Customer Reviews

By All Means Necessary

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I can't believe I slept on this record up until a week ago. The only other BDP record I had before this one was 1987's "Criminal Minded," which is one of the most brilliant, and groundbreaking albums ever made. But I'm beginning to think that KRS-One's sophomore effort "By All Means Necessary" is just as influential. The murder of DJ Scott La Rock had a profound effect on KRS-One, which is very apparent in his engrossing lyrical flow. This record feels more personal, and much more concise. And in the eyes of many critics, including myself, this is KRS-One's finest moment.

Until now, I never knew that I've heard KRS-One's vocals sampled on so many other hip-hop albums I own. Not only samples, but covered choruses, signature time flows, and of course, the beats. Every emcee has been vastly influenced by KRS-One; underground and mainstream. Check out the first song, "My Philosophy". If you're an avid hip-hop listener, you've probably heard these lines sampled many times, "Right up to your face and diss you" or "It's not about a salary, it's all about reality". Check out that cut-up Deep Purple riff ("Smoke On The Water") on "Ya Slippin", along with the familiar sample "Bring it back that old New York rap". I was also shocked by the chorus on "Stop The Violence" - "1,2,3, The crew is called BDP, and if you want to go to the tip-top, stop the violence in hip-hop, wyahhhh", or the how about the cover of that chorus by Mos Def & Talib Kweli (Black Star) - "1,2,3, Mos Def & Talib Kweli, we came to rock it on to the tip-top, best alliance in hip-hop, wyahhhh". The "Teacher" is also in full effect on songs like "Illegal Business". The often sampled "I'm Still No. 1" is also one of my favorites (It's hard to deny that he's the best). I also enjoyed "Jimmy" quite a bit, where we here a reference to one of my personal favorite Jungle Brothers tunes, "Jimbrowski".

All in all, I'm ashamed that I referred to myself as a hip-hop fan before I got a hold of this record. It's so good it's sick. You can bet that I'll be checking out his solo career after after hearing this example of hip-hop perfection.

Words cannot fully describe the intensity, beauty, and raw flavor of this classic from the Bronx B-Boy elite, otherwise known as KRS ONE. The album is the epitome of what makes Hip Hop music so vital today. Considering the circumstances behind the making of this particular BDP release, the crew has definitely channeled the negativity to make a positive statement for Hip Hop culture. It still sounds as fresh as it did when it was first released back in the day. Unlike many of today's Hip Hop releases (who the f**k really needs to hear a double album's worth of wack ish?), "No Means. . ." is straight to the point with consistently dope cuts. The headz should already have a copy of this album, but if you haven't heard about it. . . pick this ish up! Peace. . .

I remember gettnig a copy of this when I was a kid from a friend.. It was one of the first tastes of rap I had really gotten.. my HANK WILLIAMS culture had never really embraced anything different other than the usual STRAY CATS and the CARS of the 80s... but this was pretty damn cool..

I got copies of this cassette, THE FAT BOYS, WHODINI and then later got into TON' LOC etc...

but I remember this one was cool and easy to chill out and listen to..

so yeah.. RAP MUSIC has changed big time since what I'd call OLD SCHOOL but you still need to check this out!

There isn't much to say about a certified classic. Boogie Down Productions was always on the pulse of conscious rap. That's why By All Means Necessary stood out as one of the most dynamic albums in rap music at the time. Other groups like Public Enemy and X-Clan were more unabashed in their delivery. KRS-One had a vision of entertaining as well as educating their listening audience.

Throw on a song like "Jimmy" where the beat and the mood are both playful, but KRS-One doesn't joke around when he's telling everybody to strap up and protect themselves when jumping in the bed. As a 12-year-old boy listening to this record for the first time, I knew there was more to the material being discussed on this song and would eventually learn what he was truly talking about in later years. Other songs like "Still Number 1" and "My Philosophy" are the other standouts on this album. But the fact is that the style and sound of BDP made them stand out from the rest. The rock 'n roll edge of "Ya Slippin" was a risky move at that time considering most rappers rapped over old r&b samples or drum beats only. The Caribbean groove of "Stop The Violence" and the uptempo groove of "T-Cha, T-Cha" are other examples of going against the grain.

