Boogie Down Productions - Criminal Minded [Plus Instrumentals] (CD)

All Music Guide

Boogie Down Productions' 1987 debut was a watershed release in an art form poised for mass consumption. South Bronx natives KRS-One and Scott La Rock combined to form not only a signature and celebrated hip-hop group, but a social and political movement; using hip-hop as the medium, BDP gave disenfranchised inner-city citizens a voice. The album's cover and title suggest that Criminal Minded glorifies violence. However, this was a ploy to appeal to the reality faced by inner-city youth: self-preservation through sometimes violent means. It was a gateway to BDP's true message: self-knowledge, empowerment, and peace. DJ/producer Scott La Rock sadly became a martyr for that cause, gunned down soon after the album was released after trying to settle an argument. The legacy of BDP was left to KRS-One, the poet, scholar, teacher, and B-boy who became a hip-hop immortal from the moment he clicked on the mic and his voice rang out on the opening cut, "Poetry." On "South Bronx," KRS lays claim ...to the true genealogy of hip-hop, stating in true battle fashion that hip-hop's Plymouth Rock is located in his South Bronx stomping grounds. "The Bridge Is Over" is further affirmation, the definitive salvo in the Bronx versus Queens feud and an answer to MC Shan's "The Bridge." The production on Criminal Minded is pure, stripped-down, skeletal brilliance. Criminal Minded was one of the first rap albums to utilize rock roll and pop samples and elements; "Dope Beat" uses an AC/DC guitar riff, the a cappella opening of the title cut paraphrases the Beatles' "Hey Jude," and the bridge portion of "The Bridge Is Over" embodies Billy Joel's "It's Still Rock n' Roll to Me." Criminal Minded is a classic hip-hop album, a manifesto that outlines the essence of the art form. [Landspeed released a version that cut Scott La Rock's mix track but added each song's instrumental track in exchange.] - M.F. DiBella, All Music Guide Read more Less