Wild Style

Representing the Culture Cinematically

Subcultural Capital

• Sarah Thornton (1996)

• “fantasy of classlessness”

• “micro-structures of power”, distinction, authority, authenticity

• Subcultural capital=hipness, “in the know”

– Brand?

• Subcultural capital is 2 leveled:

– 1). Objectified=subcultural objects

– 2). Embodied=knowledge, knowledge of objects

Subcultural Capital Cont'd

• Makes members authentic and not a poser

• Are by what they are NOT

• Being incorporated into mainstream/media makes SC members feel important

– “the media are a primary factor governing the circulation of” subcultural capital

• In hip hop? In hip hop screen media?

Wild Style (1982/1983)

Dir. Charlie Ahearn with Fab 5 Freddy First hip hop CULTURE movie; most important/authentic

– Legitimize the culture and break negative stereotypes of Bronx

Brought hip hop to Japan and world Title refers to the graffiti style HEAVILY sampled in rap songs Brings all the elements of hip hop together, which they

weren't at the time (b-boyin' was passe, graff was more punk/metal, etc)

Wild Style cont'd

• Heavily improvised dialog

• Shot in MTA yards, South Bronx, and train watch spots

• Dixie Club: GM Flash's big paid gig, cross pollination w/ punk and new wave

• Culminates with the amphitheater scene; all the heavyweights at the time

• Depicts many of the real cultural antagonisms (i.e. incorporation into mainstream)

– Zoro is an outlaw and how becoming public threatens that identity

– Art v. Commerce; can you be authentic and be mainstream???

Who's In It?

• Lee Quiñones, legendary graff muralist and one of the first to do canvas/galleries

• Other LEGEND writers: Zephyr, Dondi, Lady Pink

• Cold Crush Brothers vs. The Fantastic Five

– Two HUGE rivals!

• Busy Bee Starski

• DJ Grandmaster Flash, Grand Wizard Theodore, D.ST

• Rock Steady Crew

• Kool Moe Dee, Queen Lisa Lee, Rammellzee, Double Trouble

Fab 5 Freddy

Bridge between downtown and uptown Bridge between New Wave / Punk and hip hop Bridge between the art scene and graffiti writing Pop art (Campbell Soup) Conceptualized and helped produce Wild Style First host of Yo! MTV Raps in 1988 “Change Le Beat” Directed Nas “One Love” Directed Queen Latifah's “Ladies First”

OST

Fab Five Freddy directed its making

– Fred got together with Grand Wizard Theodore to get musical ideas

To avoid copyright infringement, a band imitated breakbeat records, and DJs were given copies to cut up and MCs to rap over

Recorded in one 4 hour session Recorded by new wave/punk musicians from

Blondie

“Rapture”

• 1981, Blondie

• Dir. ???

• 1st “rap” video on MTV

• Fab 5 Freddy, Lee Quinones, Jean-Michel Basquiat

• Made rap accessible to white audiences

• Commodified hip hop culture

1997, Sprite Commercials

• Nas and AZ, Double Trouble stoop scene

• Tim Duncan and Kobe, Cold Crush and Fantastic 5 basketball scene

From the Comics

Cowboy, from GM Flash & Furious Five (at that time three) comes up with “hip hop” at a park jam; Lovebug Starski claims to have coined it

***Bambaataa first to use “hip hop” to describe DJing, graff, bboy dance, and MCing

Run of RUN DMC is Kurtis Blow's DJ, DJ Davey DMX replaces him and other DJs take his spot at park jams (including Jam Master Jay)

From the Comics Cont'd

Paul Winley, Winley Records Super Disco Brake's = 1st breakbeat record GM Flash, DJ AJ, and Busy Bee Starski start

playing at a club, the Black Door Former Black Spades, The Casanovas, come

on as security The Black Door Productions