10 Ways Wild Style Influenced Hip Hop

Celebrating 30 years of the first hip hop film.

Wild Style - Wild Style is another movie set during the rise of hip hop in the 1980s. Telling the story of a graffiti artist, the movie featured breakdancing, deejaying, graffiti and appearances by hip-hop pioneers Busy Bee, Grandmaster Caz and Fab 5 Freddy. (Photo: Rhino Productions)
Introduced Hip Hop Pioneers to America - As the first hip hop movie, starring many of the folks who pioneered the movement, this was America's introduction to rap crews like the Cold Crush Brothers and DJs like Grandmaster Flash, who shaped hip hop music. It also introduced the groundbreaking b-boy crew Rock Steady Crew (fresh from their breakout role in Flashdance) to the world.  (Photo: Submarine Entertainment)
Spread Hip Hop Culture Globally - To promote the movie, the soundtrack and hip hop, Rock Steady Crew, Cold Crush, Busy Bee and a host of other performers from the film toured Japan in 1983. As a result, hip hop culture (especially b-boying) not only took hold in the country but began to spread across Asia, taking the movement global.  (Photo: Submarine Entertainment)Influenced Hip Hop in Commercials - One of the most memorable commerials utilizing hip hop music was a 1997 Sprite promo featuring rappers Nas and AZ reenacting the Double Trouble stoop rap scene from Wild Style.  (Photo: Sprite)

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10 Ways Wild Style Influenced Hip Hop - When the film Wild Style made its debut in 1983, it exploded hip hop in a number of ways. The cinematic classic, being the first to document the burgeoning movement, opened up a hip hop film industry, and was the first media moment to present hip hop as a culture -— music, rapping, graffiti and style combined. But since then, the film's influence has gone beyond the theater to impact the culture itself. Here's a look at ways this classic has lived on through its influence.  (Photo: Submarine Entertainment)

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