After being asked about the connection between the social context, political context, and the official birth of Hip Hop in the 70s, during an interview with Vlad TV, KRS-One addressed a number of topics including the lack of respect for Hip Hop in America, Public Enemy’s pull on revolutionary white kids, and more.
The Bronx, New York lyricist started off by stating that being a part of America was never a goal for those in his generation. He then questioned why he has to currently travel to a country like Switzerland to make money as a Hip Hop artist.
According to KRS-One, Hip Hop is more accepted by the government in a place like Switzerland than it is in the United States.
“Our parents were on their hands and knees begging to be a part of America,” KRS-One said. “We were never part of that, ever…Blacks and Latinos get it the worst. We get it the worst in America. But the white people in America too started looking. And just a sense of justice. Was just like ‘Wait a minute, why is it like this if it should be like this?’ And this is when Hip Hop exploded. With Public Enemy who was representing Minster Farrakhan of the Nation of Islam. And their whole audience was white kids…You can tell that the government here [Switzerland] is lenient towards Hip Hop. Towards it elements. Breaking in the street, graffiti on the wall, people rapping. I can’t make money in America. Why am I here? It’s 2013, okay. Why is KRS in Switzerland and not in Ohio…The political leadership of Ohio don’t respect me.”
KRS-One also spoke on one of the founders of Hip Hop, Afrika Bambaataa. While speaking on Bambaataa, the rapper revealed that Hip Hop wasn’t as impromptu as a network like MTV might have led people to believe, and was instead a deliberate and carefully planned out movement.
“What built this movement, what made this all come together is a guy names Afrika Bambaataa,” he said. “He is the sole author of Hip Hop’s cultural existence. I’m called an architect of Hip Hop culture cause I popularized it. But Afrika Bambaataa is the first one to tell all of us, ‘Let’s come together under this banner called Hip Hop. And we gon’ call ourselves Zulu Nation. But really, it’s Hip Hop. It’s this new thing that we’re gonna cause in the world.’ It was deliberate. Hip Hop was never a mistake…Those principles: peace, unity, love, and having fun. Became the principles for this new culture called Hip Hop. Afrika Bambaataa would meet with us regularly. This was no haphazard thing. We just rapping on the corner. That’s MTV’s history. Real Hip Hop history is Afrika Bambaataa sitting everybody down and saying ‘Listen, all this black, white, red, yellow is stupid. We’re all human beings. Let’s come together on that.’”
KRS-One’s interview with Vlad TV can be found below.
For additional KRS-One coverage, watch the following DX Daily:
No no no KRS-One. You cant make money because you are not hot anymore. Its 2015 and not 1986! Once you were great but now you must do something different in the musicindustry. Nobody wants a 50 year old rapper who Always talks about his battles in the past and that he is the king of hiphop. Face it you are old! So act mature and retire with rapping.
Thats the problem. Why do forefathers of the game have to be “hot right now” to live off of something they played a role in creating?
I’m sure the Stones, The Eagles, Van Halen, Led Zepplin etc etc will NEVER sit up thinking whether or not they will get paid for a show in Cleveland. Hip Hop is a young mans game, and until the dudes who grew up with KRS, Rakim, Kool G etc actually start putting capital behind the artist they love, there will be an awkward disconnect like this one.
Even as a 24 year old, I respect what KRS has done for the culture, he shouldn’t have to leave the states to profit off of something he helped build. Just my 2 cents.
No no no KRS-One will always be hot. The ‘age restriction’ shit won’t fly kid, sorry. If Paul McCartney can still drop records, why can’t KRS-One? Respect the foundation layers.
Your going to be older longer than you will be younger….
Uhh Drake is making money, Eminem is making money, Wayne is making money, Kanye is making money accept Grandfather KRS. Dude you to old for rapping and stop complaining
The political leadership of Ohio don’t respect me.” Lol krs talks like he is an important political leader. Dude you just an old rapper and nobody wanna listen to your music anymore. Instead of Always complaing go in a political party to change something you negative man.
^ Why do these hip-hop websites harbor so many people that don’t really respect or care for the culture? Too many gossipy headline chasers & not enough Hip-Hoppas.
been telling y’aLL for YEARS you can’t prove those typea lames even like hiphop…lot of them culture vulture-ing so they can look cool for their weirdo friends in their off the map towns….and they ain’t gotta pay for anything being internet clowns
That’s funny. No one says Paul McCartney or Steven Tyler or Mick Jagger or Bette Midler are too old to perform. Hmm….
