Mike Patton collaborates with Massive Attack, Norah Jones, Kool Keith, the Automator, Anticon on Peeping Tom project
Mike Patton Completes Long Rumored Project
Featuring Collaborators Massive Attack, Norah Jones, Kool Keith and Many More
Set for May 30 Release on Ipecac
Years in the making, PEEPING TOM, noise rock renaissance man Mike Patton's most accessible work since his days in Faith No More, is finally a reality. The 11-track opus, featuring a lengthy and incongruous cast of guest performers, is set for a May 30 release on Patton's own Ipecac label.
In keeping with the landmark 1960 psychological horror film that inspired its name, PEEPING TOM had its genesis a modus operandi devoid of physical intimacy. Patton would write songs with a wishlist of theoretical collaborators in mind, then hope for a reply in the form of a finished track. "It's an exotic way of working for someone accustomed to a band environment," Patton says. "It was charming, really. None of the usual Animal House stuff. Instead of swapping spit and underwear, we were swapping files."
Lack of face-to-face interaction did not keep long-distance collaborators from turning in exceptional performances: Norah Jones' lascivious "Sucker," Kool Keith's "Getaway" and Massive Attack's "Kill The DJ" are intense and passionate as anything a live band environment could have produced-despite the fact that Patton has still never met Jones or Keith. "Plenty of people on the record are still complete strangers to me," he says.
The initial PEEPING TOM offering also includes contributions from Amon Tobin, Bebel Gilberto, DubTrio, and several of Patton's Bay Area running buddies, such as Dan "the Automator" Nakamura (who tag teams with Rahzel on "Mojo"), and Jel, Odd Nosdam and Dose One of hip hop collective anticon. The end result is an utterly unique multi-genre/multi-artist departure from Patton's more recent noisy output-one that would ultimately have to be classified as a pop record????‚¬?‚¦ a Mike Patton pop record, but a pop record nonetheless.
"I don't listen to the radio, but if I did, this is what I'd want it to sound like. This is my version of pop music. In way, this is an exercise for me: taking all these things I've learned over the years and putting them into a pop format. I've worked with many people who have said to me, 'oh you have a pop record in you, eventually you'll find it,' and I always laughed at them. I guess I owe them an apology."
As work on PEEPING TOM began some three years back and was interrupted to accommodate Patton's work with Fantomas, Tomahawk, Lovage, General Patton vs. the X-ecutioners, guest turns on Bjork and Massive Attack records, two feature film scores and an ultimately "ridiculous" major label flirtation, enough material has massed for a second and possibly third record. A PEEPING TOM tour is also in discussion, pending various collaborators' schedules.
nu am gasit asta. daca cineva are, vreau si eu un mp.
About this and that!
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avem, daca doreste cineva -> MP.Kollabo Brothers - For My Peoples
This record was requested in the "the last album you bought" -thread. Since no one on the boards is probably familiar with Kollabo Brothers or this record, I'm gonna give a short description of the album and the artists.
Kollabo Brothers consists of two Finnish DJ/producers Kool Ski and Staffro. Kool Ski has been making music since the 80s and he is friends with many of the album's guests such as Diamond D. For My Peoples is basically a record that has been put together over the last few years, recorded at different points of time (e.g. when the guests have happened to be in Finland). As you can guess from the names on the album, this is a throwback album with a 90s/80s feel and at least I consider it enjoyable. Oh, only two of the guests are Finnish as far as I know: The Gambit & B.O.Dubb. Europeans might recognize B.O.Dubb from Bomfunk MCs, of "Freestyler" fame...
Here's the tracklist:
01. Intro (feat. Craig G)
02. No Equal (feat. Craig G)
03. For My Peoples (feat. Donald D)
04. Way Back (feat. Tim Dog)
05. Watch The Game (feat. The Gambit)
06. Lovin' This Shit (feat. Afu-Ra)
07. My Flows To Blow (feat. Diamond D)
08. Hip Hop Blues (feat. Grandmaster Caz)
09. Two Kool Brothers
10. I Got Soul (feat. Zion)
11. Words I Wrote (feat. Paris)
12. Glad To Be Me (feat. B.I.)
13. My Melody (feat. B.O.Dubb)
14. I'm a Real Emcee (feat. Donald D)
15. Outro
Oh, the record was also quite a big hit in Japan, where they are getting recognized much more than in Finland
you just never know when you're living in a golden age.
"Club Music Is Cute, But Rap Is My Vocation" - Chill Rob G
In terms of vocab, concepts, flow and style, Chill Rob G was the top dog in the Flavor Unit wolf pack. His first record remains as one of the finest selections in the impressive Wild Pitch catalog, as all three songs hit equally hard. "Chillin" didn??€�t end up making the album, but provides a perfect example of Rob??€�s technique, as he informs us that ??€?it??€�s hard to find a rapper with my dedication/intelect, sense of humor - plus imagination??€? while ??€?jumping from one subject to the next??€? in a superb display of lyrical prowess that manages to combine a stream-of-consciousness feel while still keeping it in the pocket over a rolling break.
