13 Steps To Perfection: El-P's Favourite Albums | Page 2 of 14 | The Quietus

Baker's Dozen

Artists discuss the 13 records that shaped their lives

1. Boogie Down ProductionsCriminal Minded

Criminal Minded was like nothing had ever sounded before, apart from maybe Ultramagnetic MCs a little bit because Ced Gee had produced them both. But there was something so sparse, so mean and so authoritative about BDP – and authoritative about KRS One – I just remember being in Brooklyn and that shit just bumping. Personally this record is a huge influence on my production style as one of the first really big records for me where they would sample a kick and a snare from different records… it was a real drum programming record. It was really sparse and used a lot of stabs which was similar to the Rick Rubin/Def Jam aesthetic, but with that they were using a lot of TR 808s, 909s and drum machines so there was a cleaner sound – like on all the LL Cool J stuff – but Boogie Down Productions’ drums were so different at the time. It was dancehall-influenced too, and at the time I didn’t know anything about dancehall so it opened me up to that. One of those records which is always in my DNA in terms of being a producer.

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