KRS-One

Songwriter: KRS-One

[Intro]
Be strong, be strong
You must tell the devil huh, you must tell the devil ha
You must tell these devils, word
You got to tell a devil huh, just tell a devil ha
Word, what? Ha-ha
You must tell the devil huh, haha
Be strong, word
Stand on the rock (Stand up on the rock)

[Verse 1]
When the devil got your soul, and you ain't got control
You know you born again, but you feel like you old
Put your mind on Christ, put your mind on Kris
For everlasting life, you must listen to this
Now you could get with this, or you can get with that
I think you'll go with this, yo, Christians, where you at?
Oh, yes, it's KRS, with Church of the Harvest
With Clarence McClendon, hip-hop's winning evangelist
And then there's Hezekiah, his choir brings the fire
He's takin it higher (Tell 'em), the devil is a liar
I know you thinkin' 'bout that Y2K
And I see this fear that makes you lose your way
But we got somethin' that is bigger than bets
And we stand upon the rock that cannot break
Through millenniums, don't you think we been here before?
Through millenniums, God has always opened the door, word

[Chorus]
You must tell the devil huh, you must tell the devil hah
You got to tell the devil, ahh, ha-ha
You must tell the devil huh, you must tell the devil hah
Word, word up, ahh, ha-ha
Word, huh, ha
Ahh, ha-ha

[Post-Chorus]
Be strong (Be strong), be strong
Be strong, word
Be strong (Be strong), be strong
Endure, endure, yo

[Verse Two]
If all you got is money and the little things you wear
You worry 'bout your car note, you worry 'bout your hair
Then you ain't got no faith, and you must live in fear
Now listen to me people, and listen to me clear
So like I was just sayin', I think it's time for prayin'
Don't put your trust in Satan, it's Christ you put your faith in
You minimize your hatin', and stop your hesitatin'
It's faith that keeps you movin', so do not be mistaken

[Chorus]
You must tell the devil huh, you must tell the devil ha
You must to tell the devil, word, ahh, ha-ha, word
You got to tell the devil huh, uh, tell the devil ha
You got to tell the devil, word, ahh, ha-ha, word
You must tell the devil huh, you must tell the devil ha
Word, tell that devil, word, ahh, ha-ha, wo-word
You must tell the devil huh, uh, ha, uh-huh, yo
Ahh, ha-ha, yo

[Verse Three]
Now you listen to these lyrics, they speakin' to your spirit
You shiver when you hear it, but some just cannot bear it
But when you get up near it, there's no need that you fear it
It's KRS O-N-E, you know me, hip-hop be spirit
So you tell the devil huh, tell that devil ha
Tell that devil huh, tell that devil ha
You must tell the devil huh, tell that devil hah
Get out of my life, change your life, word

[Outro]
Be strong, be strong (Strong, strong)
Be strong, be strong (Strong, strong)
Stand up on the rock

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.

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