The street is by the historic Kingsbridge Armory where he once worked as a social worker, helping the homeless. Sterling was the founder of the rap group Boogie Down Productions along with legendary MC KRS-One. They were strongly independent, fearless, and laced with musical references in sample form, topped with dark street realities.On May 19, Jerome Avenue at the corner of Kingsbridge Road was renamed DJ Scott La Rock Boulevard in honor of the icon, Scott La Rock aka Scott Monroe Sterling. These albums pushed a new style out of what was previously considered a singles genre. When emerged in 1987, it was a seismic shift in the way rap records were heard, along with Eric B. Public Enemy leader Chuck D spoke on the impact of Boogie Down’s debut album: It wasn’t like had guns on the table like we were drug dealers - we had grenades. I had the gun belt going over the shoulder, grenades. If you look at the cover of Criminal Minded, that’s what we were saying modern-day Black Panthers are. KRS-One went in-depth about the album art in a 2010 interview with MTV: Even the album’s cover-the first major rap release to feature guns in the album art-would go on to influence countless artists. Criminal Minded went on to reach #73 on the Billboard Hip-Hop/R&B chart, was certified Gold, and is now considered an undisputed classic of ’80s hip-hop. Six months after the album’s release, La Rock was fatally shot outside the Highbridge Garden Homes on University Avenue in the South Bronx. KRS-One and DJ Scott La Rock, the original BDP crew, were from the South Bronx and crafted their sound to reveal the different musical elements that made up hip-hop: funk, rock, and reggae. The album also dealt heavily with the duo’s ongoing feud over the origins of hip-hop with the Juice Crew, a rap group from Queens, specifically on the tracks “South Bronx” and “The Bridge is Over.” Criminal Minded, Boogie Down Productions' groundbreaking debut album, was, arguably, the precursor to gangsta rap due to its gritty tales of the violent side of the South Bronx.
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January 2023
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