KRS-One

Producer: BJ Wheeler

{*audience clapping, beat starts*}
We've been having these gatherings for over 12 years
Uhh, my first one, was ah at Latin Quarters in 1987
With Afrika Bambaataa - he threw the first one, that I attended
We kept the tradition going through the Stop the Violence Movement
Through Human Education Against Lies, Rhythm Cultural Institute
And now the Temple of Hip-Hop
This is Hip-Hop's spiritual base
And as a spiritual base, we look to guide the youth in that discipline
Uhh, no culture is a culture, unless it has principles
Unless it has morals, unless - we are unified
In some sort of principle, something we are not going to step beyond
Something that defines us
What I'd like to do, is just for a moment as we.. deal with this
Think about your role in Hip-Hop
Think about what you do everyday in Hip-Hop
This is not about right now
It's about twenty years from now
It's about ten years from now
The tapes are rolling, the notes are being taken
This is the type of thinking we have to get into
If this is going to survive and last
So again, Hip-Hop Appreciation Week, is a time of self-reflection
A time for Hip-Hoppers to ask
"What am I doing, to preserve the culture?" {*echoes*}

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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