Fade
The Beat Strangler
Administrator
illest o.g.
When hearing the term "Hip Hop Legend", who do you think of? The answer, of course, depends on many things such as your age, location, and musical influence. However, there are only a handful of truly great rappers - scratch that - EMCEES that stand out from the rest.
KRS-One is one of them.
A 50 Year Old Emcee
I use the term "emcee" because that's what KRS is. According to my own definition (and I'm sure many others as well), a rapper is someone that can rap. An emcee is someone that can control the crowd. The fact is that "emcee" is actually "MC" which originally stands for "master of ceremonies".
I'll bet 95% of Hip Hop fans (namely the young ones) didn't even know that.
We all know the story of KRS-One about how he was once homeless and he met up with DJ Scott La Rock to form Boogie Down Productions. When I think back now at what BDP accomplished back in the day, it's truly mind-boggling. With albums from 1987-1992, each one was on point and each album also had classic tracks on them.
Of course, "The Bridge Is Over" is right up there as one of the greatest Hip Hop songs of all time, but so are "Criminal Minded", "My Philosophy", "Sound of da Police", "13 and Good" and many others.
I remember when I first picked up "By All Means Necessary" on cassette, my mind was blown. Each beat was hard and the lyrics were all on point, where KRS was talking about philosophical stuff as well as how dirty the cops are. I played that tape a lot and even carried it in my pocket so I could whip it out at my friend's house because he had a big stereo with even bigger speakers.
BDP were at the top of my list of favorite groups at the time, and they had a certain style and direction that they were headed in. "Live Hardcore Worldwide" was so hype because it was a full live Rap album, something I had never heard before, and it also introduced me to other members of the group such as Ms. Melodie and a newcomer, Jamalski.
But everything changed in 1993.
Return of the Boom Bap
Now, there have been countless debates both online and in the real world about "Boom Bap Rap" as a way to describe beats that have that 1990's sound. This is because in 1993, KRS-One broke off into a solo act and released his first solo LP "Return of the Boom Bap", which changed Rap music forever.
Rocking a straight-up Hip Hop style of battle-any-emcee mentality, backed by very rough beats made this album a pure classic. I'm sure many Hip Hop heads at the time played this tape so many times that it finally snapped and they had to buy another copy - that's how great this album was.
As a matter of fact, all throughout the 90's, KRS was at the top of his game when he also released his self titled "KRS-ONE" and "I Got Next" albums. As far as I'm concerned, his self titled album will go down as one of the best and most authentic of all time. Just like "Return of the Boom Bap", it too had such a consistency that it kept your head nodding all throughout.
A 50 Year Old Emcee
Years ago I would have never thought that "50 year old emcee" is a term I would be hearing or writing about, but here we are. You would think at the age of 50 that anyone in the Rap game would have stepped aside, but not KRS. He's still actively touring and dropping comments in articles and YouTube videos about various subjects, whether it be Hip Hop or the universe.
I have never met KRS but I had the privilege to see him perform live in concert twice - 1993 and 1997. Both times I had a blast but it was the '93 concert that sealed it for me. Weed smoke in the air (not from me) and Boom Bap beats banging in my ears - I was happy.
Then KRS brought out Supernatural. This is when my brain actually short circuited because it couldn't comprehend was going on. I had never seen anyone flip freestyles like that before by taking fans' items from the crowd and turning them into rhymes.
Besides Supernatural, KRS has more or less introduced many new acts to the masses:
- Jamalski
- D-NICE
- Heather B
- Fat Joe
- and many more
Rap music isn't just about throwing on a beat, picking up the microphone and spitting lyrics about hard times; it's much more than that. It involves pushing your limits and creating something from nothing, and at the same time making a name for yourself. It also involves representing Hip Hop as a whole, not just yourself. This is where KRS really shines because he's always been about Hip Hop's past, present and future through his music, the Stop The Violence movement, and the Temple of Hip Hop.
Here's to Lawrence Parker. Here's to Hip Hop.
Further Reading About KRS-One
