Review Summary: A hip hop classic, and an essential album
Criminal Minded is Boogie Down Productions's first, and highly influential debut album. Boogie Down Productions was a duo consisting of KRS-One and Scott La Rock, and Criminal Minded was released shortly before Scott La Rock being murdered. The album cover and title may lead the listener to believe that the album is all about crime and violence, but they would be wrong. While KRS-One has some verses on this album that seem to glorify violence, a good bulk of this album is just about the love of hip hop, and how BDP were signifying a fresh sound for hip hop.
Around the time of Criminal Minded, there was a shift in the sound of hip hop, and the style of music being put out. From people like Eric B and Rakim, to the Beastie Boys, hip hop was starting to be taken more seriously, and treated as less of a gimmick. The subject matter on Criminal Minded was topics that had been hardly touched on before. There are storytelling tracks which detail the harsh realities about life in urban communities, and they were told in original ways. The storytelling tracks were highly influential, and a lot of MC's borrowed ideas from this album.
The song "9Mm Goes Bang" is a good example of this, as it was one of the first storytelling tracks of its type. On this song, KRS-One tells a gritty crime narrative in a reggae tone, about the reality of gun violence in New York at the time. While at first listen it may appear to be a song supporting violence, it's simply KRS-One telling his life experiences growing up in a violent environment. There is also "Remix For P Is Free", which has KRS-One telling a story about a prostitute who gives sex for drugs. These storytelling tracks were unique for the time, as such topics had hardly been explored.
The diss tracks on this album were fantastic, and ahead of their time as well. "South Bronx", and "The Bridge Is Over" were disses to Queensbridge, inciting The Bridge Wars. "South Bronx" was a response to MC Shan's track "The Bridge", with a chorus that mimics MC Shan's track. BDP believed "The Bridge", claimed that Queensbridge was the birthplace of hip hop, and took offense to that. "South Bronx" has KRS-One praising the South Bronx in a similar manner as MC Shan did with Queensbridge, but claiming the South Bronx was the birthplace of hip hop as opposed to Queensbridge. "The Bridge Is Over" is another diss to Queensbridge, but specifically targeting the Juice Crew. Highly vicious to the Juice Crew, KRS-One raps harsh disses to them throughout the song. "The Bridge Is Over" is highly influential, and one of the best hip hop diss tracks of all time.
One of the most influential hip hop albums of all time, Criminal Minded is an album that any hip hop fan has to listen to. Although the production is somewhat dated, it's great for the time. The styles and subject matter used on this album were unique, and many MC's that came later were highly influenced by them. Criminal Minded is one of those essential hip hop albums that has to be listened to by anyone who claims to be a hip hop fan.
