Boogie Down Productions - Illegal Business

Kris Parker -- poet, teacher, hip-hop legend, A&R man, DJ, MC -- is the true renaissance man among hip-hop artists. Back in 1985, KRS-ONE (as Kris would later be known) was coming off a prison term for selling marijuana when young Kris hooked up with a social worker named Scott Sterling at a Bronx shelter, aka DJ Scott La Rock. In 1987, Boogie Down Productions, as they came to be known, released what is, in my opinion, the best hip-hop full-length album ever recorded, Criminal Minded. The unmistakeable rawness of the duo managed to leave its mark on the 2-inch tape and fueled a hip-hop war brewing between BDP and The Juice Crew. The music also left a blueprint which KRS-ONE would be left to follow on his own -- his friend and mentor Scott La Rock was gunned down trying to break up an argument at a party in the Bronx in 1987. From his agony, KRS-ONE re-dedicated himself to the legacy of his fallen comrade and enlisted his brother Kenny Parker, Ms. Melodie, and D-Nice to form the new Boogie Down Productions crew. This track, taken off their first release together, By All Means Necessary, is proof that KRS-ONE had become the teacher Scott La Rock inspired him to be.

In light of some recent controversy, I refer to the phrase in this song that explains it all: "Everything you do in private is illegal/Everything's legal if the government can see you."