Life and career

Early life

Parker grew up in the South Bronx section of New York City to parents of Nigerian and Jamaican descent. In his teenage years, he frequently accompanied the Hare Krishnas and was susbsequently nicknamed "Krisna", hence "Kris". "KRS-One" was originally Parker's graffiti tag, short for "Kris Number One". He began using it as his stage name and later devised a backronym for the name: "Knowledge Reigns Supreme Over Nearly Everyone."

Boogie Down Productions

KRS-One began his recording career as one half of the hip hop group Boogie Down Productions alongside DJ Scott La Rock. They met during a stay KRS-One had at the Bronx's Franklin Armory Shelter. La Rock (real name Scott Sterling) worked as a social worker there. The duo would begin to create music. After being rejected by radio DJs Mr. Magic and Marley Marl, KRS-One would go on to diss the two and those associated with them, sparking what would later be known as The Bridge Wars. Additionally, KRS had taken offense to "The Bridge", a song by Marley Marl's protege MC Shan; the song could be interpreted as a claim that Queensbridge was the birthplace of hip hop, which KRS vehemently asserted to the contrary with the BDP record "South Bronx"; a second round of volleys would ensue with Shan's "Kill That Noise" and BDP's "The Bridge Is Over". KRS-One, demonstrating his nickname "The Blastmaster", would give a live performance that would devastate MC Shan, and many conceded he had won the battle.

Parker and Sterling, along with two other fellows, decided to form a rap group together, initially calling themselves "Scott La Rock and the Celebrity Three". That was short-lived, however, as the two peripheral members quit, leaving Parker (now calling himself KRS-One) and Sterling. They then decided to call themselves "Boogie Down Productions". Success is the Word, a 12-inch single produced by David Kenneth Eng and Kenny Beck was released on indie Fresh/Sleeping Bag Records (under the group name "12:41") did not enjoy commercial success. Boogie Down Productions would release their debut album Criminal Minded in 1987. While KRS-One "The Teacha" was equally known for his furiously political and socially conscious raps, the album, whose cover pictured BDP draped in ammunition and brandishing guns, is often credited with setting the template for the burgeoning genres of hardcore and gangsta rap. Scott La Rock was killed in a shooting later that year, after attempting to mediate a dispute between teenager and BDP member Derrick "D-Nice" Jones and local hoodlums.

KRS would be determined to continue Boogie Down Productions through the tragedy, and was joined by beatboxer D-Nice, rapper Ramona "Ms. Melodie" Parker (whose marriage to Kris would last from 1988 to 1992), and Kris's younger brother DJ Kenny Parker, among others. However Boogie Down Productions would remain Kris's show, and their content would become increasingly political. KRS-One was the primary initiator behind the H.E.A.L. compilation and the Stop the Violence Movement; for the latter he would attract many prominent MCs to appear on the 12-inch single "Self Destruction". As Parker adopted this "humanist", less violent approach, he turned away from his "Blastmaster" persona and towards that of "The Teacha."

Solo career

After four largely solo albums under the name "Boogie Down Productions," KRS-One decided to strike out on his own. On his first solo album, 1993's Return of the Boom Bap, Parker worked together with producers DJ Premier, Kid Capri and Showbiz, the latter providing the catchy-yet-hardcore track "Sound of da Police". His second album, 1995's KRS-One, featured Channel Live on "Free Mumia", a protest song about the persecution of hip hop by C. Delores Tucker among others. Other prominent guest stars on KRS One included Mad Lion, Busta Rhymes, Das EFX and Fat Joe.

In 1997, Parker surprised many with his release of the album I Got Next. The album's lead single "Step into a World (Rapture's Delight)", containing a sample of punk and New Wave group Blondie, was accompanied by a remix featuring commercial rap icon Puff Daddy; another track was essentially a rock song. While the record would be his best-selling solo album (reaching #3 on the Billboard 200), such collaborations with notably mainstream artists and prominent, easily recognizable samples took many fans and observers of the vehemently anti-mainstream KRS-One by surprise. However, in August 1997, Parker appeared on Tim Westwood's BBC Radio 1 show and vociferously denounced the DJ and the radio station more generally, accusing them of ignoring his style of hip hop in favor of commercial artists such as Puff Daddy.