Criminal Minded is always the first album people blurt out as their favorite BDP album. But once his brother Scott LaRock was murdered, By All Means Necessary unearthed the conscious mind of KRS-One. If you consider yourself a true Hip-Hop fan, then you already know all of this to be true. But if you've missed a few albums during your lifetime, you should definitely complete your hip-hop collection with this album...By All Means Necessary!

KRSONE (BDP) DOES IT AGAIN.DIDN'T THINK HE COULD COME BETTER THAN CRIMINAL MINDED,BUT YOU KNOW WHAT HE DID.TRACK 1 THROUGH TRACK 10,ALL CLASSICS.SHOWS VERSITILE STYLES ON A HIGHER LEVEL.THE TEACHER TEACH,BUT IS DEEPER THAN THE AVERAGE PROFESSOR. CONSISTENT WITH THE FIRST ALBUM,LYRICS ARE BANGING,BEATS ARE BANGING.IF YOU DO NOT HAVE THIS ALBUM,YOU ARE MISSING WHAT SO MANY RAPPERS ARE TRING TO ACCOMPLISE,BUT THEY FAIL.CHECK THIS ALBUM OUT AND YOU WILL UNDERSTAND WHAT LYRICAL FLEXIBLILTY IS ALL ABOUT.NO ONE DOES IT BETTER. KRSONE IS THE GREATEST.

FRESH! FOR 1988, you SUCKERS!!!

How many people can forget that line? If you don't know it, you don't have the album! So what are you waiting for? Buy it!

Best Tracks: "My Philosophy", "I'm Still #1", "Illegal Business"; and the most HARD ROCKING track is:

"YA SLIPPIN", which hijacks Deep Purple's "Smoke on the Water" guitar riff and turns it into a hardcore hip-hop battle rampage.

Krs does a nod to spoken word poetry at the end, a first for rap albums...

"See how it sounds, a little un-rational, a lot of MC's like to use the word 'dramatical'". CLASSIC MATERIAL, AN YA KNOW IT!!!!!!!!

KRS is pissed and more focused than ever. During the making of this album, Scott La Rock, DJ and Producer of BDP was shot and killed. During the making of "My Philosophy" in fact...which in my opinion is when Kris started showing his true colors. It was positive and negative, educational and entertaining..which had become the mantra of KRS ever since. On this album he tells you that Illegal Business controls America. He tells you to enjoy love, but make sure to wear a jimmy hat. He tells you how sometimes love is gonna get you. On this album you learn what the "word" "Unrational" means. Damn..I miss this kind of hip hop.

Yo Im a old schooler to the heart and this album you should have in your old school rap collection. "My Philosophy" is the one jam I remember playing on the radio back in Chicago 1988 and it blew my mind. The beat and the lyrics and the way KRS-ONE flows on this track is unbelievable. "Stop the Violence" was another that would get major air time,but my personal favorite was Illegal Business.

this album is unlike today's rap album. krs-one, like many of his peers at the time, was actually saying something. it is a perfect example from rap's golden age.
the beats are ok, not as good as public enemy's, erib b's, or jam master jay (RIP), but they could be better, the beats are influanced by rasta and scott la rock's earlier beats on criminal minded.
the subject of the lyrics is mainly two; battling and dissing other mc's, and socially concious raps (kinda like run-dmc, but stays more on the political side). the socially concious raps are about violence, drugs, and sex ( the song "jimmy"). sometimes krs-one includes both topics on some songs.
if u like this album, i suggest "it takes a nation of millions to hold us back", "straight otta comton", maybe "amerikkka's most wanted", and "criminal minded". u wont b dissapointed

this record along with several others at the time advanced hip-hop to another level. if anyone who is a lyricist wishes to learn how to construct rhymes and make it listenable to the audience, grab the teacher!