Damn right! What the fuck is this ”stop rappin your too old” non-sense? LOL. These people are weird, man. How can Hip-Hop’s architects get more respect from another continent than their own? Makes no sense.
Cause most of the younger generation are fucking idiots.
All he is saying is Hiphop was more of a revolutionary tool long before it was a product.
The messages they brought threatened the very fabric of the American Elite. Of course Em, Drake, and Wayne making money they are following the rules of the product! Americas trend mentality is why he has to go overseas.
See what these young cats don’t get is record labels have no problem letting the “NEW YOUNG” guys rap like Young Thug and CHeif Queef and rap about bullshit same with NWA and Snoop Dogg, when they were YOUNG and didn’t know any better, when they were BOYS, we heard them rap about killing cops and killing eachother, now that Snoop is older an makes an anti-gun song, Niggas talking about hes old and wack. Thats the problem, these ppl rather you listen to boys rap, but when men speak yoll say they too old and all that bullshit.
Man, he’s preachy. And really, the reason you see kids breaking, tagging up walls and whatever in Switzerland is because they just got put onto the culture. KRS hasn’t released relevent music in 15 years. But he’s gonna say that Switzerland understands hip hop better than America? C’mon man. All those white people in Switzerland just look at you like a novelty. Europe is WAY more racist than America. Hey Kris, go to a soccer game and see what happens.
Did your white boyfriend spit at you again? Or are you just another MC Shan fan? Idiot. I am swiss and Hip Hop STARTED here!!!!
Anonymous is wild gay
My hero literally, this man actually saves lives with hip hop, instead of using it to make money like a sellout chump for fame, he is the reason I love hip hop so much and have learned more about the culture instead of succumbing to the insecure troll homos online that hate relentlessly
nigga, u gay
^ Response fail. Can anyone spot it?
don’t even tell ’em, lol….funny how dx let’s the nonsense fly but when you type a real comment with some insight & truth about the game or it’s history, it gets “lost”
People just don’t see the big picture with this thing we call Hip-Hop. They’ll respect him once they grow up some. They don’t get it yet but they will as they mature. That the sweet thing about his music, it will be here long after these fly by night rappers are gone and these Commercial Rap followers get more knowledgeable as they grow as a person.
I keep telling y’aLL you do NOT know if they even like hiphop…..to many of them this is a joke to kill time in their lonely lives…..you giving them losers way too much credit and being naive to deceivers and true haters who want to disrupt the genre
Sometimes KRS is so full of it. Like, when he says that he was so busy breaking down barriers as far as race, organizing, etc. Saying Afrika Bambatta brought them together, but then he did “The Bridge is Over” dissing Roxanne, MC Shan and Marley Marl. Sounds hypocritical.
Actually it is because Krs-one’s wife, who manages him, passes on all offers that comes in for him in the states. If Krs only knew the money left on the table for him.
Disliking the business side of Hip-Hop is one thing, neglecting it as an artist who earns his money from it is another. KRS is in this situation because the latter, and it has nothing to do with him being a legend. It’s all about knowing how to use the system to your own advantage and make money from it. You could have the best music is the world, the dollars will never come automatically. KRS hasn’t released anything noteworthy since 2k9 and was never strong at maintaining his own brand, so it’s no surprise he’s not making noise any more. He needs to hook up with a bigger indie label and return to grind, otherwise he could easily find himself in a situation where he won’t have enough hardcore fans left to be able to make a decent income. Hip-Hop never treated well it’s veterans, KRS being broke would be the saddest picture you could ever imagine for the genre.
no, grandpa krs. the reason you can’t make money in the u.s. is because you’re old, irrelevant and wack as fuck. the people don’t want to hear that political bullshit, they want to have fun and party to the likes of drake, ilovemakonnen, bobby shmurda and rae sremmurd. go move to switzerland and make money over there and get the fuck outta here.
you’ve been trolling the rap internet for almost 10 years…….from sohh, to allhiphop, to rapradar, to here…….so icey boi………drake runs rap……..superguccirap………..
