KRS-One

Released: May 20, 1997

Songwriter: Show KRS-One

Producer: Show

[Intro]
The beat was supposed to drop right there
The beat was supposed to drop right there
The beat was supposed to drop right there
Yeah, yeah, yeah, uh!

[Ad-lib 1]
I send this one out to my right hand man, or mens
Or womens, the whole crew, the real fam

[Chorus]
We can count the dough or kick a flow
Or chill out watchin' videos
Or actin' really silly, yo, but really, though
All that can end
Whether at the bar with superstars
Or cruisin' in the trooper car
I really don't care who you are
All I really need is a friend

[Verse 1]
If we can't have trust, then you can't hang with us
We respond to those who show respect with respect
We respond, we connect on the same deck
Same intellect, my man, never shifty, thinks quickly
If you can't understand, we boys, we boys
We could stand on the corner with a hat sellin' toys
It ain't about your Benz, I hope it ain't about mine
My man, I be dissin' in my freestyle rhyme
Gettin G's around the world, I can trust you with my girl, my man
We chillin' at the jam, what's the plan?
I'm not a yes man and none of my friends are yes men
Or women, I'm drivin', I see my peeps yo get in
Where you fit in? True friends are quick to sit in the beginning of all trouble
And when your bankroll doubles
Fred Flintstone and Barney Rubble
Still, I got my own space like Hubble

[Chorus]
We can count the dough or kick a flow
Or chill out watchin' videos
Or actin' really silly, yo, but really, though
All that can end
Whether at the bar with superstars
Or cruisin' in the trooper car
I really don't care who you are
All I really need is a friend

[Verse 2]
Cause don't nobody care about us, all they do is doubt us
Until we blow the spot, then they all wanna crowd us
And wanna shout us, but you my man from way back
I just gots to say that, actin' large, I don't play that
But I can't say that, where I play at isn't fast-paced
A friend can acquire the taste to become two-faced
And that's a disgrace, there ain't nothing you can say to us
When the kid you grew up with betrays your trust
When we used to ride the bus, we had trust
Now we cash checks and drive Lex, and can't show respect to one of us
Yo, the heads I hang with ain't tryin to just get what they can get
Sit quickly backstabbin' the clique
I roll thick, but only some are friends really down to the end
My right hand men and women
Mutual support, from the beginnin'
Been in, exactly what I've been in

[Chorus]
We can count the dough or kick a flow
Or chill out watchin' videos
Or actin' really silly, yo, but really, though
All that can end
Whether at the bar with superstars
Or cruisin' in the trooper car
I really don't care who you are
All I really need is a friend

[Verse 3]
Back to back, we attack corporate America
Gettin' fees that amount to G's in every area
You my man, I ain't gotta drag you along
You pull your own weight, yeah you definitely got it goin' on
I don't see nothin' wrong with a little bumpin' car system thumpin'
Between the crew, we always got somethin'
But if we had nothin', no frontin' whatever
We'd still be crew you and me, me for you together
Word, fake people ain't worth a turd
They only want to be your friend because of what they overheard
I send this record to the well respected
Friends that I've collected
I hope I am what you expected

[Ad-lib 2]
So check it, so check it

[Chorus]
We can count the dough or kick a flow
Or chill out watchin' videos
Or actin' really silly, yo, but really, though
All that can end
Whether at the bar with superstars
Or cruisin' in the trooper car
I really don't care who you are
All I really need is a friend

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

I Got Next

From the album

I Got Next (1997)

KRS-One popular songs

A FriendKRS-One

KRS-One

I Got Next