HipHop Knowledge

You know.. life is funny.. If you don't repeat the actions of your own success You won't be successful You gotta know your own formula, your own ingredients What made you, YOU.. 1987 I was at the Latin Quarters Listenin to Afrika Bambaata give the order The call of the order was to avoid the slaughterA He said, "Record companies ain't got nuttin for ya!" Without a lawyer, he taught The Infinity Lessons In how hip-hop could be a, many a blessing And that was great, so in 1988 There was no debate, we had to end the hate The name of the game was "Stop the Violence" And unity, knowledge, and self-reliance We - started talkin bout Martin and Malcolm Had these ghetto kids goin, "Huh, what about him?" 1989, Professor Griff speaks his mind But his freedom of speech is declined 1990 came with the West coast East coast, West coast, who is the best coast? Lookin back now, of COURSE it was bogus The whole argument was where we lost focus We got hopeless; not with the lyrics and music But with hip-hop, and how we used it Or abused it, you know how the crew get "You like it cause you choose it" 1991, we opened our eyes With Human Education Against Lies, we tried To talk about the state of humanity But all these others rappers got mad at me They called me "Captain Human", another message was sent "Self Destruction don't pay the {fuckin} rent" Remember that? Nobody wanted conscious rap It was like - where these ballers at? Where can they call us at? All was wack Hip-Hop culture was fallin flat and that was that So in 1992, I found my crew They said, "Yo Kris, what you wanna do?" I said, "Damn - why they wanna get with me? If I bust they {shit} I'm contradictory If I play the bitch role, they take my shoe Tell me what the {fuck} am I supposed to do?" So I did it, don't stop get it get it get it All of a sudden these critics they wanna spit it "Kay Are Ess One is con-tra-dic-to-ry" Just cause I wouldn't let these rappers get with me {Fuck} that, {fuck} you and {fuck} your pen If a rapper wanna diss, yo I'd do it again But I'm makin these ends, and I got my friends And I really don't wanna have to sit in the pen So I go back to the philosopher 1993 hip-hop is uhh.. wack Go back, check the facts 1994, "Return of the Boom Bap" It wasn't all about the loot It was all about Harry Allen Rhythm Cultural Institute Blowin up, 1995 Conscious rap is still alive But nobody wanna play it, nobody wanna say it Nobody okayed it, they'd all rather hate it 1996 it really don't stop We put together somethin called the Temple of Hip-Hop Not just DJin, breakin, graf and lyrics But how hip-hop affects the spirit "Step Into a World," that's what I did '97 I was raisin my kid Or kids, but I, had to go Cause New York DJ's changed the flows To clothes and hoes, but that wasn't me I'll be damned if I dance for the MTV So in 1998 I began to debate Should I go now, or should I really wait? '99, I moved to L.A. you see And took a gig with the WB Started studyin philosophy full-time To have a full heart, full body, full mind But you know what the problem is or was? DJ's don't raise our kids, cuz They so caught up in the cash and jewels How they gonna really see a hip-hop school? How they gonna really see a hip-hop temple? They don't even wanna play my instrumentals, but Big up Dr. Dre, Snoop, Xzibit Especially Xzibit, he was there in a minute Mic Conception, all of them, said "Yo you need help? I should call them" When I was in L.A., I held the crown Bloods, Crips, they held me down I could never forget Mad Lion, killer pride With the gat in the lap in the low-ride Oh I can't forget, Icy Ice, Lucky Lou Julio G, that was the crew Davey D, Ingrid, David Connor The list goes on and on, let me tell ya FredWreck, and my man Protest Much respect, no less To my spiritual and mental defenders Big up to L.A., temple members But in 2000, I seen how I wanted to live I wasn't no executive So I picked up the mic and I quit my job Said to Simone I gotta get with God She said, "Don't worry bout these dollars and quarters Record companies ain't got nuttin for ya." Damn, she took me back to Bam! Took me back to who I am! Brought me back to the New York land! Now I overstand!.. {interviewer} Now KRS-One, now you've been quoted as saying that Rap is something we do, hip-hop is something you live {KRS} Yes! {interviewer} Explain that to us please {KRS-One} Well, well, today hip-hop, we are advocating that hip-hop is not Just a music, it is an attitude, it is an awareness, it is a way To view the world. So rap music, is something we do, but HIP-HOP Is something we live. And we look at hip-hop, in its 9 elements; Which is breaking, emceeing, graffiti art, deejaying, beatboxing Street fashion, street language, street knowledge, and street Entrepenurialism - trade and business. And uhh, that's where y'know That's the hip-hop that that that we're about. We come from the uhh The root of, of Kool DJ Herc, who originated hip-hop in the early 70's And then Afrika Bambaata and Zulu Nation (mmhmm) Who instigated something called The Infinity Lessons And added conciousness to hip-hop, and then Grandmaster Flash With the invention of the mixer, on to Run-D.M.C. and then myself And uhh, we created the "Stop the Violence" movement, you may recall A song, "Self Destruction" and and and so on. All of this, goes to Uhh uhh, the idea of LIVING this culture out and taking responsibility For how it looks and and acts in society