Past Event: Moonlight & Movies | Wild Style

Join us for an OUTDOOR screening and celebration of Charlie Ahearn's beloved 1983 film Wild Style. Regarded as the first hip-hop motion picture, Wild Style (82 mins.) features memorable performances and appearances by artists including Grandmaster Flash, Fab Five Freddy, Lee Quinones, Lady Pink, the Rock Steady Crew, The Cold Crush Brothers, and Queen Lisa Lee of Zulu Nation. A conversation with director Charlie Ahearn, hip-hop legend Grandmaster Flash, and music journalist Jeff "Chairman" Mao will precede the film.

This season's Moonlight & Movies film series is inspired by the Museum's current hit exhibition New York, New Music: 1980 - 1986.

Event Timeline:
6:00 pm - Doors open to the South Terrace; drinks and bar snacks available for purchase
6:30 pm - Conversation with Charlie Ahearn, Grandmaster Flash, and Jeff Mao
7:00 pm - Film begins  
8:22 pm - Film concludes 

This event will take place outside on the South Terrace. In the event of inclement weather, the event will move indoors. 

Please note that no exhibitions at the Museum will be open for viewing, but we invite you to come back during our regular hours to check out what's on view! 

About the Speakers:
Charlie Ahearn directed the classic hip-hop film Wild Style in 1982 and has exhibited his silkscreen paintings at PPOW Gallery in New York and at the Beyond The Streets in LA and NYC. He is currently showing photography and silkscreen painting at the Museum of the City of New York. Ahearn still resides in New York City.

Grandmaster Flash emerged from the South Bronx in the early 1970s and is inarguably one of Hip Hop’s original innovators. In the earliest days of the genre, he manipulated music by placing his fingers on the vinyl, perfected beat looping, and discovered many of the most iconic beats still commonly sampled today. It’s no surprise that The New York Times calls him Hip Hop’s first virtuoso. Today, he’s the voice of an entire generation of 1970s hip hop pioneers. From his electric live shows, to his production role on Netflix’ The Get Down, Grandmaster Flash is at once a historian, a storyteller, and a cultural force.

Jeff "Chairman" Mao is an author, music journalist, DJ, and curator. A long-time member of the creative collective, ego trip - with which he co-authored ego trip’s Book of Rap Lists (1999) and ego trip’s Big Book of Racism! (2002) - he also worked extensively with Red Bull Music Academy (2003-2019) as a lecture and radio host, writer, and radio and documentary film producer, and served as an associate curator for Red Bull Arts’ exhibition RAMMΣLLZΣΣ: Racing for Thunder (2018). He resides in Harlem with his family and his record collection. maonyc.com

Event Logistics (subject to changed based on NYC regulations):

• Proof of vaccination is required for entry to the event (everyone over the age of 12). Excelsior Pass is accepted for those who were vaccinated in NYS. 
• Masks will be required.
• For more information about the Museum’s COVID Guidelines, please check our "Plan Your Visit" page.
• Please contact programs@mcny.org with any questions or ticketing issues.

Watch the Trailer: