Before hip-hop became a global cultural force, Malcolm McLaren helped introduce its sounds and imagery to an entirely new audience.
Released in 1982, “Buffalo Gals” grew out of McLaren's encounters with New York's emerging hip-hop scene. Built around scratching, turntablism, electronic rhythms, and the unforgettable call of “Buffalo gals, go ’round the outside,” the track sounded unlike almost anything on mainstream radio at the time.
The accompanying video brought breakdancing, graffiti, street fashion, and DJ culture into homes across Britain and Europe, giving many viewers their first glimpse of the creative movement developing in New York. Featuring music and performances connected to the World's Famous Supreme Team, “Buffalo Gals” became an unlikely bridge between downtown New York street culture, British punk, New Wave, and early electronic dance music.
McLaren was already famous—and infamous—as the manager of the Sex Pistols and a central provocateur of the British punk movement. With “Buffalo Gals,” he once again turned his attention toward an emerging underground culture, combining influences in ways that were adventurous, controversial, and unmistakably his own.
