Hip Hop Movie Club and Andrew "DJ ARM 18" McIntosh discuss last week's magical ArtsQuest event celebrating Wild Style at SteelStacks in Bethlehem PA . It was a blessing to be in the building for this action-packed night that featured:

• a screening of Wild Style (1982)
• a panel discussion with director Charlie Ahearn, Grandmaster Caz of the Cold Crush Brothers, and GrandMixer DXT
• a DJ set by DXT
• a performance by the Cold Crush

Topics discussed:

• Bringing Wild Style to ArtsQuest
• The cultural significance of Wild Style
• Comparison with Beat Street and Breakin'
• The impact of Cold Crush Brothers
• Has the Cold Crush received their flowers?
• Upcoming events

Also check out:

Our original episodes on Wild Style, Beat Street, and Breakin'.

The Hip Hop Years and VH-1's NY77: The Coolest Year in Hell

Hip Hop Movie Club will be back with ARM at SteelStacks to host a screening of Juice on February 28 (and Krush Groove in March).

Check out ARM's 50 Years Down the Line site for more events, including "Fresh Dressed Like a Million Bucks" on February 24 and a conversation with Chuck D of Public Enemy on April 16.

Credits

Hip Hop Movie Club is produced by your HHMCs JB, BooGie, and DynoWright. Theme music by BooGie. Follow @hiphopmovieclub on Instagram!

Welcome to Hip Hop Movie Club, the show

that harmonizes the rhythm of hip hop with

2

the magic of movies.

3

50 episodes ago, we here at the Hip Hop

Movie Club reviewed the first ever hip hop

4

film, Wild Style.

5

And last week, the Hip Hop Movie Club

received a blessing that was completely

6

inconceivable when we reviewed this film

nearly two years ago.

7

We met the director Charlie Ahearn, Grand

Mixer DXT, and the Cold Crush Brothers at

8

a special screening, panel discussion, and

performance at ArtsQuest.

9

Bethlehem PA.

10

Coming up, we have the man responsible for

bringing this event to life, Andrew

11

McIntosh, aka DJ ARM 18.

12

We're three old heads who put their old

heads together to vibe on these films for

13

you.

14

I'm DynoWright, filmmaker, longtime

hip-hop fan, and I can't believe I dapped

15

up Grand Mixer DXT the man who turntabled

on Herbie Hancock's "Rockit".

16

I'm JB, 80s and 90s nostalgia junkie, long

time hip hop fan, and I'm equal parts

17

fresh fly wild and bold.

18

Yes, I can attest to that.

19

I'm BooGie, a DJ, long time hip hop head.

20

And I wish that every night was like the

one we were about to talk about.

21

Today on the show, ARM will tell us why

Wild Style is required viewing for all

22

hip-hop fans and we'll give you five more

takeaways from this important film and

23

screening.

24

How this event came to be, the cultural

significance of Wild Style, how it

25

compares with Beat Street and Breakin',

the impact of the Cold Crush Brothers, and

26

whether the Cold Crush truly got its

flowers.

27

All right, so welcome ARM 18, Andrew

McIntosh.

28

Thank you so much for bringing this

special event to the masses, at least to

29

Lehigh Valley.

30

And first question I have for you, why

were you inspired to bring Charlie and the

31

Cold Crush Brothers to ArtsQuest?

32

What inspired you?

33

There's actually a long backstory to this,

and I'll try to be as concise as possible.

34

I was very fortunate in coming up in the

90s to have run with some heads that came

35

from the city who were graffiti writers

themselves, and they were fellow college

36

students of mine.

37

They go by JERE from DMS out of Queens and

the late Chase from ST7 Staten Island.

38

and they put together something called the

Raw Arts Symposium.

39

And this was a weekend long event, I would

say 96 this happened.

40

And it was an incredible sort of mixing

and matching of bringing graffiti artists

41

up to the Bard College campus in upstate

New York, where we had REVS, COST, Lady

42

Pink, and another artist I can't quite

remember.

