Boogie Down Productions - Edutainment 2xLP - Yellow & Black Swirl (/2500)

Get On Down (20245, Reissue)

Every Wednesday, in honor of Ed Lover Dance Day from Yo! MTV Raps, I take a break from rock and roll to write a little bit about hip hop. In the late 80s and early 90s hip hop ruled my musical life. During this often called 'Golden Era' I discovered so much incredible music. As I am slowly replacing the CDs I've had for thirty plus years with vinyl copies, I'm going to talk about some albums that had a really important impact on me during some very formative years.

The fourth album I picked up on Record Store Day this year was the double LP reissue of the fourth Boogie Down Productions record, Edutainment.  I was really excited about this one as this was the most recent Boogie Down Productions album that had been released when I first started listening to them.  I've had the CD for decades and I have a mediocre single LP pressing that I picked up a few years ago, but there's a whole lot of songs crammed on to each side of that record.

This reissue is the first ever double LP pressing of Edutainment to be released.  Now, it wouldn't be truthful if I didn't mention that I'm bummed that this new reissue didn't include the two bonus tracks from the CD, "7 Dee Jays" and "30 Cops Or More."  Not that either is anywhere near the stongest song on the album, but for completist purposes, it would be nice.  I'm sure the nine minute run time of "7 Dee Jays" was the main culprit that probably would have pushed it to a triple LP.

That said, just having the vinyl version spread out over two LPs is a massive improvement over the original pressing.  Plus there is one extra bonus track, the remix version of "You Know The Rules."    Now there has finally been a high quality rerelease of every Boogie Down Productions full length (and the first KRS-One solo album).  It would be nice if someone tackled Live Hardcore Worldwide, but I don't think it's super important in the grand scheme of things.  The main album run is all out there and reasonably affordable (by today's vinyl price standards anyway).  And what a run of albums it was.

Boogie Down Productions - Edutainment:
https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_kA9-4nMh9LtkMuoYvf2ZmIk12rdNpYFo4

Boogie Down Productions - Live Hardcore Worldwide 2xLP

Jive (2004, Reissue) 

Every Wednesday, in honor of Ed Lover Dance Day from Yo! MTV Raps, I take a break from rock and roll to write a little bit about hip hop. In the late 80s and early 90s hip hop ruled my musical life. During this often called 'Golden Era' I discovered so much incredible music. As I am slowly replacing the CDs I've had for twenty-five plus years with vinyl copies, I'm going to talk about some albums that had a really important impact on me during some very formative years.

I wrote about the original pressing of this album at length a few months ago.  You can go here to see what I wrote in full: https://www.ibuywaytoomanyrecords.com/2023/04/boogie-down-productions-live-hardcore.html. In a nutshell, while live albums are not typically something that I drawn too, this is one of the few out there that has always been special to me, particularly because it was the only way for me to hear any of the songs from Criminal Minded for a few years.  But the CD was long and in order to make is fit on vinyl, they cut songs from the tracklist as opposed to making it a double LP.

I'm not sure what prompted it exactly, but in 2004, Jive corrected this issue (mostly) and rereleased the album as a double LP, finally including every song from the CD on vinyl.  Why they did this as a white sleeve DJ copy instead of a fancier reissue, I'll never know.  But at least I finally have all of the songs on vinyl.  Plus, I do have the artwork from the original pressing that I wrote about before, so I have everything that there is, it's just split across two releases.

Would I buy it a third time if a proper double LP reissue with full artwork was released?  I'd like to be fiscally responsible and say no, I wouldn't need to pick up yet another version of this.  But I think anyone reading this knows me well enough to know what the real answer would be...

Boogie Down Productions - Live Hardcore Worldwide: 

https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_kwQhGQIdTAdPhjxad_3RyDAFzNm-xe0KQ

Boogie Down Productions - Live Hardcore Worldwide LP

Jive (1991)

Every Wednesday, in honor of Ed Lover Dance Day from Yo! MTV Raps, I take a break from rock and roll to write a little bit about hip hop. In the late 80s and early 90s hip hop ruled my musical life. During this often called 'Golden Era' I discovered so much incredible music. As I am slowly replacing the CDs I've had for twenty-five plus years with vinyl copies, I'm going to talk about some albums that had a really important impact on me during some very formative years.

