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..."
Preserve the Kulture
KRS-One Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
We've been having these gatherings for over 12 years
Uhh, my first one, was ah at Latin Quarters in 1987
with Afrika Bambaataa - he threw the first one, that I attended
We kept the tradition going through the Stop the Violence Movement
Through Human Education Against Lies, Rhythm Cultural Institute
And now the Temple of Hip-Hop
This is Hip-Hop's spiritual base
Uhh, no culture is a culture, unless it has principles
unless it has morals, unless - we are unified
in some sort of principle, something we are not going to step beyond
Something that defines us
What I'd like to do, is just for a moment as we.. deal with this
Think about your role in Hip-Hop
Think about what you do everyday in Hip-Hop
This is not about right now
It's about twenty years from now
It's about ten years from now
The tapes are rolling, the notes are being taken
This is the type of thinking we have to get into
if this is going to survive and last
So again, Hip-Hop Appreciation Week, is a time of self-reflection
A time for Hip-Hoppers to ask,
"What am I doing, to preserve the culture?" {*echoes*}
Preserve the Kulture by KRS-One is a song that was written to address the importance of preserving the principles and culture of hip-hop. Through the song, he encourages people to embrace and understand the history and principles of hip-hop so that they can preserve it for the future generations. KRS-One opens the song by sharing his experience of attending his first gathering at the Latin Quarters in 1987, which was hosted by Afrika Bambaataa. From then onwards, they kept the tradition alive through different movements such as Stop the Violence Movement, Human Education Against Lies, Rhythm Cultural Institute, and now, The Temple of Hip-Hop.
He further emphasizes that hip-hop is not just music, but it is a culture and a way of life that has principles, morals, and values that define its followers. KRS-One encourages people to stay unified and maintain these principles to preserve the essence of hip-hop as a spiritual base. The song challenges hip-hop enthusiasts to think about their roles in hip-hop and what they do daily to preserve the culture. He notes that this is not just about the present but also about twenty and ten years from now.
In conclusion, KRS-One's Preserve the Kulture is a song that urges people to embrace and understand the principles and culture of hip-hop. It is a call to action, encouraging hip-hop enthusiasts to preserve the spirit of hip-hop and pass it on to future generations.
Line by Line Meaning
We've been having these gatherings for over 12 years
We have been gathering together for more than 12 years now.
Uhh, my first one, was ah at Latin Quarters in 1987
with Afrika Bambaataa - he threw the first one, that I attended
My first gathering was at Latin Quarters in 1987, which was thrown by Afrika Bambaataa and I attended it.
We kept the tradition going through the Stop the Violence Movement
Through Human Education Against Lies, Rhythm Cultural Institute
And now the Temple of Hip-Hop
We continued the tradition through Stop the Violence Movement, Human Education Against Lies, Rhythm Cultural Institute, and Temple of Hip-Hop.
This is Hip-Hop's spiritual base
The Temple of Hip-Hop is the spiritual base of Hip-Hop.
And as a spiritual base, we look to guide the youth in that discipline
As a spiritual base, our aim is to guide the youth in that discipline.
Uhh, no culture is a culture, unless it has principles
unless it has morals, unless - we are unified
in some sort of principle, something we are not going to step beyond
Something that defines us
A culture is not actually a culture until it has principles, morals, and unity in some sort of principle that defines it, which we won't step beyond.
What I'd like to do, is just for a moment as we.. deal with this
Think about your role in Hip-Hop
Think about what you do everyday in Hip-Hop
I want to take a moment to think about our role in Hip-Hop and what we do every day in Hip-Hop.
This is not about right now
It's about twenty years from now
It's about ten years from now
This is not just about the present, but also about the next ten to twenty years.
The tapes are rolling, the notes are being taken
This is the type of thinking we have to get into
if this is going to survive and last
The tapes are rolling and the notes are being taken. This type of thinking is crucial if Hip-Hop is going to survive and endure.
So again, Hip-Hop Appreciation Week, is a time of self-reflection
A time for Hip-Hoppers to ask,
"What am I doing, to preserve the culture?" {*echoes*}
Hip-Hop Appreciation Week is a time of self-reflection for Hip-Hoppers to ask themselves, "What am I doing to preserve the culture?"
Contributed by Luke E. Suggest a correction in the comments below.