Such a ignoramus.
you really need to speak only for yourself, its thats political shit that made mainstream America turn their heads and really start listening on another level and not just joke.
dont forget about rozay odonnell and teethboy aka dentaldamboy
Man, KRS-1 is most certainly a legend. He’s definitely a revered icon in the sport. But this is just a cop out to me. No KRS it’s not that the U.S. or anywhere else for that matter doesn’t “respect the culture”. It’s that you haven’t updated your resume. You need to stay in it to win it bruh bruh. You need to stay relevant and don’t say that ain’t possible, tell that to Jay-Z, Nas, Cam’ron, Bun B, etc… these guys stay on the grind. They update their art and continue to make moves and keep their names out there. You can have a long career in hip-hop but you gotta ride the trends a bit, keep your ear out for hot producers, watch what the young’n’s are doing a little bit. I’m disappointed that KRS-1 being the legend that he is would make excuses for himself like this.
there’s over 100 rappers that will tell you krs is absolutely right. epmd, big daddy kane, kool keith, premo, rah digga, busta rhymes, kool g rap, plenty more. waterheads like you, when you don’t hear their names, you think they sitting @ home thirsty to impress some new snotnose kids with the latest fad but they actually OVERSEAS, doing shows all year. BEEN doing it since the 90s!!!!! I knew you was fugazy when you name dropped cam’ron, mr lazy flow he don’t change for nobody who’s gonna retire after this next album because the NEW heads don’t buy music! nas’ last 3 albums are FILLED with music that is NOT the latest sound! LOL @ you
Man I respetct your opinion but fam you are way off…Jay Z & Cam are not even Hip hop they are pop stars and that is different…. Krs One is for the Bboys, DJing,Graf & Mcing….His music is not as good as it once was but I’ve seen him in concert several times and he rocks a great show….What he should have said is most blacks don’t rep hip hop anymore, they rep corporate radio pop tart rap, when Europe is down with real culture…..www.ughh.com for some real hip hop fam.
camron? one of the worst to do it.
Hip Hop culture and particularly WE blacks are lost sheep in the USA and have fallen victim to the simple tactic of divide and conquer.
yep. the programming is deep that impostors are genuine & genuine are shunned because it doesn’t resemble what the impostors are doing. but it’s not just black who are lost sheep because many of them just voted against their own best interests……media is a very powerful tool….
No it’s because your music sucks guy.
I co-sign KRS is a legend but these days he’s irrelevant as fuck. Btw is that “real hiphop” when you complain about the money? At this point I just can’t consider if he’s a hypocrite or there’s no such thing as “real hiphop”. LOL
KRS-1 is kinda full of it. Credit goes to Sugar Hill Gang, Grand Master Flash & Furious 5, and Kurtis Blow for creating the hip hop culture. How can a man lie and say he was before the original creators and the couple who follow behind them? If it wasn’t for Sugar Hill Gang there will be no KRS-1. Respect!
GTFOH, dummy, listen to someone who knows.You just prove his fucking point. Fuck MTV
p.s. Go learn how to fucking read.
Don learn your history. Sugarhill Gang? Well if it wasn’t for Grandmaster Caz you wouldn’t have Hank (RIP). He was absolutely correct in saying Bam was the creator of the culture. Zulu Nation!!! Do you homework and stop sounding ignorant.
KRS can make money travelling internationally but he is scared to fly.
He took a boat to Australia took him 3 weeks to get there,
KRS is just to old for rapping. Dont get me started Paul mc Cartney is still making music or Led Zeppelin because they are also old and wack.
K.R.S.1 muthafuckaz real hip hop not ya gay tight jeans earrings in ya nose bitch making Muzik
The problem with hip hop culture is pretty obvious when you read the message boards.
KRS is a legend, and will out perform and out battle anyone in the game today. If you haven’t seen his live show, you have no clue what you’re missing.
that what happend when you live in cave
Don’t have to go much further than this comment section to see what KRS is talking about. Half these trendy twats have no clue what they’re even speaking upon.
it ain’t no secret……these little boys are clowns….fronting ass posers….weirdos……nerds……….2 years left…trust…..
