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..."
Money
KRS-One Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
[MM Lyte:]
Money - M-o-n-e-y
(Money!)
Money - M-o-n-e-y
(Money!)
M-o-n-e-y, what you need to just get by
Money, honey, ain't it funny?
Money, people wanna die
It seems without money, people cry, people will lie
You cannot deny, without money you can't apply
For anything that catches your eye, I wonder why
The root of all evil, let me teach you, now who am I?
The MC, teachin' my people "Don't live that lie"
You got to get money, but don't let money get you, guy
I can break it down like whatever you want
Whatever you spend your money on strong, yo that's what you flaunt
Spend your money on these honeys, yo if that's what you want
Spend your money on attorneys if you're goin' to court
If I look around your neck I can see what you bought
What, you think you get respect? No, you takin' a short
Yo, you need the money, of course, you need it to live
(Yo, what you put your money on, Kris?) Yo, right on my kids
[MC LYte:]
M-o-n-e-y, don't ask why. It IS the root of all evil
Though very necessary to your livelihood
It's all good when you got enough
Til enough ain't enough and you hit upon rough times
You make your money and I'll make mine
(Yo, we need the...) (Money!)
[KRS-One:]
Don't get me wrong, mistakin' this song
Like money is not important - yes, it is, just be strong
It's the reason for the thievin' and that war goin'on
It's the reason that you seein' all these girls in their thong
It's the reason that the radio's on
It's the reason that you believe if you gotta work from sun-up 'til dawn
It's the cravings that connect you to that money you makin'
Your desire is the fire got you feelin' you slavin'
(Free yourself!) Money doesn't make you the man
(Be yourself!) A man gets his money in credit(?)
Ok, I'm a get this money, really, all day
But not to the point where I'm goin' the wrong way
I'm a put my money down on rides and all that
Hook up the house so me and my spouse can fall back
Investing my knowledge way beyond college
Write books and fly hooks in my cottage
Cheese - Kris bling-blingin'? Yo, please!
Money is an energy that gets what I need
I can understand them cats that rap flossin' and frontin'
It's all good, they from the hood, never had nothin'
They just got they money and everything's sunny
Hear what I'm saying, they preyin', boy, and lookin for bunnies
[MC Lyte:]
Did we floss what we bought
Forgetting that sharing is what we've been taught?
'Cause this here gettin' money is an individual sport
Money can get me in to the same place where years ago
My bros and sisters with black skin
Were confined to the back door and the kitchen
[KRS-One:]
Last verse, where your cash purse
Reach into your wallet, nothin' alloted, that hurts
Breath stinkin' you're thinkin', but can't afford Certs
Need the dollar and baby hollerin' - no work
I don't know how you gonna get the dough
You could become educated, you could become a ho
You could do both, that's like puttin' butter on toast
The bread is the knowledge, butter is what gets you that close
[MC Lyte:]
Money is funny - how a piece of paper can make or break your very existence
Quick as it come, quick as it go - you better know about the ebb and the flow
You get money in droves, trick it on cars and blow
Throw dollars at black queens 'cause, for the dough they'll strip their clothes
And for the right amount of money
A king will pimp his queen into being a ho on a stroll
Life will always be hard when you choose to make money your god
The lyrics of KRS-One's song "Money" address the role that money plays in people's lives. The song takes a critical look at how money is often viewed as essential to people's happiness and how people's desire for money can lead them to do things they may not necessarily want to do. The lyrics highlight how money can be a motivation for people to lie, cheat, and even risk their lives. The song also acknowledges that money is necessary for livelihood, but encourages listeners not to let money consume them.
KRS-One and MC Lyte's lyrics in the song brings to light the consequences money can have on people because of the hype around it. The lyrics bring awareness to how people often prioritize money over their relationships, education, and general well-being. Additionally, the song's lyrics also touch on how money can perpetuate the value system in society that allows for inequality and oppression.
Overall, the song is a commentary on how money is both a motivator and a hindrance to people and how it shapes our society.
Line by Line Meaning
Money - M-o-n-e-y
Money is a key topic in the song.
M-o-n-e-y, what you need to just get by
Money is necessary to live your life.
Money, honey, ain't it funny?
Money has a strange effect on people.
Money, people wanna die
People often feel helpless without money.
It seems without money, people cry, people will lie
Not having money makes people resort to desperate measures.
You cannot deny, without money you can't apply
Money is required to participate in society.
For anything that catches your eye, I wonder why
People are driven by consumer culture to spend money on unnecessary things.
The root of all evil, let me teach you, now who am I?
Money is often associated with negative things.
The MC, teachin' my people "Don't live that lie"
The artist's message is for people to live in such a way that they are not controlled by money.
You got to get money, but don't let money get you, guy
Money is important, but it's better not to be obsessed with it.
I can break it down like whatever you want
The artist is knowledgeable about ways one can spend money.
Whatever you spend your money on strong, yo that's what you flaunt
Spending money on something shows what matters to a person.
Spend your money on these honeys, yo if that's what you want
It is common for men to spend money on women.
