Style Wars

Style Wars is a 1983 documentary on hip hop culture, directed by Tony Silver in collaboration with Henry Chalfant. The film has an emphasis on graffiti, although bboying and rapping are covered to a lesser extent.

You can notice a dialog between two graffers  starting at 4:50, the same one included at the beginning of the track "Respiration" from Black Star (Talib Kweli with Mos Def) and Common.

The film was originally aired on PBS television in 1983, and was subsequently shown in several film festivals to much acclaim, including the Vancouver Film Festival. It also won the Grand Jury Prize: Documentary at the Sundance Film Festival.

In 2009, A. O. Scott of the New York Times examined the film; 'Style Wars is a work of art in its own right too, because it doesn't just record what these artists are doing, it somehow absorbs their spirit and manages to communicate it across the decades so that we can find ourselves, so many years later; in the city; understanding what made it beautiful'

Featured Graffiti Artists:

• Demon
• Se3
• Spank
• Dez
• Skeme
• Ces 157
• Min 1 (NE)
• Iz the Wiz
• Quik
• Sach
• Dondi
• Seen
• Kase2
• DUSTER UA
• Zephyr
• Revolt
• Wasp 1
• Noc
• Kase
• D-5
• Trap
• Butch
• Zone
• Kid 167
• Cap
• Spooks One
• Shy 147
• Seen TC5
• Mare 139
• Daze
• Crash
• Paze
• Cey
• Futura
• Fred
• Duro

Featured Break Dancers:

• Crazy Legs
• Frosty Freeze

Featured Music:

• "8th Wonder" by The Sugarhill Gang
• "The Message" by Grandmaster Flash
• "Beat Bop" by Rammellzee and K.Rob
• "Pump Me Up" by Trouble Funk
• "Rockin' It" by Fearless Four
• "Jam Hot" by Johnny Dynell
• "Feel The Heartbeat" by Treacherous Three