soul rattler;7748954 said:
5 Grand;7748929 said:
soul rattler;7748909 said:
5 Grand;7748369 said:
I was a huge KRS fan when he first came out circa 87/88. He was talking about serious issues that people like Run DMC and LL Cool J were avoiding (gang violence, Black on Black crime, the whitewashing of history and the importance of knowing your history and being proud of your culture). I was 14/15 years old and he was what I would consider a positive role model.
But over the years, I got older and more educated. I got more sophisticated. My own personal views evolved and changed. I wasn't a teenager anymore and by the time I was 25 or 30 KRS's "revolutionary/activist" talk didn't impress me like it did when I was 14.
By the time I got into my 30s I started paying closer attention to what Dr Dre, Jay Z, Puff Daddy, Master P, Russell Simmons, Ice Cube and Birdman were doing. I started seeing rappers who started off as simply "rappers" building these multi-million dollar empires.
A lot of the so-called "conscious rappers" that I listened to when I was a teenager lost their steam. Groups like Public Enemy, The Jungle Brothers and X Clan made a huge impression on me when I was 14/15 but by the time I turned 30 their message was basically impotent. They weren't getting through. It was obvious that SAYING "fight the power!" And actually fighting the power is two different things. Listening to Dead Prez or Common is a step in the right direction. I'm glad they make music but I think musicians by their very nature don't make good leaders, or role models.
I could go on YouTube right now and make a video saying that we need a revolution and that we all need to get together and unite for a positive cause, but that doesn't make me a revolutionary. To be a revolutionary you need to lead an actual revolution, you need to force the government to change their policies whether it be through violence or peaceful demonstration.
Martin Luther King is a true revolutionary because he lead demonstrations that eventually lead to the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
When you compare KRS One, Public Enemy, X Clan and even Tupac to somebody like Martin Luther King the rappers look like little kids playing in the sand while Martin Luther King is like an architect building a skyscraper.
So yeah, when I was 14 I was in awe of KRS One and the so-called pro black movement in Hip Hop. I thought the song Self Destruction was going to change things. But I'm older now. I realize the stakes are a lot higher than I thought they were. There's nothing wrong with conscious rap, but let's not pretend that these "conscious rappers" are revolutionaries. I'd take everything they say with a grain of salt and pay closer attention to what's going on in Washington and on Wall Street.
So you don't fuck with KRS because he didn't Tao his message and brand to a mega corporate level? Do you have any clue how much of an impact he's had on behalf of culture? Because of him, the United Nations recognizes Hip Hop as a legitimate world culture.
Sounds good but unarmed Black teenagers are still getting shot down in the streets.
I don't give a fuck if the United Nations recognizes Hip Hop as a "legitimate world culture". What does that even mean?
The emancipation proclamation sounded good but slavery still occurred. The civil rights act sounded good but blacks still be wrongfully arrested and convicted, denied educational and economic opportunities, and killed in cold blood. I didn't mention KRS and the UN as if it somehow solved a social problem.
He's an activist and unless you've done more for an entire culture on the international scale, much less an entire nation of people than KRS-One, you have no room to criticize his progress or accomplishments.
Not really. This is a message board forum. The purpose of a message board is to discuss rap, rappers and Hip Hop in general. It's a public forum too so KRS is welcome to come to the board and state his views. As far as KRS goes, I first started listening to his music 29 years ago and I've followed his career. I think I have the right to state my opinion on his "activism" whether it be favorable or not.
In my opinion, Hip Hop and Hip Hop culture isn't that important. I grew up listening to the music and have been to dozens of clubs and shows over the years but I think the youth would be better off focusing on politics, criminal justice and finance rather than B-Boying DJing, MCing and Grafitti. You can make a living as a DJ or an MC but politicians and stockbrokers make way more money and are more able to create change because of the nature of their professions.
Rap and Hip Hop meant everything in the world to me when I was younger, now I feel like I wasted a lot of time while my peers were going to law school, med school and investing in the stock market.
I don't hear enough rappers encouraging the youth to go to college, get a graduate degree and learn a profession. Something to pay the bills and raise a family on.
Being an MC or a drug dealer is all most rappers talk about because it's all they know. When you've expanded your horizons, gone to college, worked and travelled you'll realize that there's a lot of topics that rappers are silent about because they just don't have the knowledge. When's the last rapper you've heard break down how the stock market works? Serious question.
