Biography of Boogie Down Productions

Formed in 1986 by Laurence Krisna Parker and Scott Sterling, Boogie Down Productions quickly became one of the most influential and important hip-hop groups. Parker adopted the name KRS-One (an acronym for Knowledge Reigns Supreme Over Almost Every One) and Sterling became DJ Scott LaRock, and they released an independent single, "Crack Attack," in 1986. BDP's stunning 1987 debut, Criminal Minded, full of blunt, matter-of-fact tales of life on the mean streets, was a prototype for gangsta-rap. As the album was building to a massive underground success, LaRock was shot to death in the South Bronx as he tried to settle an argument. Instead of calling it quits, KRS-One continued BDP with his brother Kenny Parker and D-Nice as DJs and released By All Means Necessary the following year. KRS-One began calling himself "the Teacher," promoting self-awareness and education in his rhymes. KRS-One began touring colleges on the lecture circuit around 1989, and some of his writings appeared in the New York Times. It became evident that KRS-One had taken his role as the Teacher too far on 1990's Edutainment, where most tracks were lectures pasted over lackluster beats. KRS-One obliterated all concerns that he sold out on 1992's Sex and Violence, where he sounds angrier and stronger than he has in years.KRS-One garnered even more praise for Return of the Boom Bap, a session that many hip-hop critics equated with the groundbreaking By All Means Necessary. But by early 1994, it had already dropped off the R&B and hip-hop charts. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine