Everything about Krs-one totally explained
Lawrence Krisna Parker (born
August 20 1965), better known by his stage name
KRS-One, is an
American Grammy-nominated
rapper. Over his career, he's been known by several
pseudonyms including "Kris Parker", "The Blastmaster", "The Teacha", and "The Philosopher". KRS-One is a significant figure in the
hip hop community and is often credited by critics and other hip hop artists as epitomizing the "essence" of an MC and for being one of the greatest rappers to hold the mic.
Life and career
Early life
Parker grew up in
Soundview and
Mott Haven (Millbrook Housing projects being directly reffered to in his lyrics) neighborhoods of the
South Bronx section of
New York City to parents of
Jamaican descent. In his teenage years, he frequently accompanied the
Hare Krishnas and was subsequently nicknamed "Krisna", hence "Kris". "KRS-One" was originally Parker's
graffiti tag, short for "Kris Number One". He began using it as his
stage name and later devised a
backronym for the name: "Knowledge Reigns Supreme Over Nearly Everyone."
Boogie Down Productions
KRS-One began his recording career as one half of the hip hop group
Boogie Down Productions alongside
DJ Scott La Rock. They met during a stay KRS-One had at the Bronx's Franklin Armory Shelter. La Rock (real name Scott Sterling) worked as a social worker there. The duo would begin to create music. After being rejected by radio DJs
Mr. Magic and
Marley Marl, KRS-One would go on to diss the two and those associated with them, sparking what would later be known as
The Bridge Wars. Additionally, KRS had taken offense to "The Bridge", a song by Marley Marl's protege
MC Shan (later on, KRS One produced an album with Marley Marl in 2007); the song could be interpreted as a claim that
Queensbridge was the birthplace of hip hop, which KRS vehemently contested with the BDP record "South Bronx"; a second round of volleys would ensue with Shan's "Kill That Noise" and BDP's "The Bridge Is Over". KRS-One, demonstrating his nickname "The Blastmaster", gave a live performance that devastated MC Shan, and many conceded he'd won the battle.
Parker and Sterling decided to form a rap group together, initially calling themselves "Scott La Rock and the Celebrity Three". That was short-lived, however, as the two peripheral members quit, leaving Parker (now calling himself KRS-One) and Sterling. They then decided to call themselves "Boogie Down Productions". "Success is the Word", a 12-inch single produced by David Kenneth Eng and Kenny Beck was released on indie Fresh/Sleeping Bag Records (under the group name "12:41") but didn't enjoy commercial success.
Boogie Down Productions released their debut album
Criminal Minded in 1987. While KRS-One "The Teacha" was equally known for his furiously political and socially conscious raps, the album, whose cover pictured BDP draped in ammunition and brandishing guns, is often credited with setting the template for the burgeoning genres of
hardcore and
gangsta rap. Scott La Rock was killed in a shooting later that year, after attempting to mediate a dispute between teenager and BDP member
Derrick "D-Nice" Jones and local hoodlums.
KRS-One also gained acclaim as one of the first MC's to incorporate Jamaican style into hip-hop. Using the
Zungazung melody, originally made famous by
Yellowman in Jamaican dance halls earlier in the decade. While KRS-One used Zunguzung styles in a more powerful and controversial manner, especially in his song titled,
"Remix for P is Free", he can still be credited as one of the most influential figures in pledging the continental divide and making hip hop more global.
KRS would be determined to continue Boogie Down Productions through the tragedy, and was joined by
beatboxer D-Nice, rapper
Ramona "Ms. Melodie" Parker (whose marriage to Kris would last from 1988 to 1992), and Kris's younger brother
DJ Kenny Parker, among others. However Boogie Down Productions would remain Kris's show, and their content would become increasingly political. KRS-One was the primary initiator behind the H.E.A.L. compilation and the
Stop the Violence Movement; for the latter he'd attract many prominent MCs to appear on the 12-inch single "Self Destruction". As Parker adopted this "humanist", less violent approach, he turned away from his "Blastmaster" persona and towards that of "The Teacha."
Solo career
After four largely solo albums under the name "Boogie Down Productions," KRS-One decided to strike out on his own. On his first solo album, 1993's
Return of the Boom Bap, Parker worked together with producers
DJ Premier,
Kid Capri and
Showbiz, the latter providing the catchy-yet-hardcore track "Sound of da Police". His second album, 1995's
KRS-One, featured Channel Live on "Free Mumia", a
protest song about the persecution of hip hop by
C. Delores Tucker among others. Other prominent guest stars on
KRS One included
Mad Lion,
Busta Rhymes,
Das EFX and
Fat Joe.
In
1995, KRS organized a group called
Channel Live, whose album
Station Identification he produced most of, along with
Rheji Burrell and
Salaam Remi.
In 1997, Parker surprised many with his release of the album
I Got Next. The album's lead single "Step into a World (Rapture's Delight)", containing a sample of
punk and
New Wave group
Blondie, was accompanied by a remix featuring commercial rap icon
Puff Daddy; another track was essentially a rock song. While the record would be his best-selling solo album (reaching #3 on the
Billboard 200), such collaborations with notably mainstream artists and prominent, easily recognizable samples took many fans and observers of the vehemently anti-mainstream KRS-One by surprise. However, in August 1997, Parker appeared on
Tim Westwood's
BBC Radio 1 show and vociferously denounced the DJ and the radio station more generally, accusing them of ignoring his style of hip hop in favor of commercial artists such as Puff Daddy. Although having not been in the UK since 1991, due to the fact he doesn't fly, he claimed "to be in touch with the people", and said that "they weren't feeling Westwood, he's a sell out and has sold his soul to the dark side." This sparked controversy in the UK since Radio One was one of the main supporters of the single "Step Into My World" and caused the album to be his best selling.
In 1999, there were tentative plans to release an album called
Maximum Strength; a lead single, "5 Boroughs", was released on
The Corruptor movie soundtrack. However, Parker apparently decided to abort the album's planned release, just as he'd secured a position as a Vice-President of
A&R at
Reprise Records ("Maximum Strength" is currently planning to be released May 27th 2008). He moved to southern California, and stayed there for two years, ending his relationship with
Jive Records with
A Retrospective in 2000.
Parker resigned from his A&R position at Reprise in 2001, and returned to recording with a string of albums, beginning with 2001's
The Sneak Attack on
Koch Records. In 2002, he released a
gospel-rap album,
Spiritual Minded, surprising many longtime fans; Parker had once denounced
Christianity as a "
slavemaster religion" which African-Americans shouldn't follow. During this period, KRS founded the
Temple of Hiphop, an organization to preserve and promote "
Hiphop Kulture". Other releases have since included 2003's
Kristyles and
D.I.G.I.T.A.L., 2004's
Keep Right, and 2006's
Life.
The only latter-day KRS-One album to gain any significant attention has been
Hip-Hop Lives, his 2007 collaboration with fellow hip hop veteran
Marley Marl, due in large part to the pair's legendary
beef, but also the title's apparent response to
Nas' 2007 release
Hip-Hop Is Dead. While many critics have commented they'd have been a lot more excited had this collaboration occurred twenty years earlier, the album has been met with positive reviews.
September 11 comments
In 2004, KRS engendered a controversy when he was quoted in a panel discussion hosted by
The New Yorker magazine as saying that "we cheered when
9/11 happened". The comment drew criticism from many sources, including a pointed barb by the
New York Daily News that called Parker an "
anarchist" and said that "If
Osama bin Laden ever buys a rap album, he'll probably start with a CD by KRS-One."
Parker responded to the furor surrounding his comments with an editorial written for AllHipHop.com, stating:
On
April 29 2007, KRS-One was once again forced to defend his statements on the September 11 attacks during an
appearance on Hannity's America
on the
FOX News network to discuss, amongst other things, the
Don Imus scandal and the use of profanity in hip-hop.
In late 2005, KRS was featured alongside
Public Enemy's
Chuck D on the remix of the song "
Bin Laden" by
Immortal Technique and
DJ Green Lantern, which blames
American conservatives, the
Reagan Doctrine and U.S. President
George W. Bush for the World Trade Center attacks, and indicates a parallel to the devaluation, destruction, and violence of urban housing project communities.
Stepson's death
Randy Hubbard Parker, stepson of KRS-One, was found dead in his Atlanta, Georgia apartment on Friday, July 6, 2007 in an apparent suicide; he was 23. Simone Parker, KRS-One's wife and Randy's mother, released a statement on Tuesday, July 10 that stated her son's death was related to his continuous battle with "severe depression." The Fulton County Medical Examiner's office stated that Parker died of a gunshot wound to the head, and listed the cause of death as suicide. Parker was a graphic designer and fashion entrepreneur. A private memorial service was held on July 18, which would have been his 24th birthday.
Discography
Collaborations
Radio Song (1991), R.E.M (Out Of Time)
Filmography
I'm Gonna Git You Sucka (1988), KRS-One and BDP walk behind Jack Spade performing his theme song, "Jack of Spades"
Who's the Man? (1993), Rashid
SUBWAYstories: Tales from the Underground (1997), Vendor
Rhyme & Reason (1997), himself
Boriqua's Bond (200)
The Freshest Kids (2002), himself
2Pac 4 Ever (2003), narrator
Beef (2003), himself
Hip-Hop Babylon 2 (2003), himself
Soundz of Spirit (2003)
5 Sides of a Coin (2003), himself
War on Wax: Rivalries In Hip-Hop (2004), himself
The MC: Why We Do It (2004), himself
Beef II (2004), himself
And You Don't Stop: 30 Years of Hip-Hop (2004), himself
Hip-Hop Honors (2004), himself
Keep Right DVD (2004), himself
Zoom Prout Prout (2005), himself
A Letter to the President (2006), himself
MuskaBEATZFurther Information
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