Boogie Down Productions has always been one of my very favorite hip hop groups, ever since I was a teenager.  I'm pretty sure the first time I heard them was on the Yo! MTV Raps: The CD compilation album.  It had a version of "My Philosophy" on it that is still my favorite version of the song (and one that I'm not sure was released on vinyl, at least not by cross checking run times on Discogs).  From their I started buying BDP albums and Live Hardcore Worldwide was the first 'new' release of theirs once I had started listening to them.

I've gone on record many times saying live albums are not usually my thing, but when I was fourteen years old, this was the only place I could find any way to listen to songs from the first Boogie Down Productions album, Criminal Minded.  It took another year or so before I was able to find a sketchy looking copy of that CD in a Coconuts one day that I had to convince my dad to buy me as I had no cash on hand.  Despite my feelings for live albums in general, I do like listening to this one still.  I'm sure it's fueled by nostalgia, but I also have more context on the shows themselves now.  

Several songs were recorded at S.O.B's in New York,  When I was a kid, I was really just imagining them playing arenas or gigantic venues because I really just had no idea.  I eventually went to S.O.B.s in the early 2000s to see Del The Funky v play and was pretty surprised how small that place was.  Imagining peak KRS-One just destroying a place that only holds six or seven hundred people is wild to imagine.  I was lucky enough to see him play last year in a small venue and he was amazing.  I can't even imagine what it would have been like to be there live in 90 or 92.

This is also the last of the Boogie Down Production CDs that I needed to get on vinyl.  And even though there are a few songs on the CD that didn't make it to the version on wax, I'm still really happy to have finally been able to find this at a good price.  Now the question is do I want to start hunting down their 12" singles.  I'm not sure I want to commit to that just yet, but I do need to do more research on that extended remix of "My Philosophy."

Boogie Down Productions - Live Hardcore Worldwide:
https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_kwQhGQIdTAdPhjxad_3RyDAFzNm-xe0KQ

Boogie Down Productions - Sex And Violence LP

Get On Down (2015, Reissue)

Every Wednesday, in honor of Ed Lover Dance Day from Yo MTV Raps, I take a break from rock and roll to write a little bit about hip hop. In the late 80s and early 90s hip hop ruled my musical life. During this often called 'Golden Era' I discovered so much incredible music. As I am slowly replacing the CDs I've had for twenty-five plus years with vinyl copies, I'm going to talk about some albums that had a really important impact on me during some very formative years.

Sex And Violence was the final Boogie Down Productions full length album.  It came out in 1992 and I vividly remember when it was released.  The video for "Duck Sown" had started playing on Yo MTV Raps and I just adored that song.  Even today it would rank quite high if I was making a list of my favorite BDP songs.  I acquired my copy of the CD through one of those BMG Music Club 8 CDs for a penny gimmicks.  My CD copy still has that little BMG barcode type thing on it.

I have read over the years that there are some who do not think this particular BDP album rates as highly as some of their prior releases.  And while I will be the first to admit that there's nothing at the level of say "My Philosophy," it's a bit unfair to try to compare this album to one of the all time great songs in the history of hip hop.

I think Sex And Violence is solid from start to finish.  The songs, while maybe a bit rougher than those on Edutainment, have the same sort of high IQ lyrics that really tell stories and make some salient points.  The beats are much harder hitting and part of me thinks that's why the record took some by surprise when it came out.  I actually like the production on this a lot and think the beats use clever samples and memorable hooks.  "Duck Down" is still the highlight for me, but "The Original Way," "Like A Throttle," "Drug Dealer" and "How Not To Get Jerked" are bubbling right underneath and can hold their own with anything in the Boogie Down Productions catalog.

