| Product Summary | | Label: Bmg/jive/silvertone | | UPC: 00012414157027 | | Release Date: 10/6/1995 | | Buy.com Sku: 60022006 | | Item#: MRFR4C | Format:  CD |
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| Song Listing |  |
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| | Album Notes and Credits |
Notes & Personnel Info |  | Personnel includes: KRS-One, Fat Joe, Channel Live, Das EFX, Mad Lion, Busta Rhymes (rap vocals); DJ Dice (scratches); Dexter Thibou, Rich Nice, Sadat X (background vocals). | | Producers: DJ Premier (tracks 1, 3, 8); Big French Productions (track 2); KRS-One (tracks 4, 6-7, 10, 12, 14); Norty Cotto (track 5); Showbiz (track 9); Diamond D (tracks 11, 13). | | Engineers: Eddie Sancho (tracks 1, 8); Norty Cotto (tracks 2-3, 5, 12); Won Allen (track 4); Commissioner Gordon (tracks 6, 9, 11, 13); KRS-One (tracks 7, 10, 14). | | Recorded at Boogie Down Productions Studios and D&D Recording Studio, New York. | | All songs written or co-written by L. Parker. Samples include "Time's Up" (as performed by O.C.), "Pure" (as performed by The Troubleneck Brothers), "We Run Things (It's Like Dat)" (as performed by Da Bush Babees) and "Mystique Blues" (as performed by The Crusaders). | | KRS-ONE contains 38 spoken interludes dedicated to KRS-One by guest artists and radio personalities. | | Personnel: KRS-One (background vocals); Dexter Thibou, Rich Nice, Sadat X (background vocals). | | Audio Mixer: Norty Cotto. | | Recording information: Boogie Down Productions Studios; D&D Recording Studio. | | Photographer: Daniel Hastings. | | For his second solo album, KRS-One worked with a variety of younger hip-hop talents, perhaps in an attempt to resuscitate his street credibility and his commercial standing. Featuring appearances by Das EFX, Mad Lion, Fat Joe, and Channel Live, KRS-One is loaded with fresh talent of the first rank and they help spark the Teacher into giving an inspired performance. The album also showcases a bit fuller production than Return of the Boom Bap, but that doesn't mean he has sold it out -- it just means he's continuing to experiment, which is one of the reasons KRS-One remained a vital artist nearly a decade after his first record. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine | | Hip-hop music owes a lot to KRS-One. Lyrically speaking, no other rapper has contributed so much knowledge to the culture; musically, every song hits you in the head like a hammer. At a time when hip-hop has begun expanding into new genres (new-jack swing, g-funk, gangsta rap, R&B hip-hop, etc.), Kris Parker brings all rappers back down to earth with KRS-ONE, reminding them what hip-hop is really about. | | Since his days with Boogie Down Productions, KRS-One has declared that his "Knowledge Reigns Supreme Over Nearly Everybody," and, due in part to his street-poet-like use of clever analogies to wake up his community, it does. On "Ah-Yeah," KRS takes on the form of his ancestors to show how the hardships they suffered are coded in today's society: "This is not the first time I came to the planet/But every time I come only a few could understand it...They try to harm me/I used to be Malcolm X/Now I'm on the planet as the one called KRS." The song is only the latest of many on which KRS has used his rhymes to educate the hip-hop nation about African-American history. | | Although each song on KRS-ONE has something to teach, the idea that his music still pumps life into hip-hop through hardcore beats can not be overlooked. On "Rappers R.N. Dainja," KRS' lyrics warn others of the industry tactics of wack MCs ("the style that I am kickin' is like chicken/It will be bitten, re-written then performed for a twenty-five dollar admission"), as DJ Premier rocks the track with a wicked scratch of O.C.'s "Time's Up," allowing KRS-One to make it fresh for '95 just like he did in '86. |
Musical Guests | | Busta Rhymes | | Sadat X | | Das EFX | | Channel Live | | Mad Lion | | Fat Joe |
| | Artist Overview | | Kris "KRS-One" Parker was the driving force behind the group Boogie Down Productions, purveyors of a politically conscious rap style dubbed Edutainment. KRS-One, which stands for Knowledge Reigns Supreme, began his solo career with 1993's RETURN OF THE BOOM BAP, and devoted himself to defining, promoting, and preserving the true spirit of hip-hop. (The Blastmaster even went so far as to start the Zulu Nation-esque Temple of Hip-Hop Kulture in the late 1990s.) Though controversial, and occasionally inconsistent in his politics, KRS-One remains one of the most respected and sought-after MCs ever. |
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| | Technical Info | | Release Date : 10/10/1995 | | Original Release Date : 1995 | | Catalog ID : 41570 | | Label : Jive Records (USA) | | Number of Discs : 1 | | Runtime : 65m : 49s | | Studio/Live : Studio | | Mono/Stereo : Stereo | | SPAR Code : n/a | | UPC : 00012414157027 |
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| | Professional Reviews | | Rolling Stone (11/16/95, p.113)
- 3 Stars - Good - "...Even when he gets preachy, KRS remains listenable because he always pushes the edge that thrives on change. He manages to stay ahead of the deadly competition without sacrificing the elements of his character that made him a legend in the first place..."The Source (10/95, p.97)
- 4 Mics - Slammin' - "...the best elements from his past albums are...pumped up with new life and made FRESH for '95, you suckers!....[KRS-One] is ready to go skills for skills, toe to toe, in a battle for worldwide rap supremacy..." Melody Maker (10/28/95, p.38)
- Bloody Essential - "...buy this album NOW: for the beats which boom as good as any you'll hear, for the lyrics that cut harder than sharpened planets, for the fact that hip hop's most articulate son has delivered the Enola-payload he always threatened and the size of it...is f***ing fearsome." |
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