43

and they kicked it off with a party.

44

Like, right, we did a party out in the

middle of the woods, highly illegal or

45

whatever, and I was DJing it, it was

great.

46

And then the next day, the artists came

and they did installations, they did live

47

installations, right, of their graffiti

art while I was DJing.

48

And so the campus is like coming down to,

it's like this watch party of graffiti

49

being happening.

50

And then it was followed up with like this

long panel in one of our auditoriums where

51

they talked to the graffiti artists about

their work.

52

And then of course there was a party.

53

Like it was like, I did three parties in

like 24 hours.

54

It was like, I loved it.

55

And then I think the final day there was a

showing of Wild Style, right?

56

That was like the end.

57

Cause like my man Chase Malcolm said to

me, like when I showed up at Bard as a

58

freshman, he was like,

59

Have you ever seen Wild Style?

60

And I was like, I've heard of it.

61

And he was like, you haven't seen it?

62

I was like, no.

63

And he was like, he said, it's a rite of

passage, B.

64

Like you just got, you gotta see it.

65

And that phrase, rite of passage always

stuck with me.

66

And so when I finally got my hand on a VHS

copy and I was blown away by it, I kept

67

rewinding the scenes with Grandmaster

Flash over and over again, cause I was

68

learning.

69

It was the first time I could really watch

a DJ cut a record.

70

But that's when Wild Style was sort of was

injected into me.

71

And I've always kept the Raw Arts

Symposium like in the back of my mind is

72

like, I wanna do something like that.

73

That was an incredible weekend of

celebration, of art being made, like, you

74

know, real time.

75

And then also just this, you know, taking

in and showing of Wild Style.

76

And so that's where it got its start.

77

you know, many, many moons ago.

78

And I got this opportunity this, this year

in the celebrating a 50 years of hip hop

79

at Northampton Community College in

Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, to put on a

80

variety of events.

81

And this is, this is one of the key, like,

you know, uh, key events that we're doing

82

this year.

83

We did, worked with a lot of regional

artists in the fall.

84

Uh, BooGie came to one in Stroudsburg PA,

like, you know, we've, we've had, uh, and

85

also in Bethlehem, right?

86

Uh, we've had a lot of good work with

local graffiti artists, local DJs, local

87

rappers, entrepreneurs, et cetera.

88

But the Wild Style kicking off 2024, you

know, the showing of Wild Style at steel

89

stacks in Bethlehem, PA, that was going to

be our first big signature event.

90

And so I was like, how do we, you know, we

got to get Charlie there.

91

How can we get Charlie there?

92

Uh, I was fortunate to have a friend from

Bard who has worked with Charlie on

93

in some of his other movies who put me in

touch with him.

94

And I kind of had in the back of my mind,

Charlie was gonna be the key that opens

95

doors.

96

I had met him at Cornell University of 10

years ago at the 30th anniversary of Wild

97

Style.

98

And I saw how all the performers and

artists from that movie, Charlie's their

99

dude.

100

Like that they'll ride for him, you know.

101

They have a lot of respect and love for

him because he put them on and gave them

102

this opportunity.

103

And so once I secured Charlie, I then

started calling around to artists and

104

said, listen, I'm working with Charlie

Ahearn and he's coming out.

105

Like, are you willing to come out?

106

And we've got Cold Crush.

107

And I would say, I want to be clear, like

Cold Crush was, they were down and

108

enthusiastic from day one.

109

Like once I got a hold of them and, and

their manager, Cora Brown, a big shout to

110

her.

111

She was at different times.

112

It was like, Andrew, you sound so nervous.

113

This is going to work out just because

it's okay.

114

And she really held my hand.

115

through a lot of the planning and

organization and contacting people, and

116

then finally acquiring GrandMixer DXT as

well, to be a DJ component, you know, and

117

represented at the event.

118

So that's from soup to nuts, from the

first time I experienced Wild Style to

119

what we experienced this last weekend,

that's how it all came together.

