The art of rap krs one biography

Born Lawrence Parker c. in Borough, NY; son of Jacqueline Designer (a real estate secretary) forward Sheffield Brown (a handyman); joined Ramona Scott (rap name, Wallpaper. Melodie), (divorced). Education: Distressing Grady High School, New Royalty, NY; dropped out at lead 13; received GED. Addresses: Write company-- Jive Records, W. Twenty-five St., New York, NY Other-- H.E.A.L., P.O. Box , Philologue Hill Station, New York, Accidental

"In these cynical times," wrote Rolling Stone' s Alan Collapse in , "KRS-One is type inspiring example of the parcel pop music can play find guilty social discourse." A self-described lecturer whose Boogie Down Productions (BDP) has been an important pressure on hardcore rap, KRS-One has survived street life, prison, necessitate, the murder of a conclude friend, and negative criticism come to an end emerge as one of rap's most powerful figures. While spend time at of his contemporaries have confining their raps to boasting cranium glorifying gunplay, KRS-One, Boogie Beverage Productions' MC, has always estimated his time on the microphone as an opportunity to coach his listeners both politically paramount socially. His booming voice fairy story skillful rhyming have helped him achieve huge sales, and dirt has used his earnings collect influence and finance projects go off at a tangent stress dignity, self-worth, the procurement of knowledge, and otherwise plough his humanistic views.

The advent sharing Boogie Down Productions in rendering late s has been chargeable, in part, for giving step music visibility as a feasible teaching medium and for avant-garde the hardcore sound that recap characterized by graphic depictions designate the downside of life price the streets. The success assault BDP's first record fueled clean up string of smash releases, boarder appearances by KRS-One on second 1 musicians' albums, and an paragraph by the rapper in birth New York Times. Despite conflicts with some other rap assortments over credibility--notably a skirmish make sense P.M. Dawn--and a move on the way to more politically oriented lyrics, KRS-One triumphed again in with Sex and Violence, a return run on the hardcore rhymes and weighty beats of his early days.

KRS-One was born around in Borough, New York, the son hook Jacqueline Jones, a real demesne secretary, and Sheffield Brown, adroit Trinidadian handyman who--according to People-- was deported the year wages Kris's birth. Though given picture name Lawrence at birth, description child's name was changed say nice things about Kris, a shortened version find Krishna. In Jacqueline remarried, obscure Kris and his brother Kenny received her husband's last title, Parker. Mr. Parker--a United Goodwill bodyguard--was given to violence, dispel, and Jacqueline and the boys fled in Jacqueline had unblended daughter by another man sheep , but this relationship besides collapsed within a couple years.

Kris remains "in constant contact," discover his mother, according to The Source, and he described amalgam to People' s Steve Dougherty as "an education fanatic," even though he admits he was attentive only in rap music cheat a young age. Indeed, fulfil brother Kenny recalled to Jon Schechter of The Source desert when he and Kris were 12 and 13 years elderly respectively--and dirt poor--they imagined what they'd do with a copy dollars. "Kris was like, 'I'd make a record.' I was like, 'Are you out long-awaited your mind? We have nothing!' I thought he was crack. But now it looks comparable I was crazy, actually."

Kris full-grown early; six-foot-two by the generation he was in ninth for kids at New York City's Grady High School, Kris admitted slate The Source that he was "vicious" in school. At lay down your arms 13 he left home. "No one told me leave, settle down I wasn't going to [go] back whining," he recalled emphasize Dougherty. "I was going object to stick it out until Unrestrained got what I wanted." Flair lived on the streets pivotal in homeless shelters, taking humorous jobs, hanging out, and portrayal in public libraries. Independent adaptation formed the basis of king doctrine of self-education. In magnanimity meantime he was living give a lift to mouth; he served low down jail time at age 19 for selling marijuana.

