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..."
The Truth
KRS-One Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
It's not factual Her truth is not hard
It's not natural if it goes against God
It's not factual gimme the truth
Listen to the lyric as the negative is shrinkin
It's shrinkin out your life when you decide to change your thinkin
One of the first things we gotta switch around of course
You're looking at the cross, surrounded in it's mystery
With Jesus on the cross in a, total misery
Now separate Jesus from the cross so you can see
The truth about the cross, and the cross's history
The cross was created by the Roman government
It's only purpose and use, is cap-I-tal punishment
But Jesus Christ, was all about the revolution
While the cross was used as Jesus Christ's execution
See what if Jesus Christ, was hung upon a tree
Upon every church wall, that's exactly what you'd see
If Jesus Christ, was shot in the head with no respect
We'd all have little gold guns around our neck
If Jesus Christ was killed in electric chair, now get it
You'd be knealing to the electric chair with Jesus, still in it
You gaze upon the cross, and you see the execution
You yell stop the violence but the cross you're still using
It's not natural if it goes against God
It's not factual Her truth is not hard
It's not natural if it goes against God
It's not factual gimme the truth
So I say listen, listen, open up your third eye vision
God is not down with religion
Religion they be sellin it, listen up, God is intelligent
Reading of the bible is irrelevant
You gotta look within yourself, not a scripture
KRS-One comes to rearrange the God picture
If you sit and believe, you can achieve
If you sit and accept, you don't know, what's correct
Or incorrect, take for instance Adam and Eve
The first two people on the planet, or so you believe
Their first time in heaven kids they had, Cain and Abel
Huh, now let me show you why the story's unstable
According to the story, according to what you believe
There was only Cain, Abel, Adam, and Eve
On the whole planet, now use your intellect
And tell me, what did Cain and Abel do for sex?
Upon the whole planet there was not another
Could it be for sex, heh, they were looking at each other?
Hold up I thought the church wasn't into that
But wait, still yet, there is another fact
How did the world get populated?
Now tell me if I'm wrong, but obviously Eve had it goin on
Think for a minute, I know it gets notorious
But yo G, check out the chorus
It's not natural if it goes against God
It's not factual Her truth is not hard
It's not natural if it goes against God
It's not factual gimme the truth
Yo yo
Yo bring that back
I want to say something on this BlastMaster session
Yo this is Rich Nice
You brothers gotta stop treating these hoes like nice girls
And these nice girls like hoes
True indeed, I'd like to welcome the rebirth of the Goddess
Word up it's all about knowledge of self
Yo Busta Rhymes, why don't you take the session over from here
The lyrics to KRS-One's song "The Truth" offer a critical commentary on religion, challenging the accuracy and relevance of traditional religious stories and doctrines. He asserts that the truth of God cannot contradict the natural order and facts of the world, and that religious scriptures are not the only source of divine knowledge. His use of provocative examples, such as questioning the story of Adam and Eve's children and the implication that they engaged in incest, invites listeners to question their own beliefs and assumptions, and seek to understand the world and God on a deeper level.
KRS-One suggests that one of the crucial changes people must make is to separate the image of Jesus from the symbol of the cross, recognizing the violent and oppressive history of the cross's use for capital punishment by the Roman Empire. By taking this stance, he encourages listeners to embrace a more revolutionary and critical view of the world, one that is not solely based on traditional religious stories or scriptures. He presents a message of self-discovery, emphasizing the importance of looking within oneself rather than relying on external sources for knowledge.