120

It's an amazing backstory.

121

backstory.

122

Nice.

123

Awesome.

124

Yeah, and it was a smashing success.

125

I was telling these guys, I was like, man,

this event deserves mass media.

126

So we'll be the media right now to try to

bring it a little bit out to the masses

127

because it did get picked up by Rock the

Bells Instagram.

128

You saw that Rock the Bells had some

footage that they obtained and put it out

129

there.

130

They have one point one million followers.

131

That's amazing.

132

So.

133

It's big time.

134

Yeah, I love how Rock the Bells supports

artists like Cold Crush.

135

You know, that's crucial.

136

It's amazing, yeah.

137

And actually I was at the Rock the Bells

Festival in Queens in the summer and

138

Grandmaster Caz and Cold Crush were one of

the opening acts.

139

He had that jacket all blinged out from

Rock the Bells at the event if you saw him

140

afterwards.

141

So next question I have is, and you kind

of touched upon this a little bit, but

142

what is the cultural significance of the

movie Wild Style?

143

You know, in addition to it being like

every, you know, B-boys rite of passage, I

144

would say the thing that I believe was

discussed during the panel discussion,

145

what I would say in my classroom is that

what you're seeing in Wild Style is the

146

moment.

147

It's a fictional movie, but everybody

who's playing a part in that movie was

148

down with the hip hop scene since day one.

149

So what you're seeing is the moment in

which

150

In my mind, I'll say the old school became

the new school where hip hop moved from

151

uptown to downtown.

152

The whole movie, if you think about it, if

you think about Zoro and the character of

153

Zoro, imagine Zoro representing not just

graffiti, but all of hip hop.

154

Zoro represents like the whole struggle

these performers and artists are having

155

with, wait, I've got opportunity on one

hand, but then there's keeping it real on

156

the other.

157

How can I, how do I manage these things?

158

How can I make some money but not get

ripped off, right?

159

How can I do my art but it still have

integrity?

160

And that's a huge question for hip hop at

that moment, right?

161

And all that energy is in Wild Style, like

that tension in my mind of like, this is

162

no longer just a folksy grassroots, you

know, rough around the edges, like you

163

have to be there.

164

musical performance movement, it's about

to blow up.

165

Right.

166

And that's what Wild Style captures.

167

It's just that, that it's like, it's, it's

like when a bomb drops and it's like

168

silent and then it like blows, like it's

like that moment and everybody who's in

169

it, they were there.

170

There's no Hollywood actors, et cetera.

171

So they're getting a platform to sort of

replicate and showcase what they did in

172

the Bronx for 10 years.

173

right there for you on screen.

174

You know what's funny is it's so well

ahead of its time.

175

I put it out there and you see that the

riches that could come from it, like they

176

had the car, the limo, they got the

ladies, the party lifestyle.

177

And it's like, wow, fast forward and then

look at all the music videos that we've

178

seen in the past couple of decades.

179

And that just got amplified exponentially.

180

Yeah.

181

And I mean, it's an interesting thing,

right?

182

We witnessed a little bit of in the Q&A

between, you know, Caz and DXT and Charlie

183

and myself, a little bit of the tension

that exists in the purpose of hip hop,

184

right?

185

Like what is it, you know, is it for a

party or is it to speak upon why hip hop

186

is the way that it is, right?

187

Like hip hop is the way that it is because

it's coming from these, you know, from a

188

particular community.

189

The Bronx was...

190

utterly abandoned in the 1960s and 70s and

was a shelled out like, you know, war zone

191

in the way that there was virtually no

civil services and arson was rampant and

192

et cetera.

193

And out of this comes these kids making a

name for themselves, right?

194

And so there's this great story of

triumph, but there's also this opportunity

195

to talk about the grant, like great

inequities that exist in our society.

196

And I think what we saw a little bit

between DXT and Caz was like,

197

Well, are we here to celebrate Wild Style

or are we here to like, you know, really

198

kind of break it down, you know?

