Charlie Ahearn's 'Wild Style' opens theatrically — the first hip-hop feature film
Director Charlie Ahearn's docu-narrative, shot largely on location in the Bronx with non-actor performers (Lee Quiñones, Lady Pink, Fab 5 Freddy, the Cold Crush Brothers, Grandmaster Flash, Rock Steady Crew), gives hip-hop its first feature-length cinematic document. The Amphitheater showcase scene becomes one of the most reproduced sequences in music film.
Why it matters
*Wild Style* is the moment hip-hop's four-element ethic gets fixed on film for global audiences. Bambaataa's Universal Zulu Nation framework becomes legible to anyone with access to the movie. The soundtrack — particularly the breakbeat-and-organ instrumentals — is among the most sampled records in hip-hop history.
Branches
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Nearby in time
- 1982The Message is released
- 1983'Style Wars' premieres on PBS
- 1983Noah "40" Shebib is born
- 1983Brian De Palma's 'Scarface' opens — defining iconography for late-80s and 90s hip-hop
- 1984Russell Simmons and Rick Rubin co-found Def Jam Recordings from an NYU dorm
- 1984Swatch Watch presents Fresh Fest — the first national hip-hop arena tour