Boogie Down Productions - Criminal Minded (Silver Vinyl)

BDP's first album--and the only one to include the late DJ Scott La Rock--sounded harder than hell when it came out in 1987. Though the simple beat-box patterns on a few tracks sound dated, most of La Rock's tracks are bluntly effective, especially the AC/DC riff he appropriates on Dope Beat. And KRS-One still performs most of his Criminal Minded rhymes, because his audience knows them word for word: the ultraviolent dancehall of 9mm Goes Bang, the battle cry of South Bronx (and its counterpart, the anti-Juice Crew screed of The Bridge Is Over, with its little Billy Joel homage), the catalog of La Rock's condom collection on Super-Hoe. KRS bloomed later; here, he just rocked.