Line by Line Meaning
It's not natural if it goes against God
Anything that goes against God is unnatural and should be avoided
It's not factual Her truth is not hard
Her version of the truth may not be easy to accept or truthful
gimme the truth
The truth is sought after and should be revealed
Listen to the lyric as the negative is shrinkin
Listen to the words being spoken and let go of any negativity
It's shrinkin out your life when you decide to change your thinkin
Changing the way you think can change your life for the better
One of the first things we gotta switch around of course
We need to change our beliefs starting with the fundamental ones
Is Jesus Christ, and him dying on the cross
The belief that Jesus Christ died on the cross has to be looked at again
You're looking at the cross, surrounded in it's mystery
The cross should not be seen for its symbolic value as a mystical object
With Jesus on the cross in a, total misery
Jesus was not meant to suffer on the cross, it was a government punishment
Now separate Jesus from the cross so you can see
Separating Jesus from the cross will help you understand its true history
The truth about the cross, and the cross's history
The true history behind the cross should be learned
The cross was created by the Roman government
The cross was a tool of capital punishment created by the Roman government
It's only purpose and use, is cap-I-tal punishment
The cross was used exclusively for capital punishment
But Jesus Christ, was all about the revolution
Jesus was a revolutionary figure
While the cross was used as Jesus Christ's execution
The cross was used as a means of execution for Jesus Christ
See what if Jesus Christ, was hung upon a tree
Imagine if Jesus was hung on a tree instead of the cross
Upon every church wall, that's exactly what you'd see
If Jesus was hung on a tree, that would be the symbol for Christianity
If Jesus Christ, was shot in the head with no respect
If Jesus was killed in a different way, with less respect
We'd all have little gold guns around our neck
That particular weapon would have become the symbol of Christianity
If Jesus Christ was killed in electric chair, now get it
If Jesus were executed in the electric chair like a criminal
You'd be knealing to the electric chair with Jesus, still in it
The electric chair would have become the symbol for Christianity
You gaze upon the cross, and you see the execution
Looking at the cross should not be connected to the execution of Jesus
You yell stop the violence but the cross you're still using
People urge to end violence but continue to use the violent imagery of the cross
So I say listen, listen, open up your third eye vision
Pay attention and open your mind to new ideas
God is not down with religion
God does not necessarily follow any specific religion
Religion they be sellin it, listen up, God is intelligent
Religion is often a business and God is all-knowing
Reading of the bible is irrelevant
Only reading the Bible does not necessarily lead to the truth
You gotta look within yourself, not a scripture
The truth is found within oneself, not necessarily within religious texts
KRS-One comes to rearrange the God picture
KRS-One aims to change the way people see everything involving God
If you sit and believe, you can achieve
Believing something can lead to its achievement
If you sit and accept, you don't know, what's correct
Merely accepting something without questioning leads to ignorance
Or incorrect, take for instance Adam and Eve
Certain beliefs can be incorrect, like the story of Adam and Eve
The first two people on the planet, or so you believe
Adam and Eve being the first humans on earth is a belief
Their first time in heaven kids they had, Cain and Abel
Cain and Abel were the first children of Adam and Eve
Huh, now let me show you why the story's unstable
The story of Adam and Eve is not completely accurate
According to the story, according to what you believe
The story of Adam and Eve is based on beliefs
There was only Cain, Abel, Adam, and Eve
According to the story, there were only four people on earth
On the whole planet, now use your intellect
Apply your intellect to see the faults in the story
And tell me, what did Cain and Abel do for sex?
The story does not explain how Cain and Abel procreated
Upon the whole planet there was not another
According to the story, there were no other people on earth at the time
Could it be for sex, heh, they were looking at each other?
Cain and Abel's procreation is not really explained in the story
Hold up I thought the church wasn't into that
The church does not condone incestuous behavior
But wait, still yet, there is another fact
There is another fact regarding the story of Adam and Eve
How did the world get populated?
If there were only four people on earth, how did the world become populated?
Now tell me if I'm wrong, but obviously Eve had it goin on
It is implied that Eve had relations with another person
Think for a minute, I know it gets notorious
Think and consider the implications of the story
But yo G, check out the chorus
But listen to the chorus and remember the urgency to find the truth
Yo yo
Yo bring that back
I want to say something on this BlastMaster session
KRS-One wants to add something to this recording session
Yo this is Rich Nice
You brothers gotta stop treating these hoes like nice girls
Men should not treat some women any differently than others
And these nice girls like hoes
Women should not be treated disrespectfully based on their behavior
True indeed, I'd like to welcome the rebirth of the Goddess
The idea of the Goddess is being reborn
Word up it's all about knowledge of self
The most important thing to understand is oneself
Yo Busta Rhymes, why don't you take the session over from here
Busta Rhymes is now invited to take over the recording session
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Lawrence Krsone Parker
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind