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Hip-hop educator KRS-ONE performs Saturday

Original innovator brings rhymes, lessons to Finney

by David Jacobs

This Saturday night, KRS-ONE will bring his live act to Finney Chapel. While most other hip-hop stars from the late eighties and early nineties have long since fallen to the disgrace of the "cheap vinyl bin" at the Co-op Bookstore, KRS continues to not only produce hit singles, but has become a sought-after lecturer, spent time in Internet chat rooms discussing hip-hop and politics, produced TV specials and even written a book. Overall he has produced nine albums, with a new one coming out in April.

Even if KRS-ONE's name doesn't ring a bell, his beats, rhymes and ideas have so saturated hip-hop that there is no escaping him. De La Soul's latest album begins with hip-hop fans reminiscing about the first time they heard his song "Criminal Minded." If you saw the Fugees play this summer, you heard their cover of "Stop the Violence." If you saw the Roots, chances are you heard them play "The Bridge is Over." Chuck D credits KRS with inspiring the style that led from Public Enemy's evolution between "Yo! Bum Rush the Show" and "It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back." The list goes on and on.

"I wouldn't be me if it weren't for KRS," senior Kiese Laymon said. "He laid the groundwork for aggressively questioning the things that make you you. Things like church, race, gender relations, peace, violence and self-awareness. I can't think of anything he didn't touch on. He made it cool to think about stuff like that. Before rap went too commercial."

KRS-ONE - whose name, an old graffiti tag, stands for "Knowledge Reigns Supreme Over Nearly Everyone" - and his DJ Scott LaRock formed Boogie Down Productions (BDP) in 1984. At the time, KRS-One was living in a homeless shelter in South Bronx, rhyming on the streets and in the parks. BDP cut a demo tape and brought it to Queens hip-hop producer Mr. Magic and his protégé MC Shan - who promptly ridiculed BDP and their demo. KRS and Scott were so infuriated that they cut the single "South Bronx" in response to Magic and Shan's rude behavior - within three months it was the most popular song in the country. KRS-ONE and LaRock followed it up with "The Bridge is Over" and then released the classic album and single "Criminal Minded," which has become one of the most celebrated hip-hop albums of all time and sent KRS and Boogie Down Productions into hip-hop superstardom.

Tragedy struck when LaRock was shot and killed later that year, but instead of giving up KRS came back stronger than ever. He took on his brother, Kenny Parker, as his DJ and they continued to release more classic albums, "By Any Means Necessary," "Sex and Violence," "Edu-tainment," and "Live Hardcore World Wide," the self-proclaimed first ever live hip-hop recording. Expectations were high - KRS and other conscious rappers from the "Stop the Violence" movement that he helped start were talking about building a revolutionary black army around hip-hop.

KRS was never able to fulfill that overly ambitious goal. In 1992, as his popularity began to wane, PM Dawn front man Prince B questioned KRS's credibility as a hip hop teacher. BDP crashed the next PM Dawn show and proceeded to physically remove them from the stage while the crowd chanted "KRS-ONE! KRS-ONE!" Although this event garnered press and makes for an entertaining story, it left the greater hip-hop community confused about the state of hip-hop and the role of its leaders. Was KRS really a revolutionary activist, or just a self-centered entertainer concerned about money?

Since then, commercial spots with Coca-Cola and Nike have dulled the teeth of KRS's revolutionary rhetoric. The Nike commercial featured several Basketball stars with a KRS voice-over, saying "The Revolution IS Basketball" and quotes from revolutionary poet Gil Scot Heron, "The Revolution will NOT be televised..." Many people thought it was inappropriate to use the words of one of KRS's most prominent predecessors as a plug for Nike - a reputedly evil shoe corporation that had been the target of black activists ranging from Jesse Jackson to Public Enemy. College sophomore Jabali Sawicki said, "Back in the day KRS was rapping from the streets and with the streets. Now he has put himself on a plateau, calling himself a philosopher, talking to the streets."

But KRS maintains that he only uses the media to spread his message and that it doesn't make him any less of a revolutionary. Instead of just restricting his `teachings' to vinyl, KRS has expanded into all forms of media and press. "Maybe KRS got tired of his message only reaching a small group of people. The compromise he makes isn't as negative if he has a good intention to utilize the media for his message," Sawicki said.

Even if his messages of nonviolence contradicted the "Criminal Minded" gangster image that made him popular, or if his aspirations of building a revolutionary army have been tainted by his affiliation with Coca-Cola and Nike, KRS's history and appeal allow him to be forgiven. "Oh I still like him," Sawicki said. "I love him!"

Hip-hop has never been free of contradictions. There is no "one pure voice" just as there is not one correct "message" or "style" to rap, graffiti or breakdancing. To claim that there is would not only be overly simplistic, but also discredit the diversity that makes hip-hop great. KRS-ONE has been a huge part of hip-hop, with all of it's "contradictions" for 11 years - and he's not showing any signs of letting up.

(KRS-ONE will be at Finney Chapel this Saturday at 8:00 p.m. Tickets can be purchased in advance at Wilder Desk - $5 for students with an OCID; $15 for general public.)


Oberlin

Copyright © 1997, The Oberlin Review.
Volume 125, Number 16; February 28, 1997

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