Return of the Boom Bap [Explicit Lyrics]

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
By 1993, hip-hop was transitioning from an organic form of musical expression into a big business fabricating stars. With many icons from his era either aging or losing their relevance (e.g., Chuck D, Rakim), KRS-ONE dropped a gem of an album that not only navigated the sound of the day but led the charge. Shedding his previous Boogie Down Productions moniker, KRS-One's Return of the Boom Bap is not just an album: it's KRS's call to arms for the return of hard beats and real rap in hip-hop music. The former took many forms, thanks to the recruitment of Gang Starr's DJ Premier, who was hitting his stride as hip-hop's preeminent beat-maker. Primo crafted the classic head-nod rhythm of the title track, the bump of "Outta Here," an autobiographical tale of KRS-One's rise in hip-hop, and the dancehall-inspired riddims of "Black Cop" and "Sound of da Police." Lyrically, KRS-One displayed variety in both style and content, meshing old-school bombast ("Mortal Thought"), consciousness ("Higher Level"), and crafty and conceptual wordplay ("I Can't Wake Up"). The album opens with KRS-One boasting, even decreeing, that he would "be here forever." At the crossroads, this album made it seem true. --Joseph Patel

Return of the Boom Bap,KRS-One,Jive,East Coast Rap,Hardcore Rap,Hip-Hop,Political Rap,Pop,Rap,Rap & Hip-Hop

Return of the Boom Bap [Explicit Lyrics]

Return of the Boom Bap [Explicit Lyrics]

Average customer rating:

The Best Solo LP from Hip-Hop's Teacher-- Excellent!

Classic

It doesn't get much better than this

Return Of The Real Hard Beats And Real Rap {5 Stars}

"Outta Here!! BDP is ol skool but we aint goint out."

Return of the Boom Bap
KRS-One
Manufacturer: Jive
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

East Coast | Rap & Hip-Hop | Styles | Music
Gangsta & Hardcore | Rap & Hip-Hop | Styles | Music
General | Rap & Hip-Hop | Styles | Music
Pop Rap | Rap & Hip-Hop | Styles | Music
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KRS-One

Ghetto Music: The Blueprint of Hip Hop

Sex and Violence

Edutainment

I Got Next

ASIN: B000000509
Release Date: 1993-09-28

Tracks:

KRS-ONE Attacks
Outta Here
Black Cop
Mortal Thought
I Can't Wake Up
Slap Them Up
Sound Of Da Police
Mad Crew
Uh Oh
Brown Skin Woman
Return Of The Boom Bap
'P' Is Still Free
Stop Frontin'
Higher Level

Amazon.com

By 1993, hip-hop was transitioning from an organic form of musical expression into a big business fabricating stars. With many icons from his era either aging or losing their relevance (e.g., Chuck D, Rakim), KRS-ONE dropped a gem of an album that not only navigated the sound of the day but led the charge. Shedding his previous Boogie Down Productions moniker, KRS-One's Return of the Boom Bap is not just an album: it's KRS's call to arms for the return of hard beats and real rap in hip-hop music. The former took many forms, thanks to the recruitment of Gang Starr's DJ Premier, who was hitting his stride as hip-hop's preeminent beat-maker. Primo crafted the classic head-nod rhythm of the title track, the bump of "Outta Here," an autobiographical tale of KRS-One's rise in hip-hop, and the dancehall-inspired riddims of "Black Cop" and "Sound of da Police." Lyrically, KRS-One displayed variety in both style and content, meshing old-school bombast ("Mortal Thought"), consciousness ("Higher Level"), and crafty and conceptual wordplay ("I Can't Wake Up"). The album opens with KRS-One boasting, even decreeing, that he would "be here forever." At the crossroads, this album made it seem true. --Joseph Patel

Customer Reviews:

The Best Solo LP from Hip-Hop's Teacher-- Excellent!.......2007-06-05

Return of the Boom Bap
"Return of the boom-bap means just that, it means return of the real hard beats and real rap." Released in the fall of 1993, KRS-One's first official solo album is arguably his best. In the early 90's, a new generation of west coast-based MCs became the superstars of rap; while in the east, acts like Naughty by Nature and Das EFX were stealing the thunder of their 1980's predecessors. Produced largely by Gang Starr's DJ Premier, Return of the Boom Bap rejuvenates standard-bearer KRS-One's stance as the Teacher of Rap while giving him a more competitive stoop to stand on.

The LP's first single, "Outta Here" warns currently hot rappers that their material trappings may not last: "Credit cards and bank account? Outta here; no doubt, BDP is old-school but we ain't goin' out.." On the surreal "I Can't Wake Up", KRS sees himself turned into a cigar, while humorously name-checking various early 90's rap stars. "The P is Still Free" updates a song from Criminal Minded about the lost souls of crack addiction. The Kid Capri-produced "Brown Skin Woman" critiques the sexism in rap, and the LP's biggest hit, "Sound of Da Police" (produced by Showbiz) highlights the dangers of police brutality in a post-Rodney King landscape: "The overseer had the right to get ill; and if you fought back the overseer had the right to kill; the officer has the right to arrest; and if you fight back they put a hole in your chest.."

The most blazing track would have to be the album's closer, "Higher Level": with a blistering funk sample from the Blacula soundtrack, KRS rants and raves about politics & religion in the glorious fashion that only he can: "I stand with God whether I'm paid or whether I'm crying broke; I like to ask these politicians, `would Jesus vote?'"

