Customer Reviews

Criminal Minded

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

You know,in 1986 I thought diss records went out with UTFO and SHANTE. Then I heard "South Bronx" an anthem to where hip-hop really started also an unexpected answer to MC SHAN's classic hit "The Bridge". I felt "The Bridge","South Bronx" didn't move me at first,it sounded like a demo,didn't seem real to me. Then SHAN answered back with "Kill That Noise",it didn't hit me at first whom he was feuding with. Next,"The Bridge Is Over" hits the airwaves like crazy. I had no choice but to give it a listen and damn,KRS-ONE's dissing the whole JUICE CREW (SHAN,MARLEY MARL,MR. MAGIC and SHANTE)except BIZ MARKIE & BIG DADDY KANE,kinda put SHAN in his place on the dissing part. Still it didn't get me into them. But it gave me a buzz. I had to hear what's next by BDP.

Then "Poetry" hit the airwaves. I'm like 'oh my God,that's dope'. Then "The 'P' Is Free" and then "Dope Beat" and then "Criminal Minded" and I'm like,what a record. I scooped up two copies to mix right away. I became a fan so quickly,I bought tickets to the Dope Jam concert in the summer of 1987 to see both KRS-ONE and SCOTT LA ROCK live in New York at Madison Square Garden. It never happened.

SCOTT LA ROCK was killed like a week before that concert.

KRS-ONE attended that concert,opening for WHODINI and L.L. COOL J and he did his thang. No lip syncing (like the headliner UNCLE L) and turntables spinning alone as a tribue to the late SCOTT LA ROCK. Performing them hits I just named that made BDP a major comeback force in underground rap music since SCHOOLLY D's THE ADVENTURES OF SCHOOLLY D in 1985. This album went commercial on an independent label,almost impossible.

The other songs "9mm Goes Bang","A Word From Our Sponser","Elementary" and "Scott La Rock Had 'Em All (Super Hoe)" makes noise but not like those I've named in the beginning. Then they released the instrumental album of all 10 songs from the original. I'm like 'that's great man',scooped up another pair. Any release was a must have at this point,even if I had it from this album already.

Some beats were done by CED-GEE of the ULTRAMAGNETIC MC'S but he gets no credit for it (he got jerked by BDP's label at that time). Nonetheless,this is the classic of the late 80's. No album before or after by any rap duo can touch this album.

I must add though,the first 10 original songs total about 50 minutes of the CD,so how can another 10 songs (instrumentals) fit on an 80 minute disc? Each of the 10 instrumental songs are shorten to 2:15. Too cheap to double the album I guess. Oh well,enjoy!

RIP SCOTT LA ROCK,we miss you,bra.

KRS-One's first album (along with Scott LaRock) was no doubt his finest. He was SO tight on the mic and he made other rappers look stupid. The track "The Bridge is Over" was one of the first hip hop diss tracks and it's cool to hear how diss tracks were back in the 80s.Anyways, this is an essential hip hop album, it's up to you whether you want the instumentals also which are included on this version, but at least buy some type of copy of this album.

Criminal Minded, the first and last album from BDP DJ Scott La Rock appeared on, stands as a precursor to gangsta rap. Though KRS would later go ahead with the Stop the Violence Movement, it's a testimony to the violent politics at the time. Producing not only comes from Scott La Rock but Ced Gee (of Ultramagnetic MC's) but was never credited for it. KRS guns down "Peter" the drug dealer in the gang related 9mm Goes Bang. The Bridge is Over, one of the first diss records in rap history, delivers the body blows to the Juice Crew (excluding Big Daddy Kane, Biz Markie and Kool G Rap). Acting as the East Coast model for N.W.A.'s Straight Outta Compton was the bad boy anthem South Bronx, a record which would soon initiate the battle between KRS-One and MC Shan.
But inside KRS lurked a socially conscious individual fighting to come out. Poetry found KRS overcasting his edutainment doctrine. And for the record, BDP ended up becoming the winners for the BDP vs. Juice Crew battle.

R.I.P. DJ Scott La Rock

Best moments= South Bronx, The Bridge is Over and Criminal Minded

It was 1987 and Krs-One was just getting started. When Criminal Minded first dropped, it was something TRULY different for hip hop, as you had the very first self-proclaimed teacher known as Krs-One. This album is SO revelant, that everytime Krs grabs the mic, you just have to listen to him, because what he says and how he says is something to behold. Here's the review:

Album Highlights: Criminal Minded, 9MM Goes Bang, South Bronx, The Bridge Is Over(the blueprint for dis records), and Poetry.

Production: Thumbs up. Scott La Rock and Krs work the boards on this one.

Lyrics and Subject Matter: Thumbs up.

Originality: Thumbs up.

The Last Word: Saying this album is DOPE isn't enough to justify things. It's a CLASSIC album, featuring Krs in his prime. He, like so many others, only got BETTER as the years went on. And you think wack rappers like Nelly tried to battle this guy. Overall, I strongly recommend this album.