With this LP, I have all of the BDP full length albums on vinyl.  I don't have the Live Hardcore Worldwide live album, but I'm honestly not sure I need to get that one.  I haven't listed to my CD version of that since I finally tracked down a copy Criminal Minded and had better versions of that album's songs.  I also never enjoyed the KRS-One solo albums anywhere near as much as Boogie Down Productions.  I bought Return of the Boom Bap right when it came out, but it never hooked me and that was the last KRS-One album that I bought.  If I've missed anything important, let me know, but I'm pretty confident that by having all of the BDP albums, I have the best songs covered.

Boogie Down Productions - Sex And Violence (YouTube music full album playlist):
https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_mRwYXQqvm2pxlfuEyWgoCySVf8Nu8P2R0

Boogie Down Productions - Edutainment LP

Jive (1990)

Every Wednesday, in honor of Ed Lover Dance Day from Yo MTV Raps, I take a break from rock and roll to write a little bit about hip hop. In the late 80s and early 90s hip hop ruled my musical life. During this often called 'Golden Era' I discovered so much incredible music. As I am slowly replacing the CDs I've had for twenty-five plus years with vinyl copies, I'm going to talk about some albums that had a really important impact on me during some very formative years.

Edutainment was the most recent Boogie Down Productions full length album that was out when I first started listening to them.  It's never been the album that I tend to go to the most.  I like most of the others better, but I think because of that it always sounds fresh and exciting every time I put it on.

I was never the biggest fan of the album's main single, "Love's Gonna Get'cha," and I think that might be the reason I wasn't as drawn to the album as a whole when I was younger.  But today, when I put on the album and spin through classics like "Blackman in Effect," "Ya Know The Rules" or "The Racist" you get that incredible mix of killer beats with intelligent and well composed lyrics that dominates just about every BDP album.

So maybe this is the least successful of the 5 BDP albums for me, but when you are comparing it to some of the most incredible and well regarded albums in the history of hip hop, you may come up a little short here and there.  That's not to say that Edutainment isn't a classic in its own right, it's just probably not the album I would direct a new fan to first.

Boogie Down Productions - Edutainment (Youtube full album steam):
https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_niBt3FGQ7FGaec2AvItUXIQ5-YIuPkHA0

Boogie Down Productions - Ghetto Music: The Blueprint of Hip Hop LP

Get On Down/Jive (2017, Reissue)

Every Wednesday, in honor of Ed Lover Dance Day from Yo MTV Raps, I take a break from rock and roll to write a little bit about hip hop. In the late 80s and early 90s hip hop ruled my musical life. During this often called 'Golden Era' I discovered so much incredible music. As I am slowly replacing the CDs I've had for 25+ years with vinyl copies, I'm going to talk about some albums that had a really important impact on me during some very formative years.

When I discovered Boogie Down Productions, it was primarily based on the song "My Philosophy" appearing on a Yo MTV Raps compilation combined with videos being played on the daily Yo TV show.  I have strong memories of playing By All Means Necessary non-stop and I have equally vivid recollections of their fifth full length Sex and Violence being released as the 'new' BDP album.  The time in between those events are a little fuzzy.

I'm not sure exactly when I added my original CD of Ghetto Music to my collection, but I'm fairly positive that it was part of one of the Columbia House or BMG Music scams I would take part of in late elementary school/early high school.  I used to sign up for the ten CDs for a penny gimmicks.  Then, they would send you a monthly mailer that said 'unless you opt out, we'll be sending you then new Heavy D CD at full price as part of your subscription thing.'  What I would do is not reply to that  mailer and get sent the Heavy D CD.  The next step would be to write 'Return to Sender, I didn't order this' on the box and stick it back in the mail.  It usually only took a couple of those before I received a notice that my account was suspended.  Then I'd start all over again.

As for this album itself, like all BDP albums, I love it unconditionally.  While I probably don't listen to it as often as some of their other albums, there are many incredible tracks.  "The Style You Haven't Done Yet," "You Must Learn" and "Jack of Spades" (as featured in the excellent I'm Gonna Git You Sucka) are among my very favorite BDP songs.  This fairly recent reissue sounds and looks great.  I'm not ever going to make the move from hip hop CD to vinyl without adding every Boogie Down Production album to the pile.  They're way too great and far too important to skip.