199

And it was me as an educator, I thought

that was wonderful because we as an

200

audience got to witness, well, hip hop's

both of those things.

201

It doesn't have to be an either or, you

know?

202

Right?

203

And so it was kind of a key moment.

204

You're absolutely right, JB.

205

It's like...

206

Wild Style embodies all the elements of a

party and a good time that we know hip hop

207

to be about and to celebrate, but it's

also, it doesn't turn away from the fact

208

that the Bronx was utterly dangerous place

to live and to dwell and to try to create

209

this art.

210

Yeah, there was a stick-up scene and

everything.

211

It was dangerous.

212

Next question I had was, if you could do

us a favor, compare Wild Style with some

213

of the other more popular hip-hop-themed

movies that would soon follow, such as

214

Beat Street and Breakin'.

215

Yeah, I mean, listen, as a kid living out

in Pennsylvania, I saw Beat Street and

216

Breakin' like long before Wild Style,

right, because why?

217

They had the distribute, you know, what I

understand now is they had the

218

distribution, they had the Hollywood

reach, et cetera.

219

And those movies have a certain virtue in

their own right, but they are, they sort

220

of take a look at the template that Wild

Style provided, and they essentially

221

appropriate it, you know?

222

I would argue that Beat Street's a little

more effective than Breakin', you know?

223

And once you get to Breakin 2, Electric

Boogaloo, it's like, you know, it's

224

laughable.

225

It's more just entertainment, if anything.

226

It seems pretty removed from the whole

thing that hip hop is about.

227

But Beat Street, you know, it's a similar

story, right?

228

trying to make a name for themselves, et

cetera.

229

The difference is, it's just, at different

times, unless it's the Rock Steady Crew in

230

it, like a lot of the party scenes are mad

stiff and like, you know what I mean?

231

They're very, it's obviously scripted and

maybe a little bit better acted.

232

But at times it comes off in my mind as

contrived.

233

Those movies come off in a way that isn't.

234

feels wholly authentic, you know?

235

Yeah, definitely you see the Hollywood

sheen on Beat Street and Breakin' for

236

sure.

237

Whereas Wild Style is raw, uncut.

238

Some of those rap scenes go on for like

15, 20 minutes in Wild Style.

239

And I'm just loving it.

240

And it's just like, you're at a concert.

241

It literally puts you, puts you there.

242

Yeah.

243

Straight lyrics, no hook.

244

Hahaha

245

So we had the great pleasure to meet the

Cold Crush Brothers, thanks to you.

246

And how much credit do you feel the Cold

Crush Brothers deserve as hip hop

247

trailblazers?

248

Um, you know, it's not just me.

249

I mean, earlier, I think within the last

hour on January 30th here, uh, DJ Doo Wop,

250

right?

251

Um, uh, great mixtape king at, uh, out of

252

A lot of greatest rappers of all time.

253

Oh, their entire careers to Grandmaster

Caz, you know, and I'm like, Wow.

254

Okay.

255

I guess we're vibing the same way right

now.

256

Me and Wop like you, you are, you're

correct.

257

JB, like the, the Cold Crush as a, as a

unit and then

258

and then Caz is their leader.

259

I was talking to their manager and I'm

like, you know what, people talk about

260

raising the bar and it's Cold Crush.

261

They are the bar.

262

You know what I mean?

263

That's what you need to aim for.

264

I think what we witnessed in person, in my

mind, that is so extraordinary is four

265

individuals with a DJ Ultimate, their DJ,

who

266

you know, stands in for Tony Tone, their

original DJ, they are, are rapping in

267

unison for 30 plus minutes.

268

I mean, there's, there's not one

microphone feedback.

269

There's not one missed line.

270

There's not one like pause where they're

able to exchange verses or rap or sing in

271

unison while a DJ is cutting up the beat

or dropping the beat.

272

You know, there's no, there's no DAT.

273

There's no pre-programmed.

