Background
Released in early 1987, the album heavily sampled records from James Brown and AC/DC and also had a dancehall reggae influence. The songs “South Bronx” and “The Bridge is Over” ignited the rivalry with the Queens-bred emcee MC Shan and the Juice Crew .
The album is also credited with providing a prototype for East Coast gangsta rap. For instance, the cover, which showcases Parker and Sterling surrounded by an arsenal of weapons, was hip-hop’s first major release to feature members brandishing firearms. The album also contained several seminal hardcore songs such as “9mm Goes Bang,” one of the first hip-hop songs to be based around a first-person crime narrative, and "P Is Free," which details an encounter with a drug-abusing prostitute.
The liner notes of Criminal Minded read, "Peace to Ron Nelson and the Toronto posse." This statement is evidence of BDP's involvement with Toronto's hip hop scene in the 1980s, which produced artists such as Michie Mee, Dream Warriors, and Maestro Fresh Wes.
Read more about this topic: Criminal Minded
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