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Busy Bee Starski and Lil Rodney Cee’s “M.C.Battle” from Wild Style is one of hip-hop’s early foundational raps. Busy Bee’s reputation for being able to command a party preceded him and his famous 1981 Harlem World battle with Kool Moe Dee was the key moment in battle rap. His 1987 album, Running Thangs, touted classic moments like “Suicide” because of his effortless humor and confidence that is one of the earliest origins of swag. Lil Rodney Cee was a member of The Funky Four Plus 1 and later Double Trouble. Grand Wizard Theodore, who invented scratching and the needle drop, DJ-ed the song and also appeared in the film. “M.C. Battle” is just one of the songs from the Wild Style soundtrack to become an endless source of lyrical and musical sampling. The movie itself, was the first to showcase the new world of graffiti writing, B-Boying, B-Girling and rap.
