KRS-One - Hiphop Knowledge lyrics

You know life is funny
If you don't repeat the actions
Of your own success you won't be successful
You gotta know your own formula
Your own ingredients what made you, YOU

1987 I was at the Latin Quarters
Listenin to Afrika Bambaata give the order
The call of the order was
To avoid the slaughterA he said
"Record companies ain't got nuttin for ya!"
Without a lawyer
He taught The Infinity Lessons
In how hip-hop could be a, many a blessing
And that was great, so in 1988
There was no debate, we had to end the hate
The name of the game was "Stop the Violence"
And unity, knowledge, and self-reliance
We - started talkin bout Martin and Malcolm
Had these ghetto kids goin, "Huh
What about him?"
1989, Professor Griff speaks his mind
But his freedom of speech is declined
1990 came with the West coast
East coast, West coast
Who is the best coast?
Lookin back now, of COURSE it was bogus
The whole argument was where we lost focus
We got hopeless not with the lyrics and music
But with hip-hop, and how we used it
Or abused it, you know how the crew get
"You like it cause you choose it"
1991, we opened our eyes
With Human Education Against Lies, we tried
To talk about the state of humanity
But all these others rappers got mad at me
They called me "Captain Human"
Another message was sent
"Self Destruction don't pay the fuckin rent"
Remember that? Nobody wanted conscious rap
It was like - where these ballers at?
Where can they call us at? All was wack
Hip-Hop culture was fallin flat
And that was that
So in 1992, I found my crew
They said, "Yo Kris, what you wanna do?"
I said, "Damn - why they wanna get with me?
If I bust they shit I'm contradictory
If I play the bitch role, they take my shoe
Tell me what the fuck am I supposed to do?"
So I did it, don't stop get it get it get it
All of a sudden these critics
They wanna spit it
"Kay Are Ess One is con tra-dic-to-ry"
Just cause I wouldn't let these
Rappers get with me
Fuck that, fuck you and fuck your pen
If a rapper wanna diss, yo I'd do it again
But I'm makin these ends
And I got my friends
And I really don't wanna have
To sit in the pen
So I go back to the philosopher
1993 hip-hop is uhh wack
Go back, check the facts
1994, "Return of the Boom Bap"
It wasn't all about the loot
It was all about Harry
Allen Rhythm Cultural Institute
Blowin up, 1995 conscious rap is still alive
But nobody wanna play it, nobody wanna say it
Nobody okayed it, they'd all rather hate it
1996 it really don't stop
We put together somethin called
The Temple of Hip-Hop
Not just DJin, breakin, graf and lyrics
But how hip-hop affects the spirit
"Step Into a World, " that's what I did
'97 I was raisin my kid
Or kids, but I, had to go
Cause New York DJ's changed the flows
To clothes and hoes, but that wasn't me
I'll be damned if I dance for the MTV
So in 1998 I began to debate
Should I go now, or should I really wait?
'99, I moved to LA you see
And took a gig with the WB
Started studyin philosophy full-time
To have a full heart, full body, full mind
But you know what the problem is or was?
DJ's don't raise our kids, cuz
They so caught up in the cash and jewels
How they gonna really see a hip-hop school?
How they gonna really see a hip-hop temple?
They don't even wanna play my instrumentals
But big up Dr dre, Snoop, Xzibit
Especially Xzibit, he was there in a minute
Mic Conception, all of them, said
"Yo you need help? I should call them"
When I was in LA, I held the crown
Bloods, Crips, they held me down
I could never forget Mad Lion, killer pride
With the gat in the lap in the low-ride
Oh I can't forget, Icy Ice, Lucky Lou
Julio G, that was the crew
Davey D, Ingrid, David Connor
The list goes on and on, let me tell ya
FredWreck, and my man Protest
Much respect, no less
To my spiritual and mental defenders
Big up to LA, temple members
But in 2000, I seen how I wanted to live
I wasn't no executive
So I picked up the mic and I quit my job
Said to Simone I gotta get with God
She said
"Don't worry bout these dollars and quarters
Record companies ain't got nuttin for ya"
Damn, she took me back to Bam!
Took me back to who I am!
Brought me back to the New York land!
Now I overstand! Interviewer
Now KRS-One
Now you've been quoted as saying that
Rap is something we do
Hip-hop is something you live kRS Yes!
Interviewer explain that to us please
KRS-One well, well, today hip-hop
We are advocating that hip-hop is not
Just a music, it is an
Attitude, it is an awareness, it is a way
To view the world so rap
Music, is something we do, but HIP-HOP
Is something we live and we look at hip-hop
In it's 9 elements
Which is breaking, emceeing
Graffiti art, deejaying, beatboxing
Street fashion, street language
Street knowledge, and street
Entrepenurialism - trade and
Business and uhh, that's where y'know
That's the hip-hop that that that we're
About we come from the uhh
The root of, of Kool DJ Herc
Who originated hip-hop in the early 70's
And then Afrika Bambaata and Zulu Nation
(mmhmm) who instigated something called
The Infinity Lessons
And added conciousness to hip-hop
And then Grandmaster Flash
With the invention of the mixer
On to Run-DMC and then myself
And uhh, we created the
"Stop the Violence" movement, you may recall
A song, "Self Destruction" and and and
So on all of this, goes to
Uhh uhh, the idea of LIVING this culture
Out and taking responsibility
For how it looks and and acts in society