KRS-One

Released: December 21, 2020

Songwriter: KRS-One

Producer: KRS-One

[Verse 1]
Imma switch up on y'all real quick
Racists in these places only see me as cattle
But I'm more like D'Jango on the horse with the saddle
Put a racists head in the gravel with the burner
Harriet Tubman, John Brown and the one Nat Turner
I'm a learner, I keep my head in a book
So when a racist start talking I could never be shook
I can never be took because I'm knocking their block off
Like crack dealers used to say let's get this rock off

[Chorus]
You're always blaming me
I'm not thе enemy, you are

[Verse 2]
Pеople ask why are you looting the stores
Why you burning down the business and city that's yours
First of all the city ain't mine it's yours
Democracy's a joke when capitalists write the laws
You critique my flaws and don't speak of yours
You only show the effects and never speak of the cause
I got no money, no help and no voice
With no way out I only got one choice
Brick through the glass, rock through the window
Tear gas moving anyway that the wind blow
Rubber bullets overhead, now we got to get low
But this was how slaves were treated from the get go
Robbery, invasion and rape
These are not criminal acts, these are the acts of the state
If you just waking up to this fact you a little late
For justice how long you think we gotta wait
Yeah, c'mon
Yeah, yeah, yeah, c'mon

[Chorus]
You're always blaming me
I'm not the enemy you are
You're claiming unity
This time it's time you see who you are

[Verse 3]
Liberate you mind, living ain't a crime
Innovate the time, renovate the rhyme
Every line and rhyme you're using
Generates confusion and bring your people a revolution
Winning not losing
Helping not using
Oppression, aggression and hate we refusing
If you really want change rewrite the constitution
But that's the one solution that they are not doing
So we sharpen the blade, clean out the barrel
Pick up the rock and the bow and the arrow
Pull out the gas mask and the protest apparel
For justice Imma go into battle

[Chorus]
You're always blaming me
I'm not the enemy you are
You're claiming unity
This time it's time you see who you are
Who you are
Who you are
You're always blaming me
I'm not the enemy you are
You're claiming unity
This time it's time you see who you are
Who you are
Who you are

The legendary MC from the South Bronx, New York, Lawrence “KRS-One” Parker has been steadily rapping since 1985. His name stands for “Knowledge Reigns Supreme Over Nearly Everyone”.

KRS came to rapping only by chance. In the Something from The Art of Rap documentary, he recalls watching an MC cypher when suddenly “a dude” randomly picked him out of the crowd and made fun of him. Feeling compelled to defend himself, KRS performed a little freestyle which impressed the crowd and eventually kicked off his rapping career.

His breakthrough onto the hip hop scene began with “The Bridge Is Over” – an answer record to the popular Queens rapper MC Shan’s song “Queensbridge”. From 1986 to 1992, KRS-One fronted the groundbreaking hip hop group Boogie Down Productions, scoring six top 20 hits on the US Rap Chart. In 1993, he began a solo career spanning three decades, racking up six more top 20 Rap Chart hits with “Sound of da Police”, “MCs Act Like They Don’t Know”, “Step Into A World” and “Men Of Steel” also achieving mainstream pop success on the Hot 100.

more tracks from the album

Between Da Protests [Extended Edition]

From the albums

Between Da Protests [Extended Edition] (2020)
Between Da Protests (2020)

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Between Da Protests [Extended Edition]