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..."
Underground
KRS-One Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
It means you gotta be free to be underground
Yo, you got your own key when you're underground
If you're listening to me yo you underground
It's time that I open with a thunder sound
Now look around your own town for the underground
Yo, you rhymin' for the tv, or a million CD's?
You could be platinum or gold, hot or cold
But it's the respect you hold that's underground
When the critics don't get, that for the streets you spit it
When your lyric they fear, that's underground
What does it mean to be underground?
It means you gotta be free to be underground
Yo, you got your own key when you're underground
If you're listening to me yo you underground
Yo, white kids, black kids, skinny kids, fat kids
Them asian cats be underground
Chicanos, Palestinians, Milano's, fuck the lone ranger
Where's Tanto? That's underground
Freddie Foxxx, Blackalicious, Kweli
M.O.P., Gangstarr that's underground
Mad lion, Smif-n-Wessun, Buckshot
Armageddeon T.S. That's underground, uh
What does it mean to be underground?
It means you gotta be free to be underground
Yo, you got your own key when you're underground
If you're listening to me yo you underground
Yo, the t'cha returns, I told y'all I went to Cali to learn
And that shit was underground
If the cops be eyein' you, 'cause survive is what you try to do
Yo I'm wit you, you underground
If it's justice you want, and you protest the ice they flaunt
You want skills that's underground
Yo it's not about a rugger rapper, or an actor
It's about your subject matter that's underground
Look
What does it mean to be underground?
It means you gotta be free to be underground
Yo, you got your own key when you're underground
If you're listening to me yo you underground
Chevonne Dean from Ruff Ryders, all the Outsiderz
Young Zee, that's underground
When all your money's spent, and you're still hangin on
To 50 Cent (get it) you underground
When you rep the collective consciousness of hip-hop
Not hip-pop, you underground
Yo it ain't about jewels, bitches and cars
It's about Nas, that's underground, yo
What does it mean to be underground?
It means you gotta be free to be underground
Yo, you got your own key when you're underground
If you're listening to me yo you underground
To be underground simply means that you're down
For the struggle, get 'em up, that's underground
You could be a classy lady or a whore
But if you protest the war, for sure, you underground
If the government can't see you, or deceive you
You love your people, believe you underground
If you refuse to play the game, you go against the grain
You ridin' the train, you underground, get it
What does it mean to be underground?
It means you gotta be free to be underground
Yo, you got your own key when you're underground
If you're listening to me yo you underground
Yo, yo, that blast from the past, like Grandmaster Caz
Bam and flash, that's underground
Doug e. Fresh, lord finesse, KRS
If you listenin' to this you underground
Turn it up now KRS about to show you how
They go wow, blaow for the underground
Mr. Walt, Evil Dee, KRS, BDP
Kenny p, that's underground, do it
What does it mean to be underground?
It means you gotta be free to be underground
Yo, you got your own key when you're underground
If you're listening to me yo you underground
(Alright) Turn it up ah, turn it up ah
Turn it up ah, turn it up ah
Turn it up ah, turn it up ah
Turn it up if you underground, listen
KRS-One's song "Underground" celebrates the true essence of hip-hop, which is staying true to oneself, being aware of the struggles of the people and the community, and resisting the pressures of commercialization. The chorus emphasizes the importance of being free and independent, which is central to being underground. The song urges listeners to look around their community and find an underground scene that is thriving and authentic. KRS-One distinguishes between real underground MCs and those who are looking for commercial success. He notes that it's not about how many records you sell or how many concerts you perform but about the respect you hold within the underground community. KRS-One pays homage to the legends of hip-hop and even notes that if you listen to him, you too are underground.
One of the central messages of the song is that hip-hop transcends race, ethnicity, and gender. KRS-One emphasizes that all kids, people of different socioeconomic backgrounds, and cultures can be a part of the underground movement. He mentions different groups and individuals from different backgrounds to highlight how diverse the underground community is. Furthermore, KRS-One highlights that the underground community is not just about producing good music but also having an awareness of social issues. One can be underground by protesting the war or representing the collective consciousness of hip-hop.
In conclusion, KRS-One's song "Underground" celebrates the spirit of the underground hip-hop movement, which is characterized by independence, authenticity, and resistance to commercialization. It emphasizes the importance of staying true to oneself and the community, regardless of fame and fortune.
Line by Line Meaning
What does it mean to be UNDERGROUND?
The singer is asking what it means to be underground in the hip-hop world.
It means you gotta be free to be UNDERGROUND
Being underground means being free from the corporate influence that often dominates mainstream hip-hop.
Yo, you got your own key when you're UNDERGROUND
Being underground grants you the freedom to be creative and march to the beat of your own drum.
If you're listening to me yo you UNDERGROUND
If you're listening to this song and appreciate what it means to be underground, then you too are underground.
