Criminal Minded [Explicit Lyrics]

Boogie Down Productions | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 27, 2005)
• Original Release Date: September 27, 2005
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Explicit Lyrics
• Label: Traffic Entertainment/B Boy Records
• ASIN: B000B8I8LO
• Also Available in: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #71,136 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Traffic Entertainment and B Boy Records present one of the most influential and original albums in music history, “Criminal Minded” by Boogie Down Productions. KRS-ONE’s combination of street slang and Webster’s dictionary knowledge backed with Scott La Rock’s hard hitting, minimal beats set this record apart when it was originally released in 1986. With this now classic debut album, BDP helped redefine the New York rap music scene. “Criminal Minded” elevated the standards to a new level and proved that rap could be a dynamic and consciousness-raising medium. KRS-ONE has gone on to become one of the most prolific and critically-acclaimed artists in Hip Hop history. A true classic, “Criminal Minded” was included in Vibe Magazine’s 100 Essential Albums of the 20th century.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The beginning of the KRS-ONE legacy--, June 4, 2007

By 

Hype Currie "scholar of pop culture" (Detroit, Michigan United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Criminal Minded (Audio CD)

Criminal Minded: The beginning of the KRS-One saga

Put together by an ex-social worker and his formerly homeless client, Boogie Down Productions' DJ Scott La Rock and KRS-One introduced Criminal Minded to the hip-hop public in early 1987, after a year or so of dropping 12-inch singles on the indie B-Boy Records, and making a name for themselves in New York's underground hip-hop circles. The 10-track, groundbreaking album by BDP is definitely up there with the greatest rap albums of all time. The production by the artists (and according to many interviews, an un-credited Ced Gee of the Ultramagnetic MC's) brought a new sampling aesthetic to hip-hop, focusing heavily on then-dusty James Brown sides from the 60's & 70's. In KRS-One's rhymes listeners can hear a rapper whose intention is not just to entertain but to educate. The album opens with "Poetry", with a trademark James Brown scream; KRS declares "I'm not an MC, so listen--call me poet or musician". "9mm Goes Bang" is a reggae-driven tale of street revenge, focusing on the fictional "crack dealer named Peter". The Bronx-based act made instant rivals in the Queens-based Juice Crew, as evidenced in songs "South Bronx" and the perennial "diss record" favorite "The Bridge is Over" (with an oblique nod to Billy Joel at the end). "Dope Beat" samples AC/DC's "Back in Black", making for an influential rap/metal combo. The title track reinterprets the opening lines of the Beatles' "Hey Jude" with subversive results. In the ensuing years since the LP's first release, the album has fallen in and out of print several times. Fortunately, Traffic Entertainment (formerly Landspeed) has secured the catalog rights, and made the album available again. Subsequent re-releases have tacked on a few bonus tracks or an entire instrumentals disc.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A classic among classics., July 30, 2007

By 

Aaron Creagh "siamus" (Albany, NY USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Criminal Minded (Audio CD)

In my opinion this is not the best album by BDP or KRS-ONE, but what it is definitely is the foundation or blueprint for everything that has come after it ...and not only for the members involved in creating it...but rap music on a whole. It has very simple stripped down production with sharp poigniant lyrics that doesn't try to make you dance..it goes for the gut. It's brilliance is in it's simplicity and boldness and honesty.

nuff said

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Holy Relic, March 8, 2008

By 

Andrew R. Golden (Redwood City, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Criminal Minded (Audio CD)

This is more than a record. It is a religious sacrament. It is raw as f**k but it blow up any high-fi system at the same time. Deejay Scott LaRock's is guided by the holy spirits, Ouija board style. KRS-One blasts like a master...and it will blow your mind. This record is more than just a timepiece, it's a religion. Not only do the beats blast my head, but the lyrics are more infectious than a Vanilla Ice mushroom. Best when listened to driving down the west side highway, greened. I highly recommend this record for someone who craves something a little more human. It sounds like something that was recorded in the basement of your local high school by trespassers in the night, with a voice so loud it will crunk down on your cranium. Listen to the mindf*ck part on Sponsor, then listen to that part again and again and again and again and on into infinity.