KRS-One, originally a member of the hip hop crew Boogie Down Productions, is known for setting the path for both hardcore rap and socially conscious political rap.
Youth and early career
Born Lawrence Parker in the Park Slope neighborhood of Brooklyn in 1965, the future KRS-One grew up with his brother Kenny and their single mother in assorted inner city neighborhoods of Brooklyn and the Bronx. According to interviews with The Source Magazine, one fateful day when he was 12 years old, he and his brother Kenny prepared a pan of flavored rice, which was to be the family's dinner for the evening. The hungry pair ate the whole thing, and when their mother came home from work, she kicked them out of the apartment in a fit of anger. They stayed away for two days before younger Kenny decided to go back home, while Lawrence opted not to return. He spent the better part of the next seven years homeless, much of it at local libraries.
In his late teen years, Lawrence Parker fell in with some illegal drug dealers and became a courier. Using a bread delivery truck as a cover, Parker and his partner drove around town to make drops. During one of their trips, a police car pulled up behind them with flashing lights. Parker's partner panicked, and led the cops on a chase for several miles which ended with the truck crashing and the two being apprehended. At the trial, the judge made the commentary that the only reason the police had initially tried to pull them over was because they had private plates on a commercial vehicle, there was no original intent to search for drugs.
Parker, still a minor, claimed he was a ward of the state, and got sent to a juvenile home for his sentencing, after which he was moved to a Covenant House youth homeless shelter. It was there that he met Scott Sterling, a recent college graduate who just started working at the shelter as a social worker. Parker discovered that Sterling moonlighted as a hip hop DJ under the name Scott La Rock. By this time, Parker had earned the nickname "Kris" from the relationship he had developed with local Hare Krishnas that evangelized near the shelter. Heavily influenced by Eastern philosophies, he was also an aspiring rapper, and practiced routines in verbal spars with the other shelter residents.
Parker and Sterling, along with two other fellows, decided to form a rap group together, initially calling themselves "Scott La Rock and the Celebrity Three". That was short-lived, however, as the two peripheral members quit, leaving Parker (now calling himself KRS-One) and Sterling. They then decided to call themselves "Boogie Down Productions". Success is the Word, a 12-inch single release on indie Fresh/Sleeping Bag Records (under the group name "12:41") did not enjoy commercial success. Soon after, the pair approached another NY indie, Rock Candy Productions, for a deal. As it turns out, the entertainment company was allegedly a front for a pornography operation, but Parker and Sterling convinced the boss to front them the money to record an album, under the newly created subsidiary label, B-Boy Records. After a few 12-inch single releases, the Criminal Minded album finally surfaced in 1987.
Criminal Minded featured many dis tracks that attacked other hip hop emcees and tracks about street crime ("wa da da deng wa da da da deng, listen to my nine millimeter go bang"). KRS One and La Rock appeared on the cover of the album holding firearms, a controversial precedent that would be followed by many rap artists in the years to follow. Musically, the album was based around James Brown samples and reggae influences. They also sampled hard-rock band AC/DC on "Dope Beat". During these years, KRS-One was also famously involved in a hip hop battle with MC Shan, of Queensbridge. KRS objected to MC Shan calling Queensbridge the home of hip hop, and attacked him viciously on a seminal battle rap, The Bridge Is Over.
Later career and emphasis on political issues
Following the fatal shooting of Scott La Rock in 1987, Boogie Down Productions (BDP) became increasingly political. KRS One was the primary motivation behind the HEAL compilation and the Stop the Violence Movement. KRS One attracted many prominent emcees to appear on the 12-inch single "Self Destruction." As Parker adopted this more conscientious, less violent approach, he stopped calling himself "The Blastmaster" (his battle rap nickname), and instead began calling himself "The Teacha", turning the nickname KRS-ONE into the backronym "Knowledge Reigns Supreme Over Nearly Everyone".
