It's tough to imagine that just 30 years ago, the concept of hip-hop was a mystery to much of the culture. The genre needed a platform to reach a wider audience and it wouldn't be a record-it would be a film. Wild Style, a classic 1983 film, would turn the world on to much of the hip-hop culture that was developing in The Bronx-including rapping, turntable-based music, graffiti and breakdancing. Somewhat curiously however, the original soundtrack of hip-hop beats featured in the film never received a mainstream release. That's about to change, as DJ Kenny Dope of Kay Dee Records will release the 13 tracks on a set of seven 7" records.
Wild Style's budget was such that director Charlie Ahearn didn't want to mess with licensing fees for the popular music typically spun by DJ's in The Bronx. So he hired Blondie guitarist Chris Stein and session drummer Lenny Ferrari to create original recordings. They pressed 100 copies of those 13 songs, distributed them to DJ's like Grand Wizard Theodore and let them have at it. The cuts and mixes made from the recordings were featured in the film, and fans have long tried to find the source material to no avail.
Dope had a grand vision for ow he wanted the tracks released and it seems he got his way. Each of the thirteen tracks gets its own side of a 45-rpm record, and the 14th side features an engraving themed to the film. The set also comes with a 28-page book featuring photos from the production of the film and a history of the production written by Brian Coleman. The DJ also took the original masters and lengthened the breaks...just in case you want to rap over them at home.
"Just to hold and look at the tapes made me say 'wow,'" Dope told Rolling Stone. "Getting my hands on these reals felt like being a kid in a candy store."
