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|"9mm Goes Bang"
|"9mm Goes Bang"
|L. Parker, S. LaRock
|L. Parker, S. LaRock
|DJ Scott La Rock, KRS-One
|DJ Scott La Rock, KRS-One, Parner Lee Smith
|KRS-One
|KRS-One
|4:19
|4:19

Revision as of 09:41, 16 November 2010

Untitled

Criminal Minded by Boogie Down Productions is a highly influential[1] hip hop album. Production on the LP is credited to 'Blastmaster' KRS-One (Lawrence Krisna Parker) and DJ Scott La Rock (Scott Sterling), but in interviews it has been revealed that an uncredited Ced-Gee (Cedric Miller) of The Ultramagnetic MCs had a key role in crafting the sound of the LP - the back cover, however, carries the message "a special thanks to Ced Gee".

Background

Released in early 1987, the album heavily sampled records from James Brown and AC/DC, and also flaunted a dancehall reggae influence. The songs “South Bronx” and “The Bridge is Over” ignited the rivalry with the Queens-bred emcee MC Shan and the Juice Crew .

The album is also credited with providing a prototype for East Coast gangsta rap. For instance, the cover, which showcases Parker and Sterling surrounded by an arsenal of weapons, was hip-hop’s first major release to feature members brandishing firearms. The album also contained several seminal hardcore songs such as “9mm Goes Bang,” one of the first hip-hop songs to be based around a first-person crime narrative, and "P Is Free," which details an encounter with a drug-abusing prostitute for perhaps the first time on record.

The liner notes of Criminal Minded read, "peace to Ron Nelson and the Toronto posse". This statement is evidence of BDP's involvement with Toronto's hip hop scene in the 1980s, which produced artists such as Michie Mee, Dream Warriors and Maestro Fresh Wes.[2]

The album is addressed in detail by KRS-One in Brian Coleman's book Check the Technique.[3]

Controversy

Initially, the album sold at least several hundred thousand copies; however, the relationship between the group and B-Boy Records quickly deteriorated when the label, headed by Jack Allen and Bill Kamarra, was allegedly slow to pay royalties. A lawsuit was launched, which was eventually settled out-of-court. Having left B-Boy Records, new friend Ice-T introduced them to a Warner Bros. A&R exec, who promptly signed them to a new record deal. However, the deal was short-lived.

By this time, Sterling had befriended a neighborhood teenager, Derek "D-Nice" Jones, who did a human beatbox routine for the group. One evening, Jones was assaulted by some local hoodlums and he later called Sterling to run interference. The next day, Sterling and a group of others came to the stoop where the offending parties lived. Sterling’s intention was to try and mediate things, but one of the hoods pulled out a gun and began shooting at random. In the ensuing confusion, Sterling was hit in the neck. Critically wounded, he died an hour later in hospital, leaving behind an infant son.

Warner Bros. reneged on the new deal in the aftermath of Sterling’s death. Parker, however, decided that the group should continue. A handful of friends were brought into the collective, including Parker’s new wife Ms. Melodie and brother Kenny Parker, with whom he had just recently reunited. Original member and Criminal Minded co-producer, Lee Smith, was dropped by Parker in pursuit of a deal. Signing with Jive/RCA Records, Parker recorded eight albums for that label in a 10-year period, eventually dropping the Boogie Down Productions moniker and billing himself as a solo performer. REM and others recruited him for collaborations, and he was among the few hip-hop acts at the Beastie Boys’ Tibetan Freedom Concerts.

Meanwhile, Criminal Minded became notoriously hard to find, falling in and out of print every few years, surfacing with a different distributor every time. Eventually, the Boston-based independent label LandSpeed Records landed the distribution rights to Criminal Minded, hence re-release in 2002. An expanded re-release titled The Best of B-Boy Records: Boogie Down Productions includes longer versions of the albums tracks and several 12-inch singles that didn't make Criminal Minded's original pressing. The album was re-released again in 2006—original art intact—when LandSpeed became Traffic Entertainment Group.