On his first solo album, 1993's Return of the Boombap, KRS worked together with producers DJ Premier (Gang Starr), Showbiz and Kid Capri. The catchy yet very hardcore track "Sound of da Police" is featured on this album. His second album, KRS One featured Channel Live on the track "Free Mumia", a political protest song about Mumia Abu-Jamal, an imprisoned African-American and Black Panther member who a vocal group of activists on the political Left claim is innocent of the crime of which he was convicted. Other prominent guest artists on KRS One included Mad Lion, Busta Rhymes, Das EFX and Fat Joe.
In 1997, Parker surprised many with his release of the album I Got Next. The record included a remix of the single "Step into a World" which featured a sample from the 1970s rock group Blondie by commercial rap icon Puff Daddy. "Heartbeat", featuring Angie Martinez and Redman, was based on the old school classic "Feel the Heartbeat" by the Treacherous Three. These collaborations with notably mainstream artists took many fans and observers of the vehemently anti-mainstream KRS One by surprise. However, in August 1997 KRS One appeared on Tim Westwood's BBC Radio 1 show and vociferously denounced the DJ and the radio station more generally, accusing them of ignoring his style of hip-hop in favour of commercial artists such as Puff Daddy.
In 1999, there were tentative plans to release an album called "Maximum Strength"; a lead single, "5 Boroughs", was released on The Corruptor movie soundtrack. However, KRS apparently decided to abort the album's planned release, just as he had secured a position as a Vice-President of A&R at Reprise Records. KRS moved to southern California, and stayed there for two years, finally ending his relationship with Jive Records with A Retrospective in 2000. The next year, he resigned his position at Reprise and in 2001 The Sneak Attack was released on Koch Records. In 2002, he released a gospel-rap album, Spiritual Minded, surprising many longtime fans. Parker had once denounced Christianity as a "slavemaster religion" which African-Americans should not follow. He founded the Temple of Hiphop, and released a new album, Kristyles, in mid- 2003, which was preceded by KRS-One: The Mixtape. In the summer of 2004 he released Keep Right.
KRS One's latest CD Life, was released in June 2006, and another CD, Adventures in Emceein on Koch Records is slated for later in the year. KRS has also confirmed for his next album of new material, expected to be out in 2007, he will be working with Marley Marl.
September 11 comments and ensuing controversy
In 2004, KRS engendered a controversy when he was quoted in a panel discussion hosted by New Yorker Magazine as saying that Blacks "cheered when 911 happened". The comment drew criticism from many sources, including a pointed barb by the New York Daily News that called Parker an "anarchist" and said that "If Osama bin Laden ever buys a rap album, he'll probably start with a CD by KRS-One."
Parker responded to the furor surrounding his comments with an editorial written for AllHipHop.com. In it, Parker said "I was asked about why hiphop has not engaged the current situation more (meaning 911), my response was 'because it does not affect us, or at least we don’t perceive that it affects us, 911 happened to them'. I went on to say that 'I am speaking for the culture now; I am not speaking my personal opinion.' I continued to say; '911 affected them down the block; the rich, the powerful those that are oppressing us as a culture. Sony, RCA or BMG, Universal, the radio stations, Clear Channel, Viacom with BET and MTV, those are our oppressors those are the people that we're trying to overcome in hiphop everyday, this is a daily thing. We cheered when 911 happened in New York and say that proudly here. Because when we were down at the trade center we were getting hit over the head by cops, told that we can’t come in this building, hustled down to the train station because of the way we dressed and talked, and so on, we were racially profiled. So, when the planes hit the building we were like, 'mmmm, justice'. And just as I began to say 'now of course a lot of our friends and family were lost there as well' but I was interrupted..."
Are You Ready For This
KRS-One Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Well are you ready for this? (We ready for this)
Are you ready for this? (We ready for this!)
Well we just can't miss (just can't miss)
Well we just can't miss (drop the beat like this)
Well are you ready for this? (We ready for this)
Are you ready for this? (We ready for this!)
