One of the earliest examples of "gangsta rap," Boogie Down Productions' Criminal Minded suffers from few of that genre's later racist or misogynist tendencies. It was what modern gangsta rap claims to be - a scarifying, cautionary tale of ghetto life. Scott LaRock and KRS-One told what it was like to live the criminal life, and taught you why you shouldn't do the same. Alas, LaRock died on the streets after the disc was released. Criminal Minded, by the way, was on B-Boy, a small independent label, and it has a tendency to go in- and out-of-print on a regular basis... it has also been issued as The Best Of B-Boy Records.

KRS-One (Chris Parker) has soldiered on, becoming an outspoken advocate of education and artists' rights, and his initial efforts are some of the best late 80's rap. Fierce and upright, By All Means Necessary and Ghetto Music: Blueprint Of Hip Hop are also required listening for any rap fan. Discs after that, including a fair amount of solo work, are much less consistent. KRS-One: A Retrospective, however, is a fine of overview his entire career, surveying both solo tracks and group efforts (including samplings from Criminal Minded).