Much respect to the g.o.a.t! Knowledge reigns supreme. To the haters on here be so busy with your own life ,family & dreams that you don’t have time to sit an judge someone else. Especially one of the pioneers of the genre you claim to love. Blessings
I grew up in the 1990’s as a Hip Hop fan of the music and culture and I believe this was intentional once the big record companies starting seeing how they could exploit it. Somehow they knew they could get some not all of the rap stars to sell out by giving them money, drugs, cars and women. Just look at Hip Hop now why would anyone look at it with respect, dignity and honor? If you have guys like Too Short who use the “B” word 100s of times but yet has a wife in real life that he respects in some cases I can understand the argument that rap music is an act but just look at our community, look at our children they don’t think its an act. Jay Z, Dr Dre, Snoop Dogg, all these guys have made fortunes by selling out our community and there is no other way to put it. They no longer live in the ghetto so why do they care what happens they got their money already from us buying their records and paying for their concerts.
If you want to get money get into trading or something.. It’s not politics you’re just getting old and there is no demand for you anymore in the US
@chee shut yo ass up
Russell Simmons is sitting around like a snake trying to cash in on the next person who can make his old nasty Bruce Jenner looking self relevant which he is not. Too bad they popped Jam Master J, this was the fucka they shoulda took out. He’s a leech. First he tried with Wayne, until that panned. Now he’s trying for Lamar saying he is better than Macklemore. Simmons is better than who? No one. That nikka is a parasite. He’s probably the reason why Cosby is being slandered. I don’t trust that homo.
Even I know as A 43 Year old emcee. There’s a time to hang it up… You threw PM dawn off the stage a long time ago that was The Shit.. But now Famo times have Changed. I’ll Battle you anywhere. Just to show you times up and You don’t belong… Yes we still got it as Emcees. But NO. We don’t got it as Emcees. Here in the states you gotta be HOT… Cassidy Will fuck you up.. Hands Down like Six Thirty… Hang it up old Man
Fuckn hell, you bunch are a pack of disrespectful cunts.
Rap has been sucking club dick sandwiches for a long fucking time, KRS keeps it under a scope.
I got nothing but respect for this old geezer, been listening to his stuff ever since it stood out from all the other typical shit rappers rhyme about.
A cold blooded fuck you to all the cunts who got no respect for an individual who did some big things to pave the way for a bunch of spoiled fuckheads who quarrel over the small things and don’t do jack shit for the culture.
Does anybody remember that in health wealth and self krs said that emcees should have other ways of getting money he’s totally a hippocrite he’s abusing hip hop don’t get me wrong I have nothing but respect for krs and what he did to help put hip hop on the map but he’s totally turning his back on his original values
Context is important here: “other” means in addition to. Of course he believes people should be paid for their music, he’s saying the line on a record he’s being paid for, but he’s also saying don’t be stupid and assume you can make it on rap ALONE. I had trouble with that surface contradiction initially as well, so I can sympathize with you thinking it was hypocritical. KRS does this a lot with his lyrics which I love because it forces you to think and then question those thoughts
Before all u ignorant fucks start hatin did you know he’s recognized by ‘The United Nations’ and has had offers to teach at ‘Harvard’ on HIp Hop culture.
Even recent old school hip hoppers look up to him including 2pac also Rakim….in my book he’s not just a scholar on the culture, he’s a philosopher and when he
rhymes he tells a story with swagger like all the other great rappers ( PAC , Biggie, 50cnt etc….) the ones who never sold out.
I’m not dissin all new hip hop. There is a lot of talent in mainstream but also a lot of unrecognized talent in underground hip hop….all the new mainstream stuff is such slow tempo and so called artists put words together that rhyme just for the sake of rhyming that does or doesn’t even tell a story sometime (that’s not hip hop)…it’s no wonder people that don’t know how to dance like dancing to the new stuff lol.
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I am in England, and I do not respect KRS-One – never have. ‘My Philosophy’ had good hooks but, even then, KRS-One wasn’t worth the price of an album.
Meanwhile, Arthur Baker is looking better than he did when he produced, ‘Planet Rock’, and Afrika Bambaataa is exposed as a paedophile.
What’s to respect?
In closing, I should point out that the good people of Switzerland are the same people that managed to racially set-aside one of the wealthiest and most recognisable women on the planet, Oprah Winfrey, as just some (poor, black) woman.
Where’s the respect?
fuck you you dum fuck