274

It's just five individuals who have these

routines, you know, or you could sit here

275

and say, well, it's been 40 years.

276

Of course it's mastered.

277

But if you go back and listen to tapes,

they're on YouTube.

278

They were rhyming like that back in the

day.

279

They, they practice that hard back in the

day.

280

They invented rap.

281

Like there was rapping before this.

282

This is what I always try to say in my

classroom.

283

Like Isaac Hayes rapped, you know, James

Brown rapped King heroin, like.

284

Millie Jackson rapped, like all sorts of

people rapped and rhymed.

285

That was that's a part of the

African-American, you know, expression,

286

right, like preach, you know, Black

preachers.

287

They're basically rapping from the pulpit.

288

But what Cold Crush did and, you know,

people like Melle Mel and the Furious Five

289

and others.

290

But what Caz and them did was they were

like, you know what?

291

Rapping is not just like a novelty.

292

It's not a joke.

293

It's not like a game.

294

Like I'm a performer.

295

Right.

296

And you see how they modeled themselves

after Motown groups, right?

297

You got the - Yeah.

298

Right.

299

I knew it.

300

I was going, I was going there.

301

When I saw that in person, like the way

that they're playing off each other, like

302

the Temptations, like the Four Tops, and

I'm like, oh my God, I get it now.

303

I get it because that makes sense because

that's who they grew up on.

304

That's who they grew up on.

305

And they're like, you know, we're going to

be that, but the hip hop version of it.

306

So that's, that's to me, you know, the,

the real legacy of the Cold Crush

307

brothers, they're one of the, you know,

308

I don't know what the exact number is.

309

I'm gonna say a dozen, okay?

310

Like give or take, give or take a couple,

but of groups that have just set the

311

standard of what rap, like what rapping

could be as a musical, like art form, you

312

know?

313

And they made it out a whole cloth.

314

Nothing, you know, it didn't exist before

then.

315

It's amazing in that regard.

316

And then let's, I didn't get a chance to

say it in the, in the panel.

317

I would like to say it here.

318

Grandmaster Caz is the author of the

number one, the first rap commercial hit,

319

Rapper's Delight, Sugarhill Gang.

320

And you could go find video of Caz talking

about it.

321

The Hip Hop Years is one of the

documentaries where he comes out and

322

explains what happened.

323

I won't go into it here, but he didn't get

that credit when it happened.

324

So, Sugarhill Gang drops Rapper's Delight

and they become a household name, but

325

those are Caz's rhymes.

326

So the record that helped hip hop music

cross over throughout the United States

327

and throughout the world, that's

Grandmaster Caz, you know?

328

And I think that's another big piece of

his legacy.

329

That was huge.

330

I had heard a lot of that story.

331

So yeah, I definitely was aware of that.

332

So that being said, you know,

unfortunately these guys, they never

333

really got that record deal and they

talked about that at the panel.

334

Now in your opinion, do you feel that the

Cold Crush Brothers have sufficiently

335

received their flowers yet for their

contributions to hip hop?

336

In I do I do you know, but I think that's

a part of the work that I was trying to do

337

was that Okay, you go on Sirius XM radio

and Caz is on there, right?

338

You you can't you can't look at many

documentaries that are about the

339

development of the culture and Cold Crush

and Caz aren't referenced Or interviewed

340

like Caz is a great interview, right?

341

So he's in You know, he's in uh, I highly

recommend uh VH-1's

342

NY77: The Year from Hell, which is about

343

Caz is all in that and you get to hear

about how he started as a DJ before he

344

became a performer.

345

It's, it's great.

346

And I do think that they've gotten a

certain amount of acknowledgement, right.

347

But that said, that's why we do the events

we do out in Eastern PA, because I'm going

348

to assume there were a lot of people there

that was watching Wild Style for the first

349

time.

350

That was their first rite of passage.

351

That was, you know,

352

They'd never seen a group like Cold Crush

perform in person.

353

And so I think they, as long as our

legends are here, they should get that

354

platform.

