Criminal Minded

Criminal Minded
Studio album by
Boogie Down Productions
ReleasedMarch 3, 1987 (1987-03-03)
Genre
Length51:43
LabelB-Boy
BB 4787
Producer
Boogie Down Productions chronology
Criminal Minded
(1987) 		Man & His Music (Remixes from Around the World)
(1987)
Singles from Criminal Minded
  1. "South Bronx"
    Released: 1986
  2. "The Bridge Is Over"
    Released: March 3, 1987
  3. "Super-Hoe"
    Released: 1987

Criminal Minded is the debut studio album by hip-hop group Boogie Down Productions, released on March 3, 1987, by B-Boy Records. It is considered a highly influential hip hop album[1] and one of the first in the gangsta rap genre.[2]

Since its release, the album has been sampled, interpolated and paraphrased. Its samples and direct influences were unusual at the time, ranging from liberal use of dancehall reggae (as well as the more commonly used James Brown) to rock music artists such as AC/DC, the Beatles and Billy Joel. The album was eventually certified Gold by the RIAA.[3] The songs "South Bronx" and "The Bridge Is Over" ignited the rivalry with the Brooklyn-bred but Queens resident emcee MC Shan and the Juice Crew. Throughout the album, KRS-One gives honor and praise to Scott La Rock for producing the album and he mostly goes on about the importance of originality and being "real" instead of a "Sucker MC".

In 2003, the album was ranked number 444 on Rolling Stone's list of "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time", and was later ranked number 239 in the 2020 edition.[4]

  1. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference allmusic was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ a b Echeverria, Jr., Steve (February 2, 2007). "20 albums you should own". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Retrieved July 12, 2015.
  3. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2017-02-02. Retrieved 2017-02-10.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  4. ^ "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time". Rolling Stone. 2020-09-22. Retrieved 2021-03-09.