Boogie Down Productions - Ghetto Music: The Blueprint of Hip Hop (Youtube full album playlist)
https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_l8_jEhoOGmcGr7lFsgXhJgdr14cBLU7gA

Boogie Down Productions - By All Means Necessary LP

Music On Vinyl (2015, Reissue)

Every Wednesday, in honor of Ed Lover Dance Day from Yo MTV Raps, I take a break from rock and roll to write a little bit about hip hop. In the late 80s and early 90s hip hop ruled my musical life. During this often called 'Golden Era' I discovered so much incredible music. As I am slowly replacing the CDs I've had for 25+ years with vinyl copies, I'm going to talk about some albums that had a really important impact on me during some very formative years.

There are not many records as important to my musical education as By All Means Necessary was when I first heard it.  This was pretty early into my hip hop explorations of the early 90s.  I had seen some BDP videos on Yo MTV Raps and had liked pretty much all of them, but it was the purchase of a Yo MTV Raps compilation CD that introduced my to one of the greatest hip hop songs ever written, "My Philosophy." The extended remix on that comp was something that I played over and over and over.  I was totally obsessed, so of course I had to find the album it came from.

While "My Philosophy" is the highlight of By All Means Necessary, let's be honest, it would be the highlight on just about any album.  The rest of By All Means Necessary is equally vital and powerful throughout the duration.  From the storytelling prowess of "Stop the Violence" to the battle rap perfection of "I'm Still #1" to the reggae fusion of "Part Time Suckers," KRS-One stands taller than just about any other MC out there.  In 1988, this was super cutting edge and the growth from Criminal Minded to By All Means Necessary was a quantum leap in terms of beats and production.

To me, this album and Public Enemy's It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back are the corner stones for the late 80s and early 90s golden era of hip hop.  Rap would have sounded a lot different without these two groups paving the way and it's a testament to their visions that both records could sound so potent over thirty years later.

Boogie Down Productions - "My Philosophy":
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h1vKOchATXs

Boogie Down Productions - "I'm Still #1":
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hw_UMdFSSlo

Boogie Down Productions - Criminal Minded LP - Red Vinyl

Traffic (2016, Reissue)

For Ed Lover Dance Day this week, I'm going to talk a little bit about Boogie Down Productions.  They were one of the first hip hop groups to really make an impact on me.  I couldn't say for sure when it was that I started listening to them, but I feel like it most have been something involving Yo MTV Raps and the song "My Philosophy."  When I was at the height of my BDP fandom, the album Criminal Minded was somewhat hard to come by.

I had the main BDP full lengths on CD (By Any Means, Ghetto Music, Edutainment) and I also had their live album.  On the live album there were a handful of great songs that weren't on the other full lengths, so I needed to figure out where they came from.  This is pre-internet (or if not completely before the internet existed it was definitely before I had access to anything), so you can only really get info from magazines and other people.  Not having much in the way of like minded friends at this time, I had to get the info where I could.  I knew there was a first album, but I couldn't find it anywhere.

Then, one day randomly I was at a record store with my dad and I was digging around the rap CDs and I found it.  It looked a little shady to be honest, cover art was blurry and it was decidedly kind of budget looking, but I had it in my hands.  Bootleg or not, I was buying it.  It ended up being one of my favorite albums by BDP.  The production sounds old and dated, but in the best possible way.  It's a classic record with classic hip hop sounds.  I love the piano riff on "The Bridge Is Over."  "Poetry" and "South Bronx" are perfectly old school, but forward reaching.  You could tell they were doing something special and innovative for the time.

For me though, the highlight is the title track, "Criminal Minded."  I had only heard the version on the live CD before finally hunting down this album and was shocked that it was so much longer than the live version.  It's just such a great song and the fact that it came out in 1987 is kind crazy.  BPD went on to release several additional records (all of which I will be writing about at some point as I've added the vinyl of each to the collection), but being able to listen to their starting point on nice heavy red vinyl is a treat I sure didn't think I would be able to experience in 1991.

Boogie Down Production - Criminal Minded (Full Album YouTube playlist):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=de0Ll_W5RvI&list=PLWkhuBo9IpsCbJo_Cv-7d4ftbSDCpxe-L&index=1