Reception

In 1998, the album was selected as one of The Source's 100 Best Rap Albums .[4]

In 2003, the album was ranked number 444 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.

Vibe (12/99, p. 157) - Included in Vibe's 100 Essential Albums of the 20th Century.

Vibe (6/02, p. 108) - Ranked #3 in Vibe's "Top 10 rap albums."

Track listing

# Title Songwriters Producer(s) Performer (s) Length
1 "Poetry" L. Parker, S. LaRock Ced Gee, DJ Scott La Rock, KRS-One KRS-One 5:01
2 "South Bronx" L. Parker, S. LaRock DJ Scott La Rock, KRS-One, Partner Lee Smith D-Nice, DJ Scott La Rock, KRS-One 5:10
3 "9mm Goes Bang" L. Parker, S. LaRock DJ Scott La Rock, KRS-One, Parner Lee Smith KRS-One 4:19
4 "Word From Our Sponsor" L. Parker, S. LaRock Ced Gee, DJ Scott La Rock, KRS-One, Partner Lee Smith KRS-One 3:52
5 "Elementary" L. Parker, S. LaRock DJ Scott La Rock, KRS-One DJ Scott La Rock, KRS-One 4:07
6 "Dope Beat" L. Parker, S. LaRock Ced Gee, DJ Scott La Rock, KRS-One, Partner Lee Smith KRS-One, DJ Scott La Rock 5:12
7 "Remix For P Is Free" L. Parker, S. LaRock Ced Gee, DJ Scott La Rock, KRS-One KRS-One 4:20
8 "The Bridge Is Over" L. Parker, S. LaRock Ced Gee, DJ Scott La Rock, KRS-One, Partner Lee Smith KRS-One 3:26
9 "Super-Hoe" L. Parker, S. LaRock Ced Gee, DJ Scott La Rock, KRS-One DJ Scott La Rock, KRS-One 5:30
10 "Criminal Minded" L. Parker, S. LaRock Ced Gee, DJ Scott La Rock, KRS-One KRS-One 5:17
11 "Scott LaRock Mega-mix (Bonus)" S. LaRock DJ Scott La Rock DJ Scott La Rock 6:49

Samples Used

  • "Poetry" contains samples from the James Brown recordings "Soul Power Pt. 1" & "Don't Tell It." (Scratches by TR Love)
  • "South Bronx" contains samples from the James Brown recordings "Get Up Offa That Thing" & "Get Up, Get Into It, Get Involved."
  • "Word from Our Sponsor" contains samples from First Choice's "Love Thang."
  • "Dope Beat" contains a sample from the AC/DC recording "Back in Black."
  • "Remix For P is Free" contains a sample from the Yellowman recording "Zungguzungguguzungguzeng."
  • "The Bridge Is Over" contains an interpolation of a bassline from the Super Cat recording "Boops" (played on the studio piano by KRS-One) and a short melodic and lyrical interpolation of Billy Joel recording "It's Still Rock and Roll to Me."
  • "Super Hoe" contains samples from the Captain Sky recording "Super Sporm" & the Esther Williams recording "Last Night Changed it All (I Really Had a Ball)."
  • "Criminal Minded" contains samples from the Syl Johnson recording "Different Strokes," the Trouble Funk recording "Let's Get Small," and the Beatles recording "Hey, Jude."

Album chart positions

Year Album Chart positions
Top R&B/Hip Hop Albums
1987 Criminal Minded #73

Later Samples

References

  1. ^ http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:wxftxq8kldfe~T1
  2. ^ XXLmag.com | Hip-Hop On A Higher Level | » Maestro Fresh Wes on hip-hop up top
  3. ^ Coleman, Brian. Check The Technique: Liner Notes For Hip-Hop Junkies. New York: Villard/Random House, 2007.
  4. ^ ~~~~ www.rocklist.net ~~~~
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