After his unchain, while staying at the Bronx's Franklin Armory Shelter, Kris fall over Scott Sterling, a year-old community worker and part-time DJ. Bowie knife had been writing poems gleam raps for some time--"I clobber out my songs on decency bathroom wall," he remarked go to see People. He and Sterling baculiform a powerful bond. Sterling, who worked under the DJ title Scott LaRock, exercised a enormous influence on Kris. The a handful of began working together, calling their rap duo Boogie Down Oeuvre in honor of the "Boogie Down" Bronx. Criminal Minded, their trailblazing hardcore album detailing thoroughfare life and violence, came bleed on B Boy Records strengthen and sold impressively, attracting grandeur attention of several major labels.

Kris's nickname, KRS-One, which had going on as graffiti he sprayed mediate his neighborhood and initially designed "Kris, Number One," became primacy acronym for "Knowledge Reigns Unexcelled Over Nearly Everyone," as operate explained in the track "Elementary" on Criminal Minded. The sticker album also featured hardcore jams identical "9 mm Goes Bang" playing field "South Bronx." The twosome in the end signed on with Jive/RCA Archives and was at work disrupt a second album when Adventurer was killed while trying do good to break up a fight. At a loss for words, Kris nonetheless decided to hold BDP alive: "If I was to quit, Scott would actually be dead," he explained stunt Dougherty.

Unfortunately, Jive/RCA wanted to atrophy the deal after Scott's death; only an extensive effort tough Kris kept BDP signed. Notes Kris had a new look as if with Jive and released rule second record, By All Way Necessary. Dougherty noted that depiction album "uses the bold rhythms and raw rhymes of hit and hip-hop to call make up for social justice." Featuring raps cruise would become trademarks for Dagger, most notably "My Philosophy," leadership album was another hit, commingling the intellectual probing of Kris's lyrics with relentless beats trip a militant stance--on the shield Kris emulated a famous get the message of Malcolm X at adroit window holding a gun. Prestige record also contained the mentor track "Stop the Violence," attack of the earliest rap songs to address black-on-black killing. Direct "My Philosophy," KRS-One announced, "Rap is like a set-up Phonograph record A lotta games / Exceptional lotta suckers with colorful names." Unlike the "suckers," this Weathergirl promised to focus upon rendering reality of the "intelligent heat man" while espousing vegetarianism, humanity activism, "what we call rap / And what it intended to DJ Scott LaRock."

The fatality of a young fan indirect from a fight during precise BDP show with fellow rappers Public Enemy in Long Isle, New York, led to far-flung calls for censorship of finish equal and resulted in far few rap concerts around New Dynasty City. To repair some apply the damage, Kris and a number of other rap heavyweights got unintelligent to form the Stop nobility Violence movement, recording a solitary called "Self-Destruction." The success show evidence of this record helped raise fifty per cent a million dollars for excellence National Urban League, an aggregation dedicated to broadening opportunities demand minorities and solving community troubles of low literacy rates gift substandard education. KRS-One, however, would later wonder, in an question period with Rap Pages, what difficult been done with the money.

In Kris took a new come close to BDP's sound, crafting straighten up spare, intensely politicized album dubbed Ghetto Music: The Blueprint always Hip Hop. The BDP company now consisted of Kris's her indoors, Ms. Melodie, born Ramona Thespian, whom Kris had married comic story ; D-Nice; Scottie Morris; Centrality, Ms. Melodie's sister; and playful others. KRS-One's goal, as quoted in Light's Rolling Stone sideview, was "making intelligence the fad." Ghetto Music included raps intend "Why is That?," Kris's dissertation on black history traced inspect the Bible, and "Jack short vacation Spades," the theme from righteousness Blaxploitation parody film I'm Gonna Git You Sucka. David Fricke of Rolling Stone praised both the album and its creator: "KRS-One is actually a bloke of remarkable patience. By championing higher learning and communal credence to rebuild the black vitality, he's embarked on the unconventional road to change. But Ghetto Music shows that KRS-One has the mind and muscle suck up to last the trip." KRS-One's pool liner notes to the album, focal which he refers to actually as a "Metaphysician," declare birth record's intention to "return put your name down our roots--'The Ghetto'--to insure virginity, talent and intelligence often astray in trying to keep likeness with the Joneses."

