Reviews

KRS-One

LIFE

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Review Date: 2006-06-20

Kris Parker, aka KRS-One -- his name is synonymous with conscious hip-hop. The guy is a living legend. All of the current hip-hop artists whose lyrics have substance cite KRS as a major influence, and many namedrop him in their rhymes. I know that KRS-One had a massive influence on my taste when it came to hip-hop.

Like many kids in Kingston, I used to think I was rough, listening to gangsta rap and even rapping along with the lyrics -- the more vulgar the better. My friends and I would sit around listening to that shit for hours, and we truly idolized these guys. It’s not that some of these artists, like Tupac, didn’t have something useful to contribute; however, the majority of it was posturing bullshit. When I hear it now I just wonder what the hell I was thinking.

I didn’t know what I was getting myself into when I bought I Got Next. I liked “Step Into a World,” and back then I bought CDs on a whim all the time. Sitting and listening to KRS-One, I had my first true experience with hip-hop that cut the bullshit and had a positive message. He wasn’t talking about hos, he wasn’t talking about guns, and he didn’t need to use profanity to keep my attention. I immediately went out and picked up KRS-One, which you might remember for the awesome track “Aw Yeah.” Shortly after purchasing these albums I stopped buying gangsta rap, and the transformation to the hip-hop I listen to today had begun.

So now it is 2006 and KRS-One is more than 40 years old. He took a long hiatus from the rap game and re-emerged in 2001, only to find that people weren’t as quick to adopt the moral hip-hop philosopher this time. Unfazed, KRS kept on; he started the Temple of Hip-Hop and continued to release albums under the radar. His latest, Life, dropped on Tuesday and marks a change in direction. KRS-One is no longer focusing solely on the plight of black people in the hood; instead he is now tackling poverty, a problem that affects all races. Here I am, nearly a decade after being inspired by I Got Next, hoping that KRS can do it again.

“Bling Blung” kicks off Life, and immediately it brings me back (and I mean this in a good way). KRS isn’t about to change the formula and why would we want him to? This is vintage KRS with the majestic operatic beat against his trademark rhyming style as he goes to town on materialism and how little good it has done society in general. There is maybe more of a hint of reggae in the way he raps here than I was used to, but it adds to and does not hinder the sound.

Next on KRS’s verbal hitlist is homelessness, unemployment and poverty; it’s rather ambitious but you have to love it. The beat here isn’t typical of KRS, but I agree with his rhymes so strongly. The chorus “Have mercy Mr. Percy/Can’t find a cent to pay my rent/Give me another day/so I can try to find my way,” works so well that the basic beat is tolerable.

Turning back the clock once again, KRS-One intentionally (or unintentionally) pays a little respect to Run-DMC by doing that rap/rock thing on “Gimme Da Gun.” This hellacious track is a blazing fast story where KRS tries to convince Raphi that he is making a mistake and needs to give him his gun. Raphi, on the other hand, feels that this is the only alternative. Anybody who has followed KRS knows he has been a very vocal advocate against gun violence for most of his career. The song doesn’t end happily as Raphi chooses to ignore the advice; the last noise you hear on the track is the gun going off. It’s classic KRS-One, and no doubt one of the top ten songs he has ever done.

Towards the back end of Life the intensely dark and angry track “I Ain’t Leavin” also impresses. The chorus is remarkably familiar to something I have heard from the Streets before; I can’t tell you if it is a coincidence, but I’ll assume it is. This is as close as KRS gets to posturing -- don’t worry, he doesn’t go all profane on us, but there isn’t really a positive message here so much as KRS is just letting it be known -- in a rather aggressive way -- that he has no intention of retiring yet. Nineteen years strong and there is more to come.

I wouldn’t rank this in the same league as I Got Next or his self-titled record, but I would still rank it easily ahead of 95% of what is being released in the commercial hip-hop scene in 2006. It immediately moves to the front-of-the-class for the year. Here’s hoping a handful of misguided kids listening to 50 Cent and thinking that his shit doesn’t stink stumble upon KRS’s new record and have an awakening like I did. So long as that continues to happen, I would bet that KRS is happy with his role in the game.

Songs to Hear: “Bling Blung,” “Mr. Percy,” “Gimma Da Gun,” “I Ain’t Leavin”

Score: 7.6

- Dan