KRS-One

Today In Hip Hop History: Boogie Down Productions’ Debut LP ‘Criminal Minded’ Turns 35 Years Old!

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On this date in 1987, “Blastmaster” KRS-One, DJ Scott La Rock, “The Human 808” D-Nice and the rest of the Boogie Down Productions crew released their highly anticipated debut album Criminal Minded on B-Boy Records.

With the “South Bronx” vs. “The Bridge” aka BDP vs. The Juice Crew beef on wax was at its height, the Criminal Minded album proved to be one of the most important instructional projects for up and coming emcees on how to take out the top dog and start your own reign. As KRS mentioned in the QDIII Beef documentary, if MC Shan wouldn’t have responded to “The Bridge Is Over”, one of the premiere singles from the album, there probably would not have been the rise and success of KRS and BDP.

With Boogie Down Productions aligned with DJ Red Alert on the FM dial at 98.7 KISS and The Juice Crew siding with the one and only Mister Magic and Marley Marl on 107.5 WBLS, it also began the early radio wars, which is actually the origin of the HOT 97 and Power 105 battle on the dial.

Tracks that will forever be etched in Hip Hop history include intellectually adept “Poetry”, the street sagas in “My 9mm Goes Bang” and “P Is Still Free”, the late Scott La Rock-inspired “Super Hoe” and the extensive lyrical lesson in the album’s title track. Ironically, Scott Sterling, better known as DJ Scott La Rock, was killed less than six months after the album’s successful release.

Following Scott’s death, KRS began dropping socially conscious singles and albums, prompting Hip Hop’s “Stop The Violence” movement and the iconic, star-studded “Self Destruction” single.

The post Today In Hip Hop History: Boogie Down Productions’ Debut LP ‘Criminal Minded’ Turns 35 Years Old! appeared first on The Source.

Happy Heavenly Birthday To BDP’s DJ Scott La Rock!

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On this day in 1962, Scott Monroe Sterling known widely as DJ Scott La Rock of the famous Boogie Down Productions was born in the Bronx borough of New York City. Scott La Rock was the producer for rap icon KRS-One until his untimely death on August 27th, 1987.

La Rock was born in the Bronx, New York City, New York and was raised by his mother Carolyn Morant. As a child, he moved from Queens to the Morrisania neighborhood in the South Bronx then to the Morris Heights projects. La Rock attended Our Savior Lutheran High School where he was a great student and athlete. He originally intended to attend Castleton State University to play basketball but decided to switch his focus to music upon graduation. In college, he used to DJ at a local bar called Dugan’s Bar on Friday nights. From there his musical career blossomed.

La Rock graduated college in 1984 and returned to New York City. He worked a few jobs in the city while at night spinning records at the Broadway Repertoire Theatre. Through his work as a social worker, La Rock met his future partner in crime Kris Parker aka KRS-One at the Franklin’s Men’s Shelter. The two, along with Derrick Jones or DJ D-Nice, formed Boogie Down Productions.

In 1987 the group released their first LP, Criminal Minded, which has become a classic Hip Hop album. Criminal Minded has been ranked by The Source as one of the 100 Best Rap Albums. Rolling Stone ranked it as one of the 500 greatest albums. Complex Magazine ranks the track South Bronx from the album as #9 on their list of best diss-songs of Hip Hop.

La Rock life came to a stretching halt in 1987 due to senseless street violence. In an effort to support his friend and partner DJ D-Nice, La Rock was shot in the neck and died of his wound. As the story goes, La Rock, DJ D-Nice, Scotty “Manager Moe” Morris, DJ McBooo, and BDP bodyguard Darrell rolled up to the Highbridge Homes Projects in the South Bronx. They were there to handle a problem between D-Nice and a man who’s ex-girlfriend we was acquainted with at the time. After they handled their disagreement, bullet began to fly toward the white on red Jeep CJ-7 that they were riding in. La Rock was hit and later died at Lincoln Hospital within one hour of being shot.

KRS-One’s Stop the Violence Movement was a direct result of La Rock’s murder. Despite the loss of La Rock, KRS-One kept the Boogie Down Productions name alive and continued to release music and grow to be one of the most respected voices in Hip Hop. DJ Scott La Rock’s righteous legacy lives on forever through his music and the empire that he helped shape. Take some time today to listen to his classic album and pay some respect to his greatness.

The post Happy Heavenly Birthday To BDP’s DJ Scott La Rock! appeared first on The Source.