It's time that I open with a thunder sound
The artist is announcing his presence with authority and power.
Now look around your own town for the UNDERGROUND
The singer urges listeners to recognize the underground artists in their own communities.
Yo, you rhymin for the TV, or a million CD's?
The singer questions whether an artist is creating music for TV or to sell millions of CDs.
You ain't a MC, you ain't UNDERGROUND
To truly be an MC and be considered underground means being authentic and unafraid to speak truth to power.
You could be platinum or gold, hot or cold
The amount of album sales or level of popularity doesn't determine underground status.
But it's the respect you hold that's UNDERGROUND
Underground artists earn respect from peers and loyal fans who appreciate their vision and authenticity.
When the critics don't get, that for the streets you spit it
Underground artists connect with listeners on the streets, not necessarily with critics or mainstream media.
When your lyric they fear, that's UNDERGROUND
Underground artists' lyrics often speak truth to power, which can make those in power fear their message.
Yo, white kids, black kids, skinny kids, fat kids
The singer acknowledges that underground music comes from people of all races and body types.
Them Asian cats be UNDERGROUND
Asian hip-hop artists are also part of the underground scene.
Chicanos, Palestinians, Milanos, fuck the Lone Ranger
Hip-hop is global and includes artists from many backgrounds who feel marginalized like Chicanos and Palestinians.
Freddie Foxxx, Blackalicious, Kweli
The artist gives shoutouts to a few underground artists who exhibit authenticity in their music.
M.O.P., GangStarr that's UNDERGROUND
These hip-hop groups also embody what it means to be underground with their powerful lyrics and message.
Mad Lion, Smif-N-Wessun, Buckshot
These Jamaican-American and Brooklyn hip-hop acts are underground hip-hop artists that the singer admires.
If the cops be eyein you, cause survive is what you try to do
The singer is empathetic to the struggles of people who come from difficult circumstances and have to deal with police harassment.
Yo I'm wit you, you UNDERGROUND
The artist is expressing solidarity with those who are fighting against oppression and has your back if you're underground.
If it's justice you want, and you protest the ice they flaunt
The artist is encouraging artists to fight for social justice in their music and protest the materialism found in mainstream hip-hop.
Mr. Walt, Evil Dee, KRS, BDP
These artists were part of Boogie Down Productions, a legendary hip-hop group known for its conscious, politically-aware lyrics.
(Alright!) Turn it up ah, turn it up ah
The singer is urging listeners to turn up the volume on this song.
Turn it up if you UNDERGROUND - LISTEN!
Listen and appreciate what it means to be underground by turning up the volume on this song.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd., Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Trevor Anthony Lawrence, Dawaun W. Parker, Andre Romell Young, Mark Christopher Batson, Marshal B. III Mathers
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
MJBThePeacekeeper
I'ma drop a freestyle on this throwback beat. Fuck whoever talk shit....
To the listeners bump this; ladies blow a kiss
if you truly support me then raise up your fist
nothing I say is hypocritical nor even equivocal
so I'ma give all of y'all a piece of my own cerebral
gimme some dap for bustin' out a hot rap
spittin' to a beat that's got some tremendous boom bap
originally 'rap' meant to informally converse with each other
speak freely to your friends but not around your mother
currently it means rhythmatically verbalize your words
in creative and jazzy ways nobody's never heard
my self-expressions are a little extraordinary
my mom is the same way too; I guess it's hereditary
in that case I still feel like I'm socially ostracized
up with the trendy lifestyles I don't wanna be recognized
the cube root of 13,824
is the number of bars MJB is spittin' raw
in this rhyme; so cherrish my presence at this time
even though I'm 29, I'm still lyrically in my prime
living life peacefully
Aspiring Wittiness Enriches Spontaneous Obscurities & Methods Equally
energetically A.W.E.S.O.M.E and greatly intellect
I just put neologistics and philosophy in full effect
laced y'all with another acronym and a bit of math
don't respect my innovation then feel my wrath
game r00m
This guy makes me want to start a rap career again
Kissamies
This is something I'll call hip hop. Loved this always.
Filipe Costa
Dope comment.
ProtectedSouls4
if you bump this shit in ya ride it rumbles dumb hard.. love it
Jason Lennan
Since noone else has mentioned it, this song has the loudest bass ever created, I like to crescendo repeat the opening bump so loud into the 1st verse it shakes the house, try it!
jim haglund
one of the best hop-hop tracks ever....
Bl4sch3k
If you're listening to this yo you're underground!
Michael Cunningham
This joint right here makes everything right in the world.....💯 Study up 🧐
warren burns
KRS ONE keeping it real on another reload,no sell out.
Chris Fish Dawg
Still Bumpin Knowledge Reigns Supreme, that's Underground!🎧💪🔥🔊🎛️🎤📣🎶🎵🎼🎹🥁