At the time of its release, the album (and most others) was overshadowed by Snoop Doggy Dogg's Doggystyle. In comparison, Doggystyle may have slicker production values, but Boom Bap's jazz-based rhythm tracks seem less dated, and with far less gangster excess. This deserves the deluxe re-release treatment, with any bonus material available.

Classic.......2007-06-03

True hip hop at its purest form was being born wit krs's return of the boom rap... Diz should already be in true heads collection no weak joints. A classic from a genious. Best tracks ? " mad crew" , "sound of the police" , and , "stop frontin" a true classic.

It doesn't get much better than this.......2007-04-20

KRS-One's first "solo" album is 1993's "Return of the Boom Bap." After the original six Boogie Down Productions albums, KRS dropped the BDP moniker and dropped this gem. Kris enlisted the production of legend DJ Premier, who only recently had begun to receive recognition for his musical genius as a member of Gang Starr. The beats, however, while excellent, are quite simple, allowing KRS-One and his awesome character to take center stage. He drops some of the political and social stances of the last two BDP albums, Edutainment and Sex and Violence, in favor of a more entertaining and overall simpler approach. That's not to say that the verses aren't relevant. His classic tales of police brutality, urban injustice, and hip hop loyalty are all here. He just delivers them in a way that puts the music and the performance to the forefront. This is a totally classic album. Every song is totally memorable, because KRS puts such a great performance on every track. Whether he's screaming, singing, or toasting like a dancehall reggae performer, he entertains first and foremost. No track is even average or any worse than the others, this is pretty close to a perfect hip hop album. I couldn't find you any flaws, it's arguably hip hop's greatest MC teamed with arguably hip hop's greatest producer. A must have for the rap fan.

The album begins with an awesome intro, "KRS-One Attacks," where Premo laces a totally dope beat and covers it with some old BDP samples, to make a perfect start. "Outta Here" uses simple drum-and-bass to allow KRS to address the current state of hip hop, chronicling his life as a rapper and talking about the tendency of rappers to "fall off." Perhaps his best known song, "Black Cop" follows. Here, he is an entertainer first and an MC second, yelling and screaming, completely going wild on the mic. Anyone who hasn't sang along to the yelps of "Black coooop...black COP black COP black COP" shouldn't consider themself a hip hop fan. "Mortal Thought" is relevant, with a great chorus. I love the conceptually genius "I Can't Wake Up," where KRS raps from the perspective of a blunt. He namedrops most of the big names of '93 rap, as the MCs pass the blunt from rapper to rapper. Again, he yells and sings a great chorus, this song's another classic. The nice "Slap Them Up" precedes the infamous "Sound of da Police." The look at police brutalities is simply rap at its finest. My favorite part is where he draws a connection between the similar-sounding words "overseer" and "officer" in the second verse, as they both oppressed the urban black community. The chorus is just classic, nobody else could ever pull this off like KRS-One. "Mad Crew" has a heavily sampled beat, and "Uh Oh" uses a human beatbox in favor of a drum machine. "Brown Skin Woman" delivers musically and lyrically, and the following title track is just awesome. "'P' Is Still Free" is once again classic material, I remember first hearing this song on the Menace II Society: The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack compilation. The album ends perfectly with "Stop Frontin'" and "Higher Level."

I feel like this album gets overlooked in comparison to the BDP albums, but I think this is as entertaining and enjoyable as anything KRS-One has ever done. A classic album in every sense of the word, perfect hip hop from the best year for the genre, 1993. If you haven't already, do yourself a favor and pick it up.

Return Of The Real Hard Beats And Real Rap {5 Stars}.......2006-09-12

What else can be said about this album that hasn't been said already? This is basically a collaboration between two legends of the genre (KRS One and DJ Premier) while both were at the top of their games. It gets no better than that. Period. I feel kind of special because this is the kind of stuff I was growing up on. I think it was 9th or 10th grade for me when this came out and I ran out and got this after hearing "Outta Here" for the first time. "Sound Of The Police", "Outta Here", "Return Of The Boom Bap, "Mortal Thought", "Black Cop", "Brown Skin Woman", "Uh Oh", "Higher Level"....I mean, the list of classics on this disc goes on and on. The sound can best be described as bass heavy boom bap (hence the title of the album). Kinda makes me miss the early/mid 90's sound... *sigh*

As far as flaws, I can only think of one..."I Can't Wake Up." That song was a bit of a misstep. Otherwise, the rest is straight fire. Anyone giving this less than 4 stars doesn't know what a timeless piece this album truly is.

Return Of The Boom Bap is classic. Point blank. Period. If you haven't heard this album yet, then quit cheating yourself and check it out. It may have come out in '93, but it sounds just as fresh 13 years later. I highly recommend making this one a collection piece.

Standout Tracks: 'P' Is Still Free, Slap Them Up, Black Cop, Mad Crew, Outta Here, Brown Skin Woman, Sound Of The Police, Stop Frontin', Mortal Thought, Uh Oh, Higher Level (My Favorite), and Return Of The Boom Bap

"Outta Here!! BDP is ol skool but we aint goint out.".......2006-08-31

The beats are crazy. Concepts and rhymes are incredible. These guys should do more albums together. The title track had me jumping all throughout my 10th grade. B-boying at its best. Krs's best album by far, its the complete package.