Stop The Violence campaign

On this very same weekend in 1989, KRS-1, as a apart of the nationwide “Stop The Violence” campaign, dropped the “Self Destruction” song and video to combat the rise in gun violence around the country.

The death of a fan at a BDP/Public Enemy concert in 1988, which followed the murder of Boogie Down Productions DJ/producer and co-creator Scott “Scott La Rock” Sterling in the summer of 1987 were two of the principle catalysts that launched the Stop The Violence initiative. Kris recruited some of the top emcees of the era including Heavy D(RIP), Stetsasonic members Daddy-O, Delite, Wise and Frukwan, Kool Moe Dee, Doug E. Fresh, Just-Ice, MC Lyte and Public Enemy’s Chuck D and Flavor Flav. Rounding off the track with BDP’s D-Nice and Ms. Melodie(RIP), “Self Destruction” served as a reminder of the purpose of Hip Hop’s voice in the minds of the youth on both coasts. West Coast artists reflected that positive element with “We’re All In The Same Gang” featuring the “West Coast All Stars”, which included Eazy-E(RIP) and N.W.A., Digital Underground, Tone Loc, Ice-T, MC Hammer and several others. Tone Loc, Young MC and Shock G of Digital Underground(RIP) came to the Harlem video shoot for Self Destruction, which propelled them to create their version soon after.

With production assistance and expertise from the Bomb Squad’s Hank Shocklee and BDP’s D-Nice, KRS formed an All Star team of of his own with some of NYC’s best emcees who were willing to put down a positive preventative message for the hood. One of the stand out issues with the creation of “Self Destruction” was LL Cool J’s involvement in the project. The “B.A.D.” emcee was not allowed to appear on the song due to a restriction from his Def Jam label, but his commitment to the cause made him sit alongside MC Lyte during the recording sessions, helping her co-write her classic verse.

Funky fresh dressed to impress, ready to party
Money in your pocket, dying to move your body
To get inside you paid the whole ten dollars
Scotch taped with a razor blade taped to your collar
Leave the guns and the crack and the knives alone
MC Lyte’s on the microphone
Bum rushing and pushing, snatching and taxing
I cram to understand why brothers don’t be maxing
There’s only one disco, they’ll close one more
You ain’t guarding the door, so what you got a gun for?
Do you rob the rich and give to the poor?
Yo Daddy-O, school em some more

The commercial success was the icing on the cake for the Stop The Violence movement, which was a charity organization that donated all of the proceeds from the song to the National Urban League. With the song topping Billboard’s Hot Rap Songs chart for ten weeks straight and selling over 500K copies of the single, which qualified the song for certified gold status, that donation was well received by the Urban League.

The post This Week In Hip Hop History: KRS-1 And The Stop The Violence Movement Released “Self Destruction” 28 Years Ago appeared first on The Source.

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On this day in 1988, Boogie Down Productions dropped 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

KRS-One was initially popular for fueling the Juice Crew vs. BDP beef on wax and expanding intellectual Hip Hop music through 1987, with the release of Criminal Minded. However, when BDP’s DJ Scott La Rock was shot and killed in the South Bronx, it had a profound effect on the Brooklyn native, which resulted in a drastic rethinking of his on-record persona. By All Means Necessary was one of the first albums the group made after Scott La Rock’s death that would have a lasting effect on generations to come. The “Blastmaster” 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 his “Stop the Violence” Campaign.

As “The Teacher”, on perhaps one of the most influential tracks from the LP, “Stop the Violence”, he spits,

“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”

. As a plea to end violence in Hip Hop, which still hasn’t been heeded to this day, KRS-One took on the role as the spearhead of Hip Hop’s Stop The Violence Movement, choosing the single, “Self Destruction”, as the lead single.

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 rapper to speak on the AIDS/HIV epidemic that plagued Black and Brown communities in America. On the song, “Illegal Business”, Kris gave the masses a startling perception into the drug trade and how it corrupts the police and the government.

Salute to KRS and the entire Boogie Down Productions crew for giving us this epic piece of Hip Hop history!

“It’s not about a salary, it’s all about reality..”

The post Today in Hip Hop History: Boogie Down Productions Released Their Second LP ‘By All Means Necessary’ 32 Years Ago appeared first on The Source.

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