Wah-Da-Da-Da-Dang. KRS-1 in the beginning and still today hard core to the end. Back in 86' when the true B-boy ruled KRS was at the top of the list. I have been a rap fan since 1982 and my opinion which should mean something is this is one of the BEST productions ever. Granted, for the new kids you might not care for the simplicity or how raw the music is, but this is when most rap actually ment something, when the rap section in a music store consisted of about 10-15 cassette tapes at best. I bought this new back in the day. Do yourself a favor and buy this one while you still can. God bless DJ Scott La Rock.

For 1987, this album is way ahead of its time. I notice that most people say that the diss songs on this record are the best, and while they are good, the intelligent and clever songs (Poetry, Elementary, Criminal Minded) far outshine. To this day ive hardly heard any rapper explain his purpose ("Dont want to be elected as the king of a record/just respected/and viewed as the man with the solution/an artist of the 80's that has left his contribution")and admit reality (many people hate me/many people love me/some are far below me and you know theres some above me) like KRS. It also seems like he took lyrics and length of the rhyme way longer and more advanced than previous rappers (check the 2 minute rhyme at the end of the last song). The beats from Scott La Rock which at first sound very basic grow on you after a few listens, when you start to see them as a whole. They are reggae influenced and sound hard as hell. If you are going to get one BDP album, get this one. One of the top 5 albums of all time.

Best Song=Criminal Minded

New school heads (25 and under) need to purchase this CD to realize the influence it has on today's music. You will hear some beats that you didn't realize where already made "re-popular" in the 80's through BDP's sampling of James Brown and others. You can't be a true hip hop head unless you understand where it all came from. This was one of the original "Blueprints".

In 1987 a new generation of rappers entered the scene. One of the most aggressive newcomers, was a young battle-rapper from Bronx named KRS-One. Together with his best friend and producer DJ Scott La Rock he started Boogie Down Productions, but Criminal Minded was the only record La Rock made, before his tragic death. Later BDP became a big crew, with D-Nice and Ms. Melodie as members.

Criminal Minded have become a legendary album, and that's for several reasons. Scott La Rocks instrumentals are a constitutive factor. Besides it was released on the underground-label B-Boy Record, and the record was hard to get. At least that time. The most important thing though, are the music, and this was really hard-hittin' stuff. It wasn't necessary to enter into any compromise, and each and all 10 songs was 100% pure hip-hop. It was used drum-machines, which was the trend at that time, but there's also some samples here. Actually this is one of the first times James Brown got sampled. "Poetry" are based on "Soul Power", and "South Bronx" are based on "Funky Drummer". Speakin' of "South Bronx", it's actually Ced Gee from Ultramagnetic MC's that produced it. The same goes for "The Bridge Is Over".

Criminal Mined was a refreshing different record. It's often this who characteristic a classic. It's not so easy to explain, but there's something about the mood, and the attitude to KRS-One, which makes this so special. Great songs such as "Poetry", "South Bronx", "9mm Goes Bang", "P Is Still Free", "The Bridge Is Over" and "Super Hoe" are all timeless which still are used as samples. Artists like MC Ren and Black Star have used beats from this record, and that says something about this albums status. KRS-One's battle with MC Shan and Marley Marl are of course eternalized here, and we even got some early tastes on both political and gangsta rap. KRS was before his time, man.

Other classic material by BDP: By All Means Necessary (1988), Edutainment (1990)

I have been wanting to get this album for months and it was definitely worth the wait. The entire album is great, definitely better than By All Means Necessary (and that is not easy); moreover, I would place it in the top 10 hip-hop albums of all time. If you like rap at all you need this album.

As for the songs, they are all awesome. The Bridge is Over is a great diss song; I love the simple beat, the lyrics, the reggae style.

Super-Hoe is a funny song about Scott La Rock being a "Super Hoe"
----------
KRS-One:
Whatever you could do or say inside a bed
Scott LaRock has done and most likely said
He doesn't argue with a girl cause yes, he has others
Keep updated on all kind of rubbers
Got ones that are lambskin, others that are plastic
One day he'll open a school for prophylactics
They don't know... (He is the Super Hoe)
----------

Then there is Poetry, South Bronx, 9mm Goes Bang, Words From Our Sponsor, pretty much the entire album is great and there is no filler, get it while you can.

I cant really say anything about this classic album that hasnt already been said but if you call yourself a true Hiphop head and dont own this you had better put down the Lil Wyte and get down to the record store and cop this immediately. KRS came in the mid 80s with a style like no other and when you look at MCs in terms of longivety KRS is still one of the top battle rappers of all time and hes still spittin lytrics non stop. I still love to pop this album in from time to time just to listen to scott larocks genius. This an any of KRS-ONES albums up to KRYSTYLE are highly recomended.