Criminal Minded

Criminal Minded
Studio album by Boogie Down Productions
Released	March 3, 1987 (1987-03-03)
Recorded	1986
Genre	Hip hop, East Coast hip hop, gangsta rap
Length	46:36
Label	B-Boy Records BB 4787
Producer	Scott La Rock, KRS-One, Ced-Gee
Boogie Down Productions chronology
Criminal Minded (1987) By All Means Necessary (1988)

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 had 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.

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]

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, Derrick "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. R.E.M. 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^[3]. The album was re-released again in 2006—original art intact—when LandSpeed became Traffic Entertainment Group.

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[4]
Robert Christgau	(B+)[5]
Dusted	(favorable)[6]
RapReviews	(9.0/10)[7]
Rolling Stone	[8]
The Source	[9]
Spin	(10/10)[10]
Trouser Press	(favorable)[11]
Virgin Encyclopedia	[12]

In 1998, the album was selected as one of The Source's 100 Best Rap Albums .^[13]

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, Partner 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

• "Poetry"
  • Doomsday by M.F. Doom from the album Operation: Doomsday
• "The Bridge Is Over"
  • "Destroy & Rebuild" by Nas from the album Stillmatic
  • "Final Frontier" by MC Ren from the album Kizz My Black Azz
  • "Butt In The Meantime" Black Sheep from the album A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing
  • "Brooklyn Took It" by Jeru the Damaja from the album The Sun Rises in the East
• "South Bronx"
  • "Jenny From The Block" by Jennifer Lopez from the album This Is Me...Then
  • "Anti-Nigger Machine" by Public Enemy from the album Fear Of A Black Planet
  • "KRS-One Attacks" by KRS-One from the album Return of the Boom Bap
  • "Can't Let Her Get Away" by Michael Jackson from the album Dangerous (uncredited)
• "Dope Beat"
  • "Form Of Intellect" by Gang Starr from the album Step in the Arena
• "Remix for P Is Free"
  • "Definition" by Black Star from the album Black Star
  • "Live & Direct" by Sugar Ray featuring KRS-One from the album 14:59
  • "Lil' Putos" by Cypress Hill from the album Black Sunday
• "Super-Hoe"
  • Dead Bent by M.F. Doom from the album Operation: Doomsday
• 9mm Goes Bang
  • "Uh Huh" by Method Man
  • "It's Not a Game" by Big Herk
  • "Battlefield" by Jordin Sparks from the album Battlefield (uncredited)
  • "9mm Goes Bang" appeared in 50 Cent's film Get Rich or Die Tryin'

References

1. ^ Allmusic review Allmusic, Retrieved on August 13, 2011
2. ^ XXLmag.com | Hip-Hop On A Higher Level | » Maestro Fresh Wes on hip-hop up top
3. ^ Boogie Down Productions - The Best Of B-Boy Records at Discogs Discogs, Retrieved on August 13, 2011
4. ^ Allmusic review
5. ^ Robert Christgau review
6. ^ Dusted review
7. ^ RapReviews review
8. ^ Rolling Stone review
9. ^ Kazeem (August 4, 2010). The Complete List Of 5 Mic Hip-Hop Classics. The Source. Retrieved on 2010-12-23.
10. ^ Spin review
11. ^ Trouser Press review
12. ^ Virgin Encyclopedia review
13. ^ www.rocklist.net Rocklist