KRS-One

Released: June 10, 2008

Songwriter: KRS-One

Producer: Duane DaRock

[Intro]
And you say New York City!
Duane 'Darock', KRS

[Hook: female singers]
It's New Yorrrrrrrrrk, and we livin
The whole world, it knows, your name
It's New Yorrrrrrrrrk, and we livin
The whole world, it knows, your name

[Over Hook]
Lenox Avenue, Park Ave
Long Island I see you baby
Jamaican Ave, Queens
KRS, let's go!

[KRS-One]
New, York, City, get it right, get it tight, get it hype
New York City's in the house tonight
All day, off and on, Broadway
The world's Big Apple is what they all say
Wait, way back in the day
Dudes from the South migrated this way North
Lookin for the higher pay of course
Led by the forces they became big bosses
Like Rick Ross is, the city that never sleeps
Yup, New York is
If you can make it here, you can make it anywhere
What's that?

[Hook]

[Over Hook]
Flatbush! Brooklyn (we live this)
BX Bronx, c'mon
Gun Hill Road, Grand Concourse

[KRS-One]
New, York, City, still part of my heart, still part of my start
As you can see it's still, part of my art
Still part of my lesson plan, listen man~!
N.Y., every year we fresh again
I be doin South Bronx everywhere I go
Everywhere I go, every nation know
I'm a New York dude that's not New York rude
All over the world I eat New York food
Ha, I'm at home anywhere, any place
Right now somebody from New York in this place
Yeah, no matter where I be
I'll always be N-Y-C

[Hook]

[Over Hook]
Coney Island! Brighton Beach
Wooo, Red Hook!
I see you Canal Street, Delancey Street
Hester Street, c'mon, New York let's go

[KRS-One]
New, York, City, metropolitan life, cosmopolitan life
It put the strength inside of my life
But New York City got its challenges also
Racism, sexism, crime, you all know!
Them guns that keep goin off bustin
And another one bites the dust when
Conflicts arise and dudes start bustin
And cussin, I gotta speak to this
New York is not unique in this
But if we keep sewing this we gonna keep reapin this
I'm teachin this, we gotta overcome our weaknesses
Remember man!

[Hook]

[Over Hook]
Big up to the firefighters, rest in peace
World Trades y'know
Brooklyn! The Bronx, Queens
Manhattan! Staten Island! New York love it baby

[Hook]

[Over Hook]
South Bronx
South Bronx, big 'em up!
Rest in peace Jam Master Jay, Big Pun
Big L, Randy Parker
You with us for life rest in peace my brother

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

Maximum Strength 2008

From the album

Maximum Strength 2008 (2008)

KRS-One popular songs

New YorkKRS-One

KRS-One

Maximum Strength 2008