BOOGIE DOWN PRODUCTIONS
Formed in South Bronx in the mid 1980s, Boogie Down Productions' original and most famous, founding lineup consisted of rappers KRS-One & D-Nice, and DJ Scott La Rock. In the annals of rap history it's hard to imagine a group more important to the genre, famed for their pioneering fusion of dancehall reggae and hip-hop music, creating a prototype for gangsta rap with their legendary debut Criminal Minded, and set off one of the first fully-fledged wars in hip-hop, notably striking down fellow rapper MC Shan with the track "The Bridge Is Over". (Widely considered one of the greatest diss records of all time.)
The group nearly reached a breaking point in 1987, when Scott La Rock was shot in the neck while attempting to defuse an altercation between associates. La Rock's death had a profound impact on KRS-One, who began to drastically re-consider his musical persona. Boogie Down Productions would continue in La Rock's honor, with D-Nice picking up the DJing duties, and new side-members occasionally filling in for select tracks and albums. Though production had already begun on their follow-up to Criminal Minded by the time of La Rock's death, Boogie Down's sophomore album would head in a very different direction than its predecessor.
The resulting album, By All Means Necessary, would become another landmark for the group upon its release in 1988. Unlike Criminal Minded, which painted a stark picture of street life, By All Means Necessary was deeply personal, containing militant message tracks, and is considered one of the first hip-hop albums devoted to social commentary. KRS-One now rhymed about government corruption, police brutality, and violence in the hip-hop community over sparse, minimalist production and hard-hitting drum beats. By All Means would only mark the beginning of KRS's further shift towards conscious rapping, and the album has been ranked as one of the greatest of all time by outlets like The Source, and VH1.
The Boston reissue giants at Get On Down have never passed up an opportunity to honor a hip-hop classic, and this album is no exception. By All Means Necessary is now presented on vinyl, reissued for the first time since 1988, re-mastered, and housed in a re-creation of its original sleeve.
Now shipping from Traffic Entertainment Group!
PRESS FOR BY ALL MEANS NECESSARY
"…it ranks not only as KRS-One's most cohesive, fully realized statement, but a landmark of political rap that's unfairly lost in the shadow of Public Enemy's It Takes a Nation of Millions."
"…By All Means Necessary, the new album by the South Bronx-based Boogie Down Productions (BDP), is a gripping statement…"
"5 Mics (Out Of 5)"
"…as complex and cold-eyed as the kings themselves, with two extras: he's not middle-class and he's on a mission…"
”Stop The Violence” marks KRS-One’s perfect mesh of politics and hip-hop; the plea to “stop the violence in hip-hop” has not penetrated the likes of 50 Cent and Lil’ Wayne, but still, KRS-One has affected the majority of the quality MCs out there in some shape or form."
"…BDP's most coherent record musically and lyrically, each track resonates powerfully, from the far-ranging manifesto "My Philosophy" to the drug conspiracies of "Illegal Business" and the battle-ready rhymes of "I'm Still #1…"