Spend your money on attorneys if you're goin' to court
Money can help solve a legal problem.
If I look around your neck I can see what you bought
People's material possessions represent the value they place on money.
What, you think you get respect? No, you takin' a short
Buying material things does not necessarily garner respect.
Yo, you need the money, of course, you need it to live
Money is necessary to survive.
(Yo, what you put your money on, Kris?) Yo, right on my kids
The artist prioritizes spending money on his children.
Money - M-o-n-e-y
Money is still a key topic in the song.
M-o-n-e-y, don't ask why. It IS the root of all evil
Money is associated with negative things.
Though very necessary to your livelihood
However, money is still necessary to live life.
It's all good when you got enough
People are content when they have enough money.
Til enough ain't enough and you hit upon rough times
But if the money runs out, life becomes difficult.
You make your money and I'll make mine
People have to earn their own money.
(Yo, we need the...) (Money!)
Money is still important for survival.
Don't get me wrong, mistakin' this song
The song does not advocate for undervaluing money entirely.
Like money is not important - yes, it is, just be strong
Money is important to people, but they should not become obsessed with it.
It's the reason for the thievin' and that war goin'on
Money is the root cause of many negative things in society today.
It's the reason that you seein' all these girls in their thong
Money can be used to exploit people.
It's the reason that the radio's on
Money has a huge influence on popular culture.
It's the reason that you believe if you gotta work from sun-up 'til dawn
The mindset that people have to work hard to make money is a product of consumer culture.
It's the cravings that connect you to that money you makin'
People work hard for money because of their desire for material things.
Your desire is the fire got you feelin' you slavin'
People become slaves to money because they crave material possessions.
(Free yourself!) Money doesn't make you the man
People should not let money define their worth as a person.
(Be yourself!) A man gets his money in credit(?)
The way a man earns money is important, and getting credit is one way to do it.
Ok, I'm a get this money, really, all day
The artist is focused on making money.
But not to the point where I'm goin' the wrong way
The artist is also mindful of not becoming obsessed with money.
I'm a put my money down on rides and all that
The artist spends money on recreational activities.
Hook up the house so me and my spouse can fall back
The artist spends money on improving his living conditions.
Investing my knowledge way beyond college
The artist values education and looks to apply his knowledge to making money.
Write books and fly hooks in my cottage
The artist uses his writing skills to earn money.
Cheese - Kris bling-blingin'? Yo, please!
The artist does not prioritize material possessions for the sake of showing off his wealth.
Money is an energy that gets what I need
Money is a tool the artist uses to achieve his goals.
I can understand them cats that rap flossin' and frontin'
The artist understands why some people boast about their wealth.
It's all good, they from the hood, never had nothin'
People who grew up poor may be more likely to flaunt their wealth.
They just got they money and everything's sunny
Money can bring happiness in the short-term.
Hear what I'm sayin', they preyin', boy, and lookin for bunnies
However, some people with money might be taken advantage of because of their wealth.
Did we floss what we bought
Did we show off our material possessions?
Forgetting that sharing is what we've been taught?
People should remember to share what they have and not be selfish.
'Cause this here gettin' money is an individual sport
Making money is a personal pursuit.
Money can get me in to the same place where years ago
With money, people can gain access to things that were once off-limits.
My bros and sisters with black skin
People of color have been historically denied access to certain spaces because of racism.
Were confined to the back door and the kitchen
Black people have been forced into subservient positions because of racism.
Last verse, where your cash purse
This is the final verse about money.
Reach into your wallet, nothin' alloted, that hurts
Running out of money is painful.
Breath stinkin' you're thinkin', but can't afford Certs
Being too poor to afford dental hygiene products is a sign of financial hardship.
Need the dollar and baby hollerin' - no work
Having a baby to care for is difficult when you don't have enough money and cannot work.
I don't know how you gonna get the dough
It can be difficult to procure money.
You could become educated, you could become a ho
People can either work hard and earn money, or resort to selling themselves and their bodies.
You could do both, that's like puttin' butter on toast
People can work hard and still use sex work to make extra money.
The bread is the knowledge, butter is what gets you that close
Education is one way to earn money, and sex work is another.
Money is funny - how a piece of paper can make or break your very existence
It is ironic how something so small, like paper money, can have a huge impact on someone's life.
Quick as it come, quick as it go - you better know about the ebb and the flow
Money can be fleeting - it comes and goes, it ebbs and flows.
You get money in droves, trick it on cars and blow
Some people spend a lot of money on cars and frivolous things.
Throw dollars at black queens 'cause, for the dough they'll strip their clothes
Some men pay black women to take their clothes off, and such actions can be very exploitative.
And for the right amount of money
With money, people will do almost anything.
A king will pimp his queen into being a ho on a stroll
Even a man with a lot of money might exploit the women he is with.
Life will always be hard when you choose to make money your god
Making money one's top priority in life can lead to negative consequences and dissatisfaction.
Contributed by Reagan T. Suggest a correction in the comments below.