The Golden Era of Hip Hop in the 80’s was filled with the funk, breaks, and beats that set the tone for the history making genre that is loved today. Rappers were entering the spotlight above DJ’s and rap was being sectioned off into sub-genres based on lyrical content and style. Veering away from the commercialization of hip hop came Gangster Rap, highlighting the reality of street life and inner city struggles. Specifically, “Criminal Minded” off of the album Criminal Minded by K.R.S O.N.E. in 1987 represents this shift as they reference their experience living in New York from the perspective of watching the rise of hip hop from the start. “Criminal Minded” starts off as a spoken word as the beat climbs and the rap begins, this beat …show more content…
Comparably to other gangster rappers, his lyrics did not contain major references of violence other than “cause if I really want to battle I will put out a nine” and then reassured the audience “we're not promoting violence, we're just having some fun”. As a self proclaimed poet, K.R.S.O.N.E. talks about other MC’s not sharing his intelligence, the hip hop greats before, and his ability to “take the wackest song and make it better”, amongst other things. Wordplay on this song is found in the form of figurative language and voice fluctuations to ensure the bar would rhyme. The chorus of the song has the title of the song on repeat with an explosive beat in the background, simple but effective. His melodious flow changes over the course of the song to show the range of his …show more content…
Lyricist K.R.S O.N.E displayed his talent for poetry on “Criminal Minded” as he starts the song off with a hyperbole,“Criminal minded, you've been blinded” emphasizing the extent of this song’s lyrical content. He warns the audience with the simile “You need protection when I'm on the mic/ Because my mouth is like a 9 millimeter windpipe” signaling the easy accessibility of guns in their community and the tension of rappers in the there at the time, all while personifying the danger of his piercing lyricism. Immediately after he follows up with a metaphor, “you're a king, I'm a teacher/ You're a b-boy, I'm a scholar.” separating himself from other rappers at the time because of his educational background. While referencing the greats before him, alliteration supplies some change to the flow of the song, “On wax, relax, there's 24 tracks” The capability of K.R.S. O.N.E. as a poet and musician is proven consistently throughout the album as a whole and his ability to weave figurative language into essentially every line is