Well we just can't miss (just can't miss)
[KRS-One]
Well when I speak this
I'ma be like this, I'ma be like Kris
I'ma teacher, I'ma preacher, I'ma free my kids
I'ma grow dem and show dem what a leader is
I'ma teach dem the laws of receive and give
Knowledge Reigns Supreme, believe and live
You done heard the hype, COME to where the talent is
"I'm Still number one," yup you heard right
People say, "KRS-One you shine bright!"
Others say, "Yo - you rhyme tight"
When you find me, you find light, and that's alright
I don't know about pimpin, sellin women like retail
Or turning coke into crack for resale
But I do know if we fail
In 2020 our children by the million gonna be jailed
We got the victory over the streets
God willin we chillin, we know we gon' eat
I'm a whole different kind of MC, hoes don't like
not tempt me but the ladies treat me oh so gently
Universities sendin me stretch Bentleys
My seminars and lectures, are rarely never empty
We teach students plenty, honorary degrees
Gold and platinum plaques I got many, ask Kenny
People get shocked when I walk into Denny's
Or the corner Kwik-Stop, they say, "That's Hip-Hop
right there," and yeah it's really quite clear
2004 might be the right year
for mental and spiritual repair
The solution is in the resolution you just declared
[Chorus]
[KRS-One]
When I speak like this
Knowledge Reigns Supreme, hip-hop philosopher
All in the street well I'm very popular
All through the hood I make all the stops and I
avoid the cops and them random shots well I
love hip-hop and I, live hip-hop so I
spit that shit to get you off your block cause I
can't understand and I, wish I could see dem
cats that talk bout they love the hood and they
never bring the hood anything that's good, and they
rap for the money tree, chasin a company
But I think you can now see, rap is fun to me
I got a ministry, a class, a staff that's under me
KRS in pop rap? Nah, it ain't ought to be
It'll never happen like, you eatin pork with me
Amateurs hawkin me, DON'T EVEN talk to me
My house is in Atlanta but I still got New York in me
Walk with me, most rappers are short to me
I'm like Chamberlain, dominatin the sport you see
I toss MC's off of me
When you hear KRS you say that's how it ought to be
[Chorus]
[KRS-One]
I drop heat like this!
In KRS-One's song "Are You Ready For This," he presents himself as a teacher and preacher to free his kids and show them what a true leader is. He believes in the laws of give and take and teaches his students as much. KRS-One is different from other MCs who talk about drugs and violence; he believes that in 2020, children will be jailed by the million, so it is essential to focus on mental and spiritual healing. KRS-One asserts himself as a hip-hop philosopher, and people recognize and respect him for his contributions to the genre.
Line by Line Meaning
Well are you ready for this? (We ready for this)
Are you prepared to receive my message? Because I am ready to deliver and spread it to you.
Are you ready for this? (We ready for this!)
Do you have the willingness to understand and internalize my message? Because I am more than willing to share it with you.
Well we just can't miss (just can't miss)
My message is so important that it cannot afford to be overlooked or ignored.
Well we just can't miss (drop the beat like this)
The urgency of my message calls for a powerful delivery - this is where the beat drops.
Well when I speak this
I'ma be like this, I'ma be like Kris
I'ma teacher, I'ma preacher, I'ma free my kids
I'ma grow dem and show dem what a leader is
I'ma teach dem the laws of receive and give
When I speak, I will be myself - I will be KRS-One. I am a teacher and a preacher who aims to impart knowledge that will liberate our children. I will lead by example and show them how a true leader should act. And most importantly, I will teach them the principles of giving and receiving in life.
Knowledge Reigns Supreme, believe and live
Knowledge is supreme and it should be revered by everyone. Believe in its power and live your life accordingly.
You done heard the hype, COME to where the talent is
"I'm Still number one," yup you heard right
You may have heard about me and my talent, and I encourage you to come see for yourself. And it's true, I am still number one in the game.
People say, "KRS-One you shine bright!"
