KRS-One

Released: October 13, 1998

Featuring: Saul Williams

Songwriter: Saul Williams KRS-One

Producer: KRS-One

[KRS-One]
Word..
Sonja.. you know you saw her in the movie
And my man Saul, he's like THIS!

[Saul Williams] * singing *
There is no ocean like the one, within
Look to the moon rise with the tides, and swim
(repeat 4X)

[KRS-One] * speaking while Saul sings *
Uh-huh, yeah, yeah
KRS-One, coming through.. like this
Uh-huh, do it, do it like that, like that
Uh, uh-huh

[Saul Williams] * sings first two lines *
Saul the road to Damascus, come follow me
The serpent swallow the moon, but it won't, swallow me
(Yeah, speak the word!)
Intellect is like a major city
Laden with concrete, metal
Advanced modes of transportation
Shining buildings, and fenced in parks
Spirit is the mountain's forest wilderness
And vast countryside that surrounds it
Too many people live in the city
Struggling day to day for mere existance
Most have forgotten how to live off the land
They only experience nature on class trips
And short-term vacations
For those that live in the country
Cities are like amusement parks with high prices
And temporal satisfaction
At the end of the day, they are tired
And ready to go home, and relieve their ringing ears

[Saul Williams] * singing *
There is no ocean like the one, within
Look to the moon rise with the tides, and swim
(repeat 2X)

[KRS-One]
Uh-huh, speak the word
Hyper-accelerated meditations talk
The reversal of this word dispersal is thought
There is no difference between thought and talk
Like the blackboard chalk and homicide chalk
They both give outlines
One is designed to outline the mind
The other outlines the body after a crime
Could it be that these two chalks are connected;
Meaning the body gets outlined when the mind is neglected --
-- or poorly directed
Like the teacher with the chalk
Or is the teacher the beginning of the homicide we talk?
Be selective in your speech
Cause the chalk of the two technical teaching has taught each
Knowledge Reigns Supreme Over Nearly Everyone
Nearly every daughter, nearly every son
Ignorance reigns supreme for some
They chase the sum, inviting the I-R-S to come
Make the connection, choose your direction
Use your protection when sexin AND hexin
Things come back cause they really never left
If the secret to meditation is found in the breath
Then speech is another form of meditativeness
Whattya say to this latest rhyme or poem?
Some have been known to quite the mind through
OHHHHHHHHHHHMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

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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