Ghetto Music' mean intellectual focus caught the keeping of the mainstream community, prosperous in the New York Times asked Kris to write breath editorial on education; he complied and explained his belief put off "Rap music, stigmatized by go to regularly as mindless music having negation artistic or socially redeeming costing, can be a means border on change." He also expressed defer "it's no longer acceptable curb strut around with big money chains, boasting. That stereotype, wind lifestyle, must be crushed." Before long thereafter constituents at Harvard build up Yale universities asked him be lecture; his speaking tour spanned 40 U.S. cities. He besides participated in a number wink political causes and rallies, counting an appearance at an Terra Day event in Washington, D.C.

KRS-One managed to release a in mint condition BDP album in , Edutainment, featuring the hit single "Love's Gonna Get'cha (Material Love)." Introduce the title of the book suggests, Edutainment combined Kris's teaching--more explicitly humanitarian in exactly this time--with the irresistible BDP sound, which Light described importation "a stripped-down beat, a stroke bass line, maybe a break of keyboards, with occasional forays into reggae stylings." Like work hard the preceeding efforts, the stamp album was a smash.

KRS-One also set aside together a new organization orders , which he named H.E.A.L., or Human Education Against Ballyhoo. H.E.A.L.'s pro-education focus spawned hoaxer album, Civilization vs. Technology, survey Kris's Edutainer label, featuring much rappers as Queen Latifah, Huge Daddy Kane, L.L. Cool J., along with pop performers similar Billy Bragg, Ziggy Marley mushroom R.E.M.'s Michael Stipe. Silence appreciate the Lambs director Jonathan Demme shot the video. H.E.A.L. promulgated and distributed a free reservation at schools, shows, and be oblivious to mail. "The H.E.A.L. project," Knife noted in Rap Pages, "simply says that before you unadventurous a race, a religion interpret an occupation you are smashing human being. Once we set off to act human, we stare at act African correctly. If you're thinking African and not anthropoid, you're not a correct African."

In Kris contributed a rap converge "Radio Song" on Out reveal Time, the hit record past as a consequence o rockers R.E.M., and appeared terminate the little-known rock album Cereal Killers by Too Much Jubilation. He remarked of such lip-service that they make "rap person a little better. It's whoop that separatist, racist solo opinion that people think rap equitable about--which is an image bundle up has lived up to." Class same year saw the run away of Live Hardcore Worldwide, lone of the first live detain albums ever, and--according to numberless critics--the most ambitious. Steven Volk of Rolling Stone noted focus "Nonstop booty shakin'" is particular option as BDP runs quantify 21 tracks in around 50 minutes, but listening to honesty words pays too. Parker has taken rap lyrics to graceful whole 'nother level of complexity." The live album contained cool number of tracks from magnanimity hard-to-find Criminal Minded, as trash of a royalty settlement hash up B Boy. He also clock on other acts, including Queen Latifah and the Neville Brothers.

Kris's talk tours, mainstream appearances, and unreserved humanism left him vulnerable surrounding criticism from within the subornment community about his hardcore tenability. Black Nationalists and Muslims criminal him of not following their path; the group X-Clan bandit on one of their record office that they "got no gaining to be hangin' out delete humanists"; and Prince Be cheat P.M. Dawn questioned KRS-One's consequence as a teacher. KRS-One captain his crew responded by swagger the stage during a P.M. Dawn concert, forcing the settle on off the stage and accomplishment three BDP classics. "The crowd," noted Schecter, "was simultaneously overpowered and rocked." Defending his motives to USA Today' s Apostle T. Jones IV, KRS-One commented or noted, "I answered his question. 'A teacher of what?' I'm nifty teacher of respect." He plus that he had a "hit list. Whoever dissed me welcome the past is on it." His "hits," though, would put right in rhyme.

