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..."
Trust
KRS-One Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
How many times did you pre-meditate
what you thought was your fate, cause you couldn't just wait
You had to have it the way that you thought in your mind
But in the end, everything came in time
But before the time, you was losin your mind
You was racin and rushin and fallin behind
But let me tell you bout God and the way that She works
You gotta trust in your Lord, everything is in accord
Don't rush or fuss, you gonna get yours
Close your eyes, your heart, your ears, your mind
to the ways and thoughts of mankind
And seek ye first the Kingdom of God
And things won't seem so hard
You gotta trust your Lord, uhh, uhh.. tell 'em bout
[Chorus]
Trust and obey, trust when afraid
Trust when you paid, trust when betrayed
Trust when you fear, trust when you unclear
Trust when you here, trust when you near
Trust when you down, trust when you found
Trust when you clown, trust
C'mon, let's do it again, uh, uh
Let's raise it up, c'mon, look
After you live and you learn then you see
You will learn how to trust in your G-O-D
You will be so free, you won't see no me
You will only see the will of the almighty
You sick of what? Well ya will, give it up
Stop thinkin and begin to, live it up
Every time you think it's one way it's not
Every time you wanna start you really stop
Trust in the inner the outer is for the sinners
In fact this whole rap is for beginners
Those that have talked and walked upon the path
Know that they get what they want before they act
So why rush, if your respect is due
Whatever you DON'T have is protectin you
Here's what you DO have that be bringin the drama
Ask and it shall be given, with a comma
[Chorus]
You trust in her, trust in him, trust in them, and then
Trust in men, trust in sin, trust in friends
You trust in her, trust in him, trust in them, and then
Trust in men, trust in sin, trust in friends
Uh uh, soundin good, soundin good, look, look
So when will you be it, when will you see it
That thoughts and things they manifest when you decree it
But God be lookin out for you
Puttin a stop to what you're about to do
In your life, and in your circumstances
Every time you speak you be takin chances
Talkin bout things that you really don't have to have
So when you get 'em, your life turns sad
Your life turns bad, now why would your God be allowin that?
Trust in God, that's where the crown is at
It's not in what you get, it's what happens after that
So if you think your life is shrinkin
It may be cause you keep thinkin
Not that intellect is wrong
It's just the beginning, it might be time to move on
[Chorus]
In KRS-One's song Trust, the lyrics talk about the importance of faith in God and trusting in His plan. The song starts off by questioning why people feel the need to rush and pre-meditate their fate, and instead encourages listeners to trust in God's timing. KRS-One emphasizes that seeking the Kingdom of God should be the priority, and that everything else will fall into place. He urges listeners to trust in God even when they are afraid, uncertain, or betrayed because trusting in God is the only thing that can truly set them free.
The chorus, "Trust and obey, trust when afraid, trust when you paid, trust when betrayed, trust when you fear, trust when you unclear, trust when you here, trust when you near, trust when you down, trust when you found, trust when you clown, trust," is repeated multiple times throughout the song and promotes the idea that trust in God should be constant and unwavering, regardless of the situation.
Overall, the song Trust is a call to have faith in God and to trust in His plan. It encourages listeners to let go of their need for control and to trust in the timing of the universe. The song urges listeners to prioritize seeking the Kingdom of God and to trust in Him even when things are uncertain or difficult.
Line by Line Meaning
C'mon, gather round now, gather round now, look now
Attention please, everyone gather around and listen closely.
How many times did you pre-meditate
How many times did you plan out something in advance?
what you thought was your fate, cause you couldn't just wait
Did you believe something was destined for you, but you lacked patience?
You had to have it the way that you thought in your mind
You needed things to happen exactly as you imagined them.
But in the end, everything came in time
Eventually, things turned out well.
But before the time, you was losin your mind
Before everything fell into place, you were stressed and overwhelmed.
You was racin and rushin and fallin behind
You were trying to hurry and do everything, but it was causing you to lag behind.
But let me tell you bout God and the way that She works
I want to talk to you about God and Her methods.
You gotta trust in your Lord, everything is in accord
You need to have faith in God, as everything will work out together.
Don't rush or fuss, you gonna get yours
Don't stress or try to rush things, you will get what you need in due time.
Close your eyes, your heart, your ears, your mind
Shut out the noise, negativity, and distractions of the world.
to the ways and thoughts of mankind
Ignore the opinions and thought processes of human beings.
And seek ye first the Kingdom of God
Make finding God your top priority.
And things won't seem so hard
If you do this, it will make everything else easier.
Trust and obey, trust when afraid
Have faith and follow God's commands, especially when you're scared.
Trust when you paid, trust when betrayed
Believe in God when you have money, and also when you feel betrayed.
Trust when you fear, trust when you unclear
Have faith even when you're unsure or confused.
Trust when you here, trust when you near
Believe in God when you're present and when you're close to achieving something.
Trust when you down, trust when you found
Believe in God when you're feeling low or when you've found something new.
Trust when you clown, trust
Have faith in God even when you're acting silly or foolish.
After you live and you learn then you see
Once you've gained experience and obtained knowledge, you'll understand.
You will learn how to trust in your G-O-D
You'll learn to have faith in God.
You will be so free, you won't see no me
You'll feel liberated and won't be concerned with other people's opinions.
You will only see the will of the almighty
You'll only care about following God's plan.
You sick of what? Well ya will, give it up
You're tired of something? Surrender it to God.
Stop thinkin and begin to, live it up
Stop overanalyzing and start enjoying life.
Every time you think it's one way it's not
Things don't always turn out the way you expect them to.
Every time you wanna start you really stop
You might hesitate or procrastinate when you should act.
Trust in the inner the outer is for the sinners
Have faith in your inner voice, ignore external temptations and distractions.
In fact this whole rap is for beginners
This song is for those who are new to trusting in God.
Those that have talked and walked upon the path
Those who have discussed and followed the way of God.
Know that they get what they want before they act
Understand that they receive what they want before they take action.
So why rush, if your respect is due
There's no need to hurry if you're acting respectably.
Whatever you DON'T have is protectin you
Things you don't have may be keeping you safe.
Here's what you DO have that be bringin the drama
Here's what you have that's causing trouble.
Ask and it shall be given, with a comma
Request something from God, and you'll receive it in some form or fashion.
So when will you be it, when will you see it
When will you become it and recognize it.
That thoughts and things they manifest when you decree it
Your thoughts and desires take shape when you speak them.
But God be lookin out for you
God is watching over you and protecting you.
Puttin a stop to what you're about to do
Preventing you from making a mistake or causing harm to yourself.
In your life, and in your circumstances
In every aspect of your existence.
Every time you speak you be takin chances
Every time you express yourself, there's a risk involved.
Talkin bout things that you really don't have to have
Mentioning things that aren't necessary or don't pertain to the situation.
So when you get 'em, your life turns sad
If you obtain these things, it might make you unhappy.
Your life turns bad, now why would your God be allowin that?
Why would God let this happen if it's not what's best for you?
Trust in God, that's where the crown is at
Have faith in God, as that's where true wealth lies.
It's not in what you get, it's what happens after that
True success comes from what follows obtaining material possessions.
So if you think your life is shrinkin
If you feel like your life is getting worse.
It may be cause you keep thinkin
It could be because of your negative thought patterns.
Not that intellect is wrong
There's nothing inherently wrong with being smart.
It's just the beginning, it might be time to move on
It could be the start of a new phase in your life, and it's time to transition.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Cloud9
Written by: Lawrence Krsone Parker, Aundriel Terry, Bervin Harris, Ulysses L Cain
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind