Scott La Rock

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Scott "La Rock" Sterling (March 2, 1962 – August 27, 1987) was the original DJ for the hip hop group Boogie Down Productions.

Sterling, a social worker, met rapper KRS-One in 1986 at the Franklin Men's Shelter in the Bronx where KRS was staying. The pair, together with rapper D-Nice, formed Boogie Down Productions. Their 1987 debut album, Criminal Minded, was an instant hit, and has since appeared on numerous "greatest albums" lists.^[1] ^[2]

Sterling met an untimely and violent death in 1987. His friend and BDP associate Derrick "D-Nice" Jones had been theatened by some local hoods, and asked Sterling to try to help defuse the situation. Later that day, Sterling, Scotty "Manager Moe" Morris, DJ McBooo, D-Nice and BDP Bodyguard Darrell, all riding in a red Jeep Cherokee with a white fiberglass top on it when they came to the Highbridge Projects building where the offending parties lived on Morris Avenue in the South Bronx; Sterling’s intention, along with the rest of the crew, was to try to defuse the situation. As they were leaving, bullets ripped through the side and top of the Jeep. Sterling was hit in the neck. Critically wounded, he was driven in the Jeep to Lincoln Hospital which was less than a mile away. He was conscious and talking to the doctors as he was wheeled into the emergency room. Sterling then stated to the doctor that he was feeling cold, and tired. At first it was thought that his injuries were not life-threatening, and his friends saw him wheeled away into the E.R. They went to the diner on Grand Concourse to wait a while Sterling underwent surgery before they come back to check on him. Unfortunately, Sterling died in the operating room within one hour of being shot, leaving behind an infant son, Scott Sterling Jr. The man who shot him was finally arrested a few years later and brought to trial in the Bronx County Supreme Court.

Though Scott La Rock's death was a tragic blow, KRS-One decided to continue Boogie Down Productions, crediting subsequent releases as being "Overseen by Scott La Rock". The Stop the Violence Movement was in large part a result of his murder.