The Movie
Wild Style (1983), $20.
“This is the best start. You had the four elements of the culture in a single movie and soundtrack. It featured the roots of all the music—Busy Bee, the Cold Crush Brothers, the Fantastic Freaks, Grandmaster Flash, and Grand Wizard Theodore, who invented the scratch. Then you had the break-dancing and popping crews. And, of course, the burners (graffiti artists), like Lee Quinones, doing whole subway cars and benches—all in this movie. This is quintessential not just for New York but for all of hip-hop.”

The Fashion Bibles
1. Back in the Days (2001), $35.
2. A Time Before Crack (2005) $35.
Books by photographer Jamel Shabazz.
“There were two main spots to get your hip-hop gear in New York, both in downtown Manhattan: Delancey St. for the big, puffy coats and fat shoelaces, then Canal Street to get your gold ropes and nameplates, rings, all that. The photos Jamel took in the ’80s really capture those nascent B-Boy styles that were on the streets: from Reeboks to mock necks to Kangols to thick, square glasses.”

The Essential Single
“Eric B. Is President,” by Eric B. & Rakim (1987), $1.
“In the summer of ’87, New York was just hungry for a hit. The Wop dance had just come out. So here comes Rakim…‘I came in the door’…boom…‘I said it before’…boom…‘I never let the mic magnetize me no more.’ It was so new, so funky. It was fun, but with Rakim’s voice and delivery it was dangerous, too. The girls were doing the Wop dance, shaking their big, gold door-knocker earrings. I’m telling you, it was this perfect storm that swept the city. Essential.”

The Innovators
1. “The Show,” by Doug E. Fresh and the Get Fresh Crew, featuring MC Ricky D, AKA: Slick Rick (1985), $1.
“Slick Rick is just one of the true innovators. Listen and see why he’s called Slick Rick the Ruler. This single, when it came out, just swept through the boroughs.
2. “It’s Yours,” by T La Rock and Jazzy Jay (1983), $1. “This is the first Def Jam recording by Rick Rubin, who with Russell Simmons signed and produced Public Enemy, Run DMC, and the Beastie Boys.” Bonus: The Beasties can be heard in the background of “It’s Yours.”

The Battles
1. Down by Law, by MC Shan, produced by DJ Marley Marl (1987), $15.
2. Criminal Minded, by Boogie Down Productions (1987), $15.
“When hip-hop really started coming off, people were claiming it for their neighborhoods. MC Shan was the first to do this, with “The Bridge” on Down by Law. He said it started out in Queensbridge [Queens]. Then KRS-One from BDP battled back and claimed it for the Bronx, dissing Shan and Marley Marl on Criminal Minded. Borough battling was a huge movement in ’80s hip-hop.”