Scott La Rock dies

Why it matters

Scott Sterling, who recorded as Scott La Rock with KRS-One in Boogie Down Productions, died on August 27, 1987, of gunshot wounds. He was 25. He had been shot in the Bronx trying to mediate a fight between his BDP groupmate D-Nice and a guy who had been hassling him. Scott La Rock had produced almost the entirety of Criminal Minded, which had come out five months earlier and which is one of the most influential debut albums in rap. He was the first rapper-producer of any real stature to be murdered. Jam Master Jay would not be killed for another fifteen years. Tupac would not be killed for another nine. Scott was first. KRS-One has spent the rest of his career carrying the BDP name and finishing the records they were going to make together. You can hear the loss on every BDP album from 1988 onward. None of them sound quite like Criminal Minded sounded. They could not. You only get one Scott La Rock.