Today in Hip-Hop History: Boogie Down Productions Dropped Their ‘Sex And Violence’ Album 29 Years Ago

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On this date in 1993, KRS-One and the rest of the Boogie Down Productions crew dropped the Sex And Violence album, which was the fifth and last album put out by the pioneering Bronx-based Hip Hop collective.

The album produced less than lackluster sales, partially, according to KRS, because of his incident where he threw PM Dawn rapper Prince B off the stage during one of their performances. Kris also used this album to address his beef with X-Clan because of KRS’ proclamation of humanism rather than embracing X-Clan’s aggressive form of Afrocentricity.

This album touched on many of the social issues of the time, including the rape trial of Mike Tyson on “Say Gal,” “Build And Destroy,” where he addressed his humanist views and “13 And Good,” where Kris talks about the commonality of statutory rape.

Salute to “The Teacher” and the rest of BDP including Prince Paul, Heather B and Kenny Parker for making this album an underground classic!

The post Today in Hip-Hop History: Boogie Down Productions Dropped Their ‘Sex And Violence’ Album 29 Years Ago appeared first on The Source.

Rap Report Card From the 1990s Grades Jay-Z, DMX and More

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How’d your favorite rapper score on the rap report card? Continue reading…

Big Daddy Kane Explains Why He Believes His Upcoming ‘Verzuz’ Is ‘Bigger Than Me And KRS-One’

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Earlier this week, Verzuz announced that Big Daddy Kane and KRS-One would face off in the series’ next battle. It will be the third consecutive event between New York rappers following last month’s matchup between Fat Joe and Ja Rule and the one between The LOX and Dipset in August. Big Daddy Kane and KRS-One’s battle is a bit different than past hip-hop Verzuz events in that it will find viewers going a bit further back into the genre’s history, as the respective rappers both had their biggest moments in the late 1980s and ’90s. Speaking to HipHopDX, Big Daddy Kane explained why this Verzuz is important for hip-hop.

“This is bigger than me and KRS,” he said. “This is about the Golden Era of Hip Hop, to show that artists like MC Lyte, Doug E. Fresh, Public Enemy, Chubb Rock, Yo-Yo, Rakim, and Kwame are still putting in work and ripping stages.”

Big Daddy Kane and KRS-One’s Verzuz takes place on October 17 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. The battle will kick off at 7PM EST and tickets for the event are available can be purchased here. Back in June, during a sit-down with HipHopDX, Big Daddy Kane called KRS-One and Rakim the only rappers who would make sense as opponents for a Verzuz.

“If we can get it to happen with me and KRS-One, I would rather it be like a battle format,” he said. “If it’s going to be me and Rakim, then we might as well just do it with the music. You know what I mean? I don’t really see him as a battle rapper.”

Big Daddy Kane And KRS-One Will Face Off In An Upcoming ‘Verzuz’

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Verzuz has a new battle: Legendary rappers Big Daddy Kane and KRS-One will face off later this month. This means it will be the third straight matchup between New York stars following last month’s battle between Fat Joe and Ja Rule and the one between The LOX and Dipset in August.

Big Daddy Kane, who hails from Brooklyn, and KRS-One, who calls Bronx home, will face off at the Barclays Center on Sunday, October 17 for a matchup that kicks off at 7pm EST. While their matchup is highly anticipated, there’s another artist many Versuz watchers have been long hoping will finally take the stage.

That person is Diddy. A number of names have been proposed for who he’d b attle, but Diddy has made it clear that only one person is worthy: Dr. Dre. Jermaine Dupri attempted to put his own name in the mix, but Diddy shot the idea down, tellin ghim, “your arms too short to box with God!!!” This resulted in a passionate Instagram Livestream that saw Dupri and Diddy taking playful shots at one another.

Prior to that, Damon Wayans expressed his desire to challenge Dave Chappelle to a comedic version of Verzuz. “Chappelle, I’m calling him out!” Wayans said during an August appearance on KBXX 97.9 The Box.

Verzuz – KRS-One vs. Big Daddy Kane Reignites The Bronx vs. Brooklyn “Golden Era” Battle

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KRS-One vs Big Daddy Kane

The next installation of the Verzuz series will feature legends KRS-One and Big Daddy Kane — a matchup that has fans of 80s hip-hop excited for a modern-day Brooklyn vs The Bronx rap battle. KRS-One, Big Daddy Kane Up Next KRS-One and Big Daddy Kane will perform on Oct 17th in the next installation of […]