KRS-One, born Lawrence “Kris” Parker, is a true lyricist and champion of the authentic culture of hip hop. During the 2023 ESSENCE Festival of Culture, he shared his opinion on the state of the genre.
The iconic Bronx native, whose name is an abbreviation for “Knowledge Reigns Supreme Over Nearly Everyone,” is one of the most respected rappers in the music industry. He came onto the scene in the mid-1980s as a member of the highly regarded Boogie Down Productions, which he created with the late DJ Scott La Rock. Together, they wanted to advocate for Black Americans with a special New York flair. Shortly after the group began to make noise, Scott La Rock was killed. After his passing, KRS-One continued to make music as a solo artist, still representing the group and fighting for rap music to be heard and recognized along the way.
Since the focus of this year’s ESSENCE Fest was honoring hip hop’s 50th anniversary, rap culture was integrated into all elements of the event — from panel speakers to activations, nightly concerts and more. KRS-One was one of the performers for Friday’s (June 30) show, which was a true ode to hip hop featuring The Sugarhill Gang, Big Daddy Kane, Melle Mel, Slick Rick, Bone Crusher and more. KRS shared that he came to represent his friend Doug E. Fresh, aka the “Human Beat Box,” and was blown away to see his ideas come together.
“Doug E. Fresh is a leader, we know what it is. To come out here and actually see what he had in mind kind of blew us all away and motivated us to do our best,” KRS said during his time in the press room after his segment of the show.
Today’s mainstream rap music is quite different than when hip hop was first introduced to the world in the 1970s. The industry veteran expressed that his class of rappers never cared about the dollars more than the “why” behind what they were doing.
“They ignored us for 50 years; now the 50th year, we here. Come on, we know the game. That’s the difference between real hip hop and fake s**t. Real hip hop is free. We ain’t with the corporations; we ain’t messing with none of that. We built our culture from the center. Now we’re building theirs,” he stressed.
When talking about how to bridge the gap between the new and old school, he stated that today’s artists have a different way of thinking, which has led music fans to what they hear on the radio.
“They are two different mind states, so it’s hard to say there’s a gap because a gap implies that there’s a separation between one thing,” he said. “What people call rap or hip hop today is a disgrace to our culture. An absolute betrayal, disrespect and a disgrace.”
He continued, “That gap you’re talking about is not even a gap; it’s traitors. It’s straight traitors because if you know what original hip hop is all about and you choose to do the opposite, you a traitor. There’s no way around that s**t.”
“We started with breaking, MCing, graffiti art, and DJing, the core four elements. This is hip hop because we wanted peace, love, unity, and having fun. This is why we did what we did. We put [in] all the movies, DVDs, all the first books, all the first rhymes, everything. Now, you come along and say, ‘Man, f**k all that. I just want this money, and these white folks are going to give [me] all this money for me to act like a coon, and I’m just going to go ahead and do it, and f**k the culture.’ That’s a traitor,” the hip hop icon elaborated.
“Where’s your parents, where’s your teacher, your minister, your grandmother?” he asked. “These kids have nothing, so now they turn on the radio, and they listen to hip hop — and somebody like KRS-One, Knowledge Reigns Supreme, Melle Mel, everyone… Black radio don’t even want to play my music, but they’ll [play] that b**ch, and that h**, and that tramp, and that s**t. This is African Americans doing this to African Americans.”
Although the 57-year-old doesn’t blame hip hop for the encounters Black people have with the justice system, he thinks it plays an influential role in regard to the lifestyle some people are after. When it came to police brutality, the father of one mentioned that the mainstream media’s representation of Black people is foolery, so folks shouldn’t be surprised at white cops who lack empathy.
“A white cop could turn on any television show right now and be motivated to shoot anyone of us. Listen to what I just said. A white cop can turn on any Black show, even the ones that’s supposed to be intellectual, showing the Black family and all this bulls**t,” the “MC’s Act Like They Don’t Know” rapper said.
“People can just look for themselves and say, ‘Look at the bulls**t African Americans are dealing with.’ And now they crying, African Americans, that there’s a problem with America, and this and that. Black men don’t want to be home with their kids, Black women aggravating Black men crazy, Black children don’t want to listen to Black men or Black women, so where is the Black family at? This is what hip hop is dealing with. This is what we dealing with,” he added.
To help combat these challenges, he spoke on the importance of talking to the youth because many don’t have the proper supervision, skills or love needed, not only to be socially conscious but to access better opportunities and a progressive lifestyle. KRS-One visits prisons and juvenile centers to talk to young people to hopefully ignite a change of perspective.