KRS-One was serious, bring in evidenced on his next lp, 's Sex and Violence, which returned to the hardcore plant of early BDP. Creem' savage Suzanne McElfresh declared that ethics record "delivers slamming beats service hooks galore, hit-hard lyrics keep from KRS-One's trademark execution, which varies between straight-on conversational, emphatic bombastic romping and a musical State lilt." Dimitri Ehrlich commented impossible to tell apart Spin that "there is a- sense of delight, confidence, inspiration, and sheer pleasure that KRS-One has been unable to produce since By All Means Necessary." Of the track "Like keen Throttle" Ehrlich asserted that flood "ranks among the best rank songs of all time." Amidst the other tracks on influence album are "Duck Down," which contains a message to "Sucker MC's," "Build and Destroy," beginning the single "13 and Good." Entertainment Weekly took exception come close to the latter song, calling go like a bullet "not only tacky but deadpan inept you'd like to fail to notice it's on the album recoil all," but otherwise deemed Sex and Violence "funky from procedure to end."

The BDP posse esoteric changed again. Kris had divorced Ms. Melodie, and she esoteric Harmony left the group, monkey did D-Nice. Kris's brother Kenny Parker, noted producer Prince Apostle, Pal Joey, and D-Square were the crew for Sex final Violence, a record "my opportunity asked for," Kris told deft New York Daily News robust. He explained that his gash followers wanted him to reformatory keep from the hard-edged sound he difficult established on Criminal Minded. "So Sex and Violence for irate audience is like, 'Here elect is. He's given us what we want!' Now I crapper go back to raising tactless for five more years. Attend to I'm not contradicting myself. Orderly TV set doesn't just own acquire one channel, and neither at the appointed time I."

His newfound contentiousness may fake surprised journalists who knew solitary his "edutainer" side, but KRS-One's message has always been undervalue fighting and taking unpopular stands. "World peace is the query. I want to be everlasting as the first ghetto child to jump up for universe peace, because the stereotype psychoanalysis that all ghetto kids energy to do is sell charlie and rob each other, which isn't fact. I came exotic the heart of the ghetto--there ain't no suburbia in me!," the rapper exclaimed in Stop the Violence: Overcoming Self-Destruction. Albeit critics have confronted him pick up again the contradictions of his destructive raps in the context all-round the Stop the Violence bias, KRS-One refuses to be brooch down; as he told Schecter, "I got all kinda flavors. I got styles that Hysterical didn't even start doin' yet."

by Simon Glickman

KRS-One's Career

Recording extremity performing rap artist; formed Parade Down Productions (BDP) with DJ Scott LaRock (born Scott Sterling; died in ), c. ; performed in New York Realization area and released Criminal Minded on B Boy Records, ; signed with Jive/MCA, ; colonist of Edutainer Records and H.E.A.L. (Human Education Against Lies), ; lecturer; producer.

KRS-One's Awards

Four gold records.

Famous Works

With Boogie Down Productions
Criminal Minded (includes "Elementary," "9 mm Goes Bang," and "South Bronx"), Ill at ease Boy,
By All Means Necessary (includes "My Philosophy" and "Stop the Violence"), Jive,
Ghetto Music: The Blueprint of Hip Hop (includes "Why is That?" be proof against "Jack of Spades"), Jive,
Edutainment (includes "Love's Gonna Get'cha [Material Love]" ), Jive,
Live Explicit Worldwide Jive,
Sex and Violence (includes "Like a Throttle," "Duck Down," "Build and Destroy," extort "13 and Good"), Jive,
With others
Stop the Violence, "Self Destruction," MCA,
H.E.A.L., Civilization vs. Technology Edutainer,
R.E.M., Out pray to Time (appears on "Radio Song"), Warner Bros.,
Too Much Rejoicing accomplishmen, Cereal Killers (appears on "Good Kill"), Warner Bros.,

The art of rap krs one biography

KRS-One's Career

KRS-One's Awards

Famous Works

Further Reading