Dump Koch!

Anyone who's a fan of early 80's hip hop movies should find pics these exceptionally brilliant.
Designed by LG of Style Warrior, you may remember his great Beat Street designs from a previous post.
No word on how these are to be used (tees? posters?) but you have to agree that they are iconic and capture the essence of Style Wars, no?

More details go to http://stylewarrioruk.wordpress.com/2011/09/29/dump-koch/

More about → Dump Koch!

Rammellzee R.I.P.

Rammellzee, hip hop visionary, ex-graffiti writer and non-conformist, Lee 'Scratch' Perry-alike, all-round nutbag, has very sadly died.

I like many others first heard the nasal tones of this interesting guy via the ball-breakingly long hip hop classic, Beat Bop (1983) whilst listening to Electro 2.
His other big moment was his standout appearance in Wild Style (1982) featuring in the Ampitheatre scene at the end. For many, this is the best scene of the film and after witnessing this yourself you may  agree.

If you have the Style Wars dvd in your possession then you may be aware of his contribution to the disc's Extras section. He makes a strong case in his concept of "warring letters". Here is one of his quotes:

"The Romans stole the alphabeta system from the Greeks through war. Then, in medieval times, monks ornamented letters to hide their meaning from the people. Now, the letter is armored against further manipulation."

Even though his discography was not as large as others from the same era, he leaves us with a enduring piece of music that will live on for ever. The ending of Style Wars wouldn't have sounded the same with anything else.

Rock on. To the breaka dawn.

Here are some of his standouts.

The end scene of Wild Style. Check Rammellzee's confidence as he wields his piece!

Rare footage from 1983. Witness a master on the mic.

Rammellzee Vs K. Rob - "Beat Bop" (1983).

Link-a-rama

Interview with 149th St

Rammellzee's Myspace

More about → Rammellzee R.I.P.

Style Wars The Original Soundtrack - Mk II

I've rebooted my original version of the Style Wars Soundtrack which I made just over a year ago.
This version includes extra dialogue (as indeed, inspired from a thought by Mr Lovegrove), a remix of the intro piece as well as a brand spanking new cover (courtesy of P. Shop).
Respect to Waxer for reminding me about this, too.

Download freely as this is a must for all ageing b-boys and b-girls.


01  I'm Not An Art Critic   0:35   Bernie Jacobs

02  The Death Of Arthur (Götterdämmerung) (Style Wars Version)  6:36   Trevor Jones

03  They Call Themselves Writers  0:45

04  8th Wonder   7:25   Sugar Hill Gang

05  Seen's 6-Month Vacation   0:47 

06  The Wanderer   2:49   Dion & The Belmonts

07  Skeme Does Doodle On The Paper   0:36   Skeme

08  Jam Hot   7:20   Johnny Dynell

09  Iz The Wiz Has An Orgasm   0:26 

10  Pump Me Up   6:39   Trouble Funk

11  Kase2 - Extra Telest   0:45 

12  The Message   7:13   Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five

13  Trap's Gonna Be The Next Picasso   0:29 Dez & Trap

14  Beat Bop   10:11 Rammelzee Vs. K Rob

15  Skeme's Out To Destroy All Lines   0:39   Skeme

16  Sing, Sing   7:20   Gaz

17  I Call That Fairy-Flying   0:42   Rock Steady Crew

18  Give It Up or Turnit a Loose   6:12   James Brown

19  Live Third Rails & Crazy Cops   0:30   Dondi

20  Rockin It   6:39   Fearless Four

21  Writer's Bench   0:53   We Are All Graffiti Writers

22  Rocket In The Pocket 3:30   Cerrone

23  I'd Kill You Maaan   0:37   Crazy Lady

24  Feel The Heartbeat   5:35   Treacherous Three

25  Iz's Prophecy   0:19   Iz The Wiz



Ahh, I like that!

More about → Style Wars The Original Soundtrack - Mk II

RIP Frank Frazetta

Who he?
Well he was an illustrator who painted fantasy landscapes and science fiction fantasy art who sadly died at 82 today.
The reason I'm mentioning him is simple.
Style Wars?
Kase?
Subway station?
The Beastmaster.... Yes?

The legendary one-armed graffiti writer KASE points at a poster for the film The Beastmaster and alludes to the painting being similar to the work of Vaughn Bode and Frank Frazetta.


Look at that eagle.
Word. l said look at that eye. You know where he got that from, right?
From Vaughn Bode and who?  

Frank Frazetta! 

The BEASTMASTER. The letters is breakin out.
'The epic adventures of a new kind of hero! That's what we're gonna be. The extraterrestrial brothers, you know what I'm saying? Extra terrest! Knowin we the best.

Yes I know. This post is very tenuous at best.


More here 

Oh, and check this picture out. This is Frazetta's "Princess of Mars" original painting from which The Beastmaster ripped-off. 

More about → RIP Frank Frazetta