In 1999, there were tentative plans to release an album called Maximum Strength; a lead single, "5 Boroughs", was released on The Corruptor movie soundtrack. However, Parker apparently decided to abort the album's planned release, just as he had secured a position as a Vice-President of A&R at Reprise Records. He moved to southern California, and stayed there for two years, ending his relationship with Jive Records with A Retrospective in 2000.

Parker resigned from his A&R position at Reprise in 2001, and returned to recording with a string of albums, beginning with 2001's The Sneak Attack on Koch Records. In 2002, he released a gospel-rap album, Spiritual Minded, surprising many longtime fans; Parker had once denounced Christianity as a "slavemaster religion" which African-Americans should not follow. During this period, KRS founded the Temple of Hiphop, an organization to preserve and promote "Hiphop Kulture". Other releases have since included 2003's Kristyles and D.I.G.I.T.A.L., 2004's Keep Right, and 2006's Life.

The only latter-day KRS-One album to gain any significant attention has been Hip-Hop Lives, his 2007 collaboration with fellow hip hop veteran Marley Marl, in large part due to the title's apparent response to Nas' 2007 release Hip-Hop Is Dead, and for the pair's legendary beef. While many critics have commented they would have been a lot more excited had this collaboration occurred twenty years earlier, the album has been met with positive reviews.

September 11 comments

In 2004, KRS engendered a controversy when he was quoted in a panel discussion hosted by The New Yorker magazine as saying that "we cheered when 9/11 happened". The comment drew criticism from many sources, including a pointed barb by the New York Daily News that called Parker an "anarchist" and said that "If Osama bin Laden ever buys a rap album, he'll probably start with a CD by KRS-One."

Parker responded to the furor surrounding his comments with an editorial written for AllHipHop.com, stating:

On April 29, 2007, KRS-One was once again forced to defend his statements on the September 11 attacks during an appearance on Hannity's America on the FOX News network to discuss, amongst other things, the Don Imus scandal and the use of profanity in hip-hop.

In late 2005, KRS was featured alongside Public Enemy's Chuck D on the remix of the song "Bin Laden" by Immortal Technique and DJ Green Lantern, which blames American conservatives, the Reagan Doctrine and U.S. President George W. Bush for the World Trade Center attacks, and indicates a parallel to the devaluation, destruction, and violence of urban housing project communities.

Stepson's death

Randy Hubbard Parker, stepson of KRS-One, was found dead in his Atlanta, Georgia apartment on Friday, July 6, 2007 in an apparent suicide; he was 23. Simone Parker, KRS-One's wife and Randy's mother, released a statement on Tuesday, July 10 that stated her son's death was related to his continuous battle with "severe depression." The Fulton County Medical Examiner's office stated that Parker died of a gunshot wound to the head, and listed the cause of death as suicide. Parker was a graphic designer and fashion entrepreneur. A private memorial service was held on July 18, which would have been his 24th birthday.

Discography

• Return of the Boom Bap (1993)
• KRS-One (1995)
• I Got Next (1997)
• The Sneak Attack (2001)
• Spiritual Minded (2002)
• The Mix Tape (2002)
• Kristyles (2003)
• D.I.G.I.T.A.L. (2003)
• Keep Right (2004)
• Life (2006)
• Hip Hop Lives (2007) with Marley Marl

Filmography

• I'm Gonna Git You Sucka (1988), KRS-One and BDP walk behind Jack Spade performing his theme song, "Jack of Spades"
• Who's the Man? (1993), Rashid
• SUBWAYstories: Tales from the Underground (1997), Vendor
• Rhyme & Reason (1997), himself
• Boriqua's Bond (200)
• The Freshest Kids (2002), himself
• 2Pac 4 Ever (2003), narrator
• Beef (2003), himself
• Hip-Hop Babylon 2 (2003), himself
• Soundz of Spirit (2003)
• 5 Sides of a Coin (2003), himself
• War on Wax: Rivalries In Hip-Hop (2004), himself
• The MC: Why We Do It (2004), himself
• Beef II (2004), himself
• And You Don't Stop: 30 Years of Hip-Hop (2004), himself
• Hip-Hop Honors (2004), himself
• Keep Right DVD (2004), himself
• Zoom Prout Prout (2005), himself
• A Letter to the President (2006), himself
• MuskaBEATZ