#239 Boogie Down Productions, 'Criminal Minded' (1987)

Re-entry

This album originally appeared at #444 in the 2003 list. For some reason it fell out of the 2012 list altogether (that’s the one I listened to last time). It’s back with a vengeance. This was one of the first gangsta rap records. This album is influential for multiple reasons. It’s a bridging record between ’60s & ‘70s funk and ‘90s & 2000s Hip Hop and Pop. Boogie Down Productions, comprising KRS-One, Scott La Rock and D-Nice, sampled artists such as James Brown (previously mentioned, one of the most oft-sampled artists in early Hip Hop), AC/DC, Billy Joel, The Beatles, The Honey Drippers and so many others.

In turn, many of these songs were sampled and re-reinterpreted. M.F. Doom sampled ‘Poetry’ in ‘Doomsday. J Lo’s ‘Jenny From The Block’ is based on ‘South Bronx,’ similarly so is MJ’s ‘Can’t Let Her Get Away.’ Lauryn Hill sampled ‘Super-Hoe’ on ‘Lost Ones.’ Nas, Cypress Hill, Method Man, Killer Mike & Rihanna – all artists that sampled songs from this record for their songs. A few months after the release of this album, D-Nice had been assaulted by some local hoodlums. He asked Scott La Rock to help. La Rock showed up next day with a crew to try and mediate but one of the hoodlums misread the situation, pulled out a gun and shot at random. One of the stray bullets hit La Rock in the neck. He would die an hour later, leaving behind a young son.

#rs500albums