355

We should be supporting them where we can.

356

Yeah.

357

Right.

358

So Andrew, I think those are all the key

questions that we had regarding the event.

359

We definitely want to thank you again for

bringing it to Lehigh Valley and to the

360

masses.

361

It was an awesome celebration of original,

authentic hip hop between the movie Wild

362

Style, having Charlie Ahern there and

Grandmaster Caz and the Cold Crush

363

Brothers and Grand Mixer DXT.

364

We are eternally grateful for this

opportunity.

365

So thank you so much.

366

Well, word up, thank you for saying so.

367

And, you know, I feel like it's, I mean

this when I say being introduced to you

368

all as the Hip Hop Movie Club and watching

your passion and energy, the time you're

369

putting into hip hop movies, awoken in me

like, yes, like these movies, we need

370

that, you know, let's give them the

platform.

371

Let's discuss them.

372

Let's break it down.

373

This is, we need to do this.

374

And so, you know, that-

375

The work you're doing with the podcast is

a point of reference for me.

376

I just keep at it, keep doing it, I'm

loving it.

377

Yeah, I might just watch Just Wright.

378

Maybe, maybe.

379

When you told me the basketball scenes

aren't like, they're mid, I don't know,

380

I'm like.

381

Ha ha

382

We give you the five takeaways, that's a

new thing.

383

We give you the five takeaways, and but

hey-

384

a, that's a, that's a, that's, that's

helpful to us, for us.

385

Yeah.

386

If you like rom-coms and you don't mind

predictability, like we said, go for it.

387

You don't expect an Oscar award

performance, but you will see legends.

388

You'll see Queen Latifah, you'll see

Common, and if you're a NBA fan, you'll

389

see some cameos from some folks that were

pretty big time as well, like Dwayne Wade

390

and Dwight Howard, et cetera.

391

So yeah, if you want to do some

stargazing.

392

your next event coming up.

393

Oh, we're, well, we, you know, which one,

which one DynoWright?

394

Cause we're working on something and I

know you guys will be talking about it,

395

but I'm looking forward to working with

you, you all to present Juice and Krush

396

Groove at SteelStacks in Bethlehem, PA.

397

In continuation of our celebration of 50

years of hip hop history and culture,

398

Northampton Community College is putting

on an event in South Bethlehem.

399

with taste smokers, which you guys are

pretty familiar with now, right?

400

Where there are two fashion designers in

the Lehigh Valley who will be showcasing

401

two Black American fashion designers

showcasing their materials.

402

In February, in March, I'll be connecting

with the author, Shanita Hubbard, and

403

talking about Black feminism within hip

hop culture and how to be a Black feminist

404

and love hip hop at the same time.

405

Is that possible?

406

Yes.

407

that conversation in downtown Bethlehem.

408

And then our other signature event is our

keynote speaker, Chuck D of Public Enemy.

409

On Tuesday, April 16th, we'll be coming to

Northampton Community College's Bethlehem

410

campus for a chat like we're having right

now about the history of hip hop and the

411

history of Public Enemy.

412

And it should be good.

413

All these events are free.

414

You can get your tickets, check out the

website.

415

50yearsdowntheline.com.

416

You'll find links to reserve your tickets

there.

417

So by all means, come through.

418

We will put these links out on our

platforms for everyone to know about.

419

So thank you for that.

420

Yeah, word up.

421

Thank you guys.

422

I appreciate the opportunity to connect

with you.

423

I love these conversations.

424

It was a pleasure.

425

Yep, as do we.

426

Alright.

427

Hip-Hop Movie Club is produced by your

HHMC's JB, BooGie, and DynoWright.

428

Theme music by BooGie.

429

In addition to all that, we've got a bunch

430

coming up.

431

You can learn more at our website,

hiphopmovieclub.com.

432

Come hang with us, especially at those

events in Bethlehem.

433

Thanks, Andrew.

434

All right, I'll check you guys out later.

435

Talk to you soon, peace.

436

you.