On this day in 1988, BDP drops one of the best and most influential albums of all time. It was widely seen as one of, if not the first, politically conscious efforts in hip-hop

By Tamara El

KRS One was initially popular for fueling, “The Bridge Wars”, and expanding gangster rap through 1987, with the release of ‘Criminal Minded’. However, when BDPs DJ Scott La Rock died, it had a profound effect on the emcee, which resulted in a drastic rethinking of his on-record persona. One of the first albums the group made after Scott La Rocks death would have a lasting effect on generations to come because the rapper began to talk about a lot of the issues that were plaguing the black community like police brutality, government corruption, institutionalized racism, and later on giving birth to the Bronx natives “Stop the Violence Campaign”.

As “The Teacher”, on perhaps one of the most influential tracks from the LP, “Stop the Violence”, the rapper raps over hard-hitting 808 drums, “I look, but it doesn’t coincide with my books/Social Studies will not speak upon hard hitting crooks/It’s just the Presidents, and all the money they spent/All the things they invent, and how their house is so immaculate/They create missiles, my family’s eating gristle/Then they get upset when the press blows the whistle”!, he spits in the first verse. As a plea to end violence in hip-hop, which still hasn’t been heeded to this day, KRS One became the leader of Hip Hop’s Stop The Violence Movement, choosing the single, “Self Destruction”, as the promotional record.

With classic tracks like, “Nervous”, nearly every track on the album had a distinct narrative, and even the album cover art and the theme were Malcolm X (By Any Means Neccessary) inspired. On the track, “Jimmy”, the rapper became the first hip-hop emcee to speak on the AIDS/HIV epidemic that plagued many African-American communities. On the song, “Illegal Business”, The Teacher was in full effect with him giving the masses a startling perception into the drug trade and how it corrupts the police and the government.

Reaching no. 75 on the Billboard 200 and one of KRS One’s most accomplished works, the legacy of, ‘By All Means Necessary’ continues in its influencing of artists in today’s hip hop world like Rhymefest, Slaughterhouse, and Black Star; also the millions of fans who enjoy the culture.

-Tamara El(@MwiliHakalu)

“It’s not about a salary, it’s all about reality”….On Boogie Down Productions “My Philosophy”, rapper KRS One was as lyrically poignant as he’s ever been, delivering rhymes that are just as relevant today as back in 88′