Others say, "Yo - you rhyme tight"
When you find me, you find light, and that's alright
People recognize my talent and skill in the game. They refer to me as shining bright and rhyming tight. When you see me, it's like finding light - and that's perfectly okay.
I don't know about pimpin, sellin women like retail
Or turning coke into crack for resale
But I do know if we fail
In 2020 our children by the million gonna be jailed
I may not know about controversial and illegal activities such as pimping and drug dealing. However, I do know that if we do not act and educate our children, they will continue to be incarcerated by the millions.
We got the victory over the streets
God willin we chillin, we know we gon' eat
We have triumphed over the harsh realities of the streets. With the help of God, we will continue to thrive and succeed.
I'm a whole different kind of MC, hoes don't like
not tempt me but the ladies treat me oh so gently
I am a unique type of rapper that is not necessarily attractive to women who are solely interested in material things. However, I appreciate the genuine love and support I receive from my female fans.
Universities sendin me stretch Bentleys
My seminars and lectures, are rarely never empty
We teach students plenty, honorary degrees
Gold and platinum plaques I got many, ask Kenny
I am so in-demand as a speaker that universities even send me luxurious cars to get me to their campuses. My seminars and lectures are always packed with eager students. I have received many honorary degrees, and I have also earned multiple gold and platinum rewards. Just ask my colleague Kenny.
People get shocked when I walk into Denny's
Or the corner Kwik-Stop, they say, "That's Hip-Hop
right there," and yeah it's really quite clear
People are surprised to see me in ordinary places such as Denny's or corner stores. They are quick to label me as a hip-hop icon, and rightfully so.
2004 might be the right year
for mental and spiritual repair
The solution is in the resolution you just declared
The year 2004 could be the perfect time to start repairing oneself mentally and spiritually. It all starts with making a resolution to do better.
Knowledge Reigns Supreme, hip-hop philosopher
All in the street well I'm very popular
All through the hood I make all the stops and I
avoid the cops and them random shots well I
I am not only a rapper, but also a philosopher of the hip-hop culture. I am well-known and respected in the streets, and I make it a point to reach out and connect with people from all over the hood. I am also wise enough to dodge law enforcement and gun violence.
love hip-hop and I, live hip-hop so I
spit that shit to get you off your block cause I
I don't just make music, I live and breathe the hip-hop culture. I create music to inspire people to step outside their comfort zone and explore the world of hip-hop.
can't understand and I, wish I could see dem
cats that talk bout they love the hood and they
never bring the hood anything that's good, and they
rap for the money tree, chasin a company
I am unable to understand why some rappers claim to care for the hood, yet they do nothing to improve its situation. They only rap for the money and pursue corporate success.
But I think you can now see, rap is fun to me
I got a ministry, a class, a staff that's under me
KRS in pop rap? Nah, it ain't ought to be
As much as I enjoy making rap music, I also have a larger mission that involves educating and inspiring others. I have a team that supports me in this effort. And despite some suggestions to make pop rap, it's simply not the direction that I should go towards.
It'll never happen like, you eatin pork with me
Amateurs hawkin me, DON'T EVEN talk to me
Trying to make me do pop rap is something that will never happen, it's as ridiculous as trying to convince me to eat pork. And to those who are amateurs trying to take advantage of me, don't even bother trying to speak with me.
My house is in Atlanta but I still got New York in me
Walk with me, most rappers are short to me
I'm like Chamberlain, dominatin the sport you see
Although I reside in Atlanta, I still carry the essence of New York in my character. Join me in my journey, as most rappers are not on my level. I relate to Wilt Chamberlain's excellence in his athletic pursuits.
I toss MC's off of me
When you hear KRS you say that's how it ought to be
I am so skilled at this craft that I effortlessly outcompete other rappers. When you hear my raps, it should be unquestionable that this is how it should be done.
I drop heat like this!
I create powerful music like this!
[Chorus]
Are you ready for this? It's time to pay attention.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
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