1984: the year the first Apple Macintosh was introduced, Michael Jackson suffered third-degree burns during a pyrotechnic malfunction in a Pepsi commercial and hip hop movie Beat Street was released.
Following on from the film Wild Style showing New York’s hip hop culture of the early 1980s, Beat Street was set in the South Bronx, following the lives of two brothers and their friends, as they explore the many elements of hip hop culture.
Starring blues musician Guy Davis, Saundra Santiago (best known for her role as Det. Gina Calabrese on Miami Vice and hip hop stars such as Afrika Bambaataa & the Soul Sonic Force, Doug E. Fresh and Kool Herc, the film’s influence stretched beyond the US and helped to spread the hip hop movement.
Since then, references from the film have appeared in everything from hip hop tracks to The Boondocks. Oh, and naturally, the soundtrack is dope because it features the artists mentioned above. If you have a spare hour and a half or so, I suggest you give it a watch and find out what hip hop was like during the early years.
Stream the trailer below.
