KRS-One

Released: November 23, 2015

Songwriter: KRS-One

[Verse 1]
Let me introduce myself properly
I am the original, I’m read‚ it’s not a lot of me
Knowledge reigns supreme‚ that’s the vibration I’m coming with
People ask me‚ “What you think about rap?” Well it’s some other shit, but
This style’s exposing the corruption of the government
This ain’t every rapper’s style, KRS some other shit
For years we teach the people ‘bout knowledge from the pavement
Street knowledge‚ a complete college, we called it edutainment
Education through entertainment, that’s what we named it
But corporations of all sorts wanted mass enslavement
Program directors got the music but didn’t play it
They knew about the movement but they still chose to betray it
So ask yourself‚ why the radio just play the same shit?
They part of the conspiracy, we gon’ have to face it
All types of emcees spitting out the illest rhymes
And we only get to hear five rappers a millions times?

[Chorus]
You’s a millionaire, yeah, off of black despair, yeah
You’s a millionaire, yeah, off of lust and fear, yeah
You’s a millionaire, yeah, off the poor right there, yeah
You’s a millionaire, yeah, you’s a millionaire, yeah

[Verse 2]
You’s a millionaire with a million there and a million here
You got a million shares
Shoes, you got a million pair
You do what you do, you don’t even care
Let ‘em peep and stare
They not even there
You in your easy chair, the millionaire
Your fragrance fills the air
Which costs more than they’ll make in a year
But you don’t even care
Hit the brakes, red lights in the rear
The pastor anoints them
While poor people appoint them
Driven by envy, they don’t see how the rich people exploit them

[Chorus]
You’s a millionaire, yeah, off of black despair, yeah
You’s a millionaire, yeah, off of lust and fear, yeah
You’s a millionaire, yeah, off the poor right there, yeah
You’s a millionaire, yeah, you’s a millionaire, yeah

[Verse 3]
I can be a millionaire
A millionaire for sure
If I hoard my money and ignore the cries of the poor
If I opened up a company and asked for hood loyalty
Then when the money came in, I would not pay out the royalties
I would be a millionaire
Maybe I would love it
But what they do with a thousand dollars, I can do with a hundred
I don’t cost that much to live
So I got a lot to give
Keep a surplus, positive

[Chorus]
You’s a millionaire, yeah, off of black despair, yeah
You’s a millionaire, yeah, off of lust and fear, yeah
You’s a millionaire, yeah, off the poor right there, yeah
You’s a millionaire, yeah, you’s a millionaire, yeah

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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