Criminal Minded

On Criminal Minded, KRS-One isn’t looking to transcend the South Bronx grime as much as he wants to strong-arm it into submission. His “grammar comes down like a hammer” as the rapper mocks, taunts, and threatens his rivals with rhymes that hit “like a nine-millimeter windpipe.” Proto-hardcore classic “9mm Goes Bang” executes its harrowing tale of crackland gunplay over a bed of taut pop minimalism and dancehall chants, while the declaration on “Remix of P is Free” that “the girlies is free 'cause the crack costs money” is harrowing in its cynicism, making this one of the rawest and most compelling artifacts of hip-hop’s formative years.