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..."
Life Interlude
KRS-One Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
[KRS-One]
With every breath I breathe I choose life for the children
With every breath I breathe I choose a wife and good livin
With every single breath that I ingest I am given
A smidgen to make life-changin decisions, listen
My mission with precision will position our children
and trillions of people comin after us
If they doubt, they won't be as fast as us
Cause in our time we kick a new power rhyme
We keep renewin your mind, cause soon you will find
That every single breath that I breathe keeps us conscious
Enough to perceive and achieve if you believe
But oxygen comes from the trees
Without air for four minutes forget it you catchin some Z's
So which is really conscious, us or nature?
Maybe the trees wish to elevate the paper
And maybe this was just the fall
To forget that nature thinks, we doin nothin at all
And this is the way of the world
The world meanin the conscious nature and the earth that swirls
Like buffalo girls we go 'round the outside
Kris is controversial but Kris never lied
In the forest, the mountains and the hills I reside
You gotta follow the purpose you feel inside
{*cut and scratched: "Life"*}
[KRS-One]
With every single breath I choose
With every single breath I move
With every single breath I prove
With every single breath I use
With every single breath I snooze
With every single breath I cruise
With every single breath I choose life
Not strife
Or strain, some like that I came, to rearrange the game
Others blame and remain the same
Same same, but me the plan is plain
We gotta think more humane...
In KRS-One's song "Life Interlude", the rapper reflects on the importance of every breath he takes as a choice to live his life for the betterment of himself, his family, and the world. He emphasizes the inherent power and responsibility that comes with each inhale and exhale, and the potential for these small actions to lead to life-changing decisions that can positively impact society. KRS-One's mission is to use his skill and artistic expression to elevate the consciousness of his listeners and inspire them to take action towards building a better future. He acknowledges the interconnectedness of humans and nature, and the crucial role that trees and oxygen play in sustaining life on earth. He also challenges the idea that humans are the only conscious beings, pondering the possibility that nature itself may possess a type of consciousness that we have yet to fully understand.
Line by Line Meaning
With every breath I breathe I choose life for the children
I prioritize the well-being and future of children with every breath that enters my body.
With every breath I breathe I choose a wife and good livin
I prioritize a fulfilling life with a partner with every breath that enters my body.
With every single breath that I ingest I am given
Every breath I take provides me with the opportunity to make impactful decisions.
A smidgen to make life-changin decisions, listen
Even a small moment can lead to a life-changing decision.
My mission with precision will position our children
My clear and specific mission will help set up future generations for success.
by the millions to start buildin our culture for the billions
We must start building a culture that will impact billions of people in the future, and start with millions today.
and trillions of people comin after us
Our decisions and actions today will affect trillions of people in the future.
If they doubt, they won't be as fast as us
Those who doubt our pursuit of creating a better future will fall behind.
Cause in our time we kick a new power rhyme
We are creating a new powerful movement at this moment in time.
We keep renewin your mind, cause soon you will find
Continual renewal of our thoughts will lead to future revelations.
That every single breath that I breathe keeps us conscious
Our consciousness is tied to every breath that we take.
Enough to perceive and achieve if you believe
If you believe in yourself, you have the capability to perceive and achieve great things.
But oxygen comes from the trees
The source of our breath and survival is from the trees.
Without air for four minutes forget it you catchin some Z's
Lack of oxygen for only four minutes can lead to death.
So which is really conscious, us or nature?
The true source of consciousness is contested: is it humans or nature?
Maybe the trees wish to elevate the paper
Trees may have a greater purpose beyond human consumption, such as elevating the value of paper.
And maybe this was just the fall
Perhaps our current state of society was inevitable and predestined.
To forget that nature thinks, we doin nothin at all
If we forget that nature thinks and is conscious, we are doing nothing at all.
And this is the way of the world
This is the current state of the world and how it operates.
The world meanin the conscious nature and the earth that swirls
The world refers to both conscious nature and the physical earth that spins.
Like buffalo girls we go 'round the outside
We continue to go around in circles without truly changing the world.
Kris is controversial but Kris never lied
I am known to be controversial, but I always tell the truth.
In the forest, the mountains and the hills I reside
I am at home in the natural world found in forests, mountains, and hills.
You gotta follow the purpose you feel inside
Each individual should follow their own internal purpose and drive.
With every single breath I choose
Every breath taken provides a new opportunity to make a choice.
With every single breath I move
Each inhalation motivates me to take action.
With every single breath I prove
Every time I breathe is a chance to demonstrate my capabilities.
With every single breath I use
I make use of every breath breathed through action and decision-making.
With every single breath I snooze
Even in moments of rest, I use my breath to maintain consciousness.
With every single breath I cruise
During moments of leisure or ease, every breath is an opportunity to relax and be mindful.
With every single breath I choose life
Each breath of oxygen reminds me of the value of life and well-being.
Not strife
My goal is to prioritize peace and harmony in my life.
Or strain, some like that I came, to rearrange the game
My purpose is to bring about change and improvement, not to cause tension or difficulty.
Others blame and remain the same
Some people choose to blame others for their problems and stay stagnant.
Same same, but me the plan is plain
Others may maintain the status quo, but my plan is clear and direct.
We gotta think more humane...
We need to consider the well-being and ethical treatment of all individuals, not just ourselves.
Contributed by Victoria H. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
ICANDO3 ICANTDO2
peace and love check krs one new album 'the world is mind' some of his best work