop in the ’80s. – Leo Stanley