Producer: KRS-One

[KRS-One]
Who was the first to flash the heat on the cover?
Who was the first crew to go against another?
Who was the first to go acapella on a video replay?
Who was the first to lose a DJ?
Who was the first to teach at Yale?
Who was the first to hit that hip-hop reggae, on the nail?
Who was the first to say Stop the Violence
And teach that real bad boys move in silence?
You're soon to see the mindbendin rhyme weapon
Get more busy than two-two-three-double-nine-seven
All these rappers, swear they the best
I know whatchu thinkin about, "Where's KRS?"
Eighty percent of these rappers fake they {shit}
The other twenty percent they goin upstate and {shit}
There's no way out except knowledge and wisdom
I got it so I spit 'em you ain't got it you gotta get 'em
Who was the first to produce mix and write
At the same time up in the club rockin the mic?
Who was the first to have a DJ and a side man?
The first to say what is hip-hop? "I AM!"
Who was the first to produce gangster {shit}?
Put out, gangster hits with a gangster click?
Not no prankster {shit}, Steady B, Mad Lion
Just-Ice, Shabba Ranks and {shit}
My Channel is Live, my only battle is Jive
MC to MC, you won't survive
You'll be censored cause my Crew is 2 Live
I ascend like Christ and watch you die

[Hook: repeat 2X]
Breakers (HERE!) MC's (HERE!)
Writers (HERE!) Beat-boxers (HERE!)
DJ's (HERE!) Hip-Hop (HERE!)
Hip-Hop (RIGHT HERE!) Hip-Hop (RIGHT HERE!)

[KRS-One]
I'm like Noah, I'm takin 'em, two by two
I took, them and them and I'll take, you and you
I took, them and them and I'll take, you and you
Be I'm right or be I'm wrong
You'll see I'm tight with this mic, you should be like, "B I'm gone"
But you still in my face Neo, I'm not your girl
All that ice and thug life, that's not my world
I'm the teacher, but you still can't see
Cause while you respect 2Pac, 2Pac respected me
Another thing; don't ever show me another ring
Remember you Rudy Ray Moore, I'm Martin Luther King
Everything you bring sounds horrendous
You need repentance, 'fore I take attendance

[Hook]

{*KRS-One hums a melody for a bit*}

[Hook]

KRS-One

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.