Five things I learnt about Chill Rob G from "Chillin":
1. He has no time for scabs, crabs or crustations.
2. Back in the days Pumas used to be in, nowdays they throw ??€?em together like they really don??€�t give a shit.
3. Television sucks! (too many commericals)
4. He enjoys summer (girls wear less), but is also rather partial to winter (his gear is fresh).
5. A wise man once told him that if he ever bites or bit, may he drop dead.
The follow-up platter was no less potent, as ??€?Court Is Now In Session??€? [1] and ??€?Let The Words Flow??€? delivered another Chilltown smash, and Rob and DJ Mark proceeded to drop one of the stongest arguments for the ??€?one DJ one MC??€? theory ever with the Ride The Rhythm LP. With both of them at the top of their game, they delivered a well-balanced, state-of-the-art collection of unused breaks and sophisticated verses that caught the attention of street-level rap fanatics everywhere. Chill Rob brought a commanding tone to the booth without giving you a headache, fine-tuning his bars with Swiss precision and a healthy dose of nonchalance.
But it wasn??€�t long before Rob was getting far more attention than the Wild Pitch marketng department could have ever dreamed of, as explained in this news item from an old Vapours [2] magazine:
Although this whole situation resulted in nation-wide exposure for the Chill one, his third single (Prince Paul and Pasemaster Mase??€�s cartoon-crazy remix of ??€?Let Me Show You??€?) was to be his last for a long time, as retired from the rap game a few years later before landing a spot as a council member in his hometown of New Jersey. By 1992, fellow NJ residents Double XX Posse made comment that Rob hadn??€�t really represented Jersey to the fullest, and suggested that he had given up on the rap game too easily. It wasn??€�t until 1996 that he would return with a single called ??€?Let Me Know Something??€?/??€?Know Ya Place??€?, which was musically bland without any input from the 45 King but was not without it??€�s moments vocally. He??€�s also popped-up on the Put The Funk Out There bootleg and the King??€�s Cat Jams in recent times, sinding a little raspy but still bringing it regardless.
Chill Rob G - Chillin' [Wild Pitch, 1988]
Chill Rob G - Let The Words Flow [Wild Pitch, 1989]
Chill Rob G - DJ Red Alert Intro [DJ Red Alert??€�s We Can Do This, Next Plateau, 1988]
Videos:
"Court Is Now In Session":
( <- Click! )
"Let Me Show You (Remix)":
( <- Click! )
1. There was a also a promo-only remix for this song by Cutfather & Soulshock.
2. The original one from Sydney, Australia.
In terms of vocab, concepts, flow and style, Chill Rob G was the top dog in the Flavor Unit wolf pack. His first record remains as one of the finest selections in the impressive Wild Pitch catalog, as all three songs hit equally hard. "Chillin" didn??€�t end up making the album, but provides a perfect example of Rob??€�s technique, as he informs us that ??€?it??€�s hard to find a rapper with my dedication/intelect, sense of humor - plus imagination??€? while ??€?jumping from one subject to the next??€? in a superb display of lyrical prowess that manages to combine a stream-of-consciousness feel while still keeping it in the pocket over a rolling break.
Five things I learnt about Chill Rob G from "Chillin":
1. He has no time for scabs, crabs or crustations.
2. Back in the days Pumas used to be in, nowdays they throw ??€?em together like they really don??€�t give a shit.
3. Television sucks! (too many commericals)
4. He enjoys summer (girls wear less), but is also rather partial to winter (his gear is fresh).
5. A wise man once told him that if he ever bites or bit, may he drop dead.
The follow-up platter was no less potent, as ??€?Court Is Now In Session??€? [1] and ??€?Let The Words Flow??€? delivered another Chilltown smash, and Rob and DJ Mark proceeded to drop one of the stongest arguments for the ??€?one DJ one MC??€? theory ever with the Ride The Rhythm LP. With both of them at the top of their game, they delivered a well-balanced, state-of-the-art collection of unused breaks and sophisticated verses that caught the attention of street-level rap fanatics everywhere. Chill Rob brought a commanding tone to the booth without giving you a headache, fine-tuning his bars with Swiss precision and a healthy dose of nonchalance.
But it wasn??€�t long before Rob was getting far more attention than the Wild Pitch marketng department could have ever dreamed of, as explained in this news item from an old Vapours [2] magazine:
Although this whole situation resulted in nation-wide exposure for the Chill one, his third single (Prince Paul and Pasemaster Mase??€�s cartoon-crazy remix of ??€?Let Me Show You??€?) was to be his last for a long time, as retired from the rap game a few years later before landing a spot as a council member in his hometown of New Jersey. By 1992, fellow NJ residents Double XX Posse made comment that Rob hadn??€�t really represented Jersey to the fullest, and suggested that he had given up on the rap game too easily. It wasn??€�t until 1996 that he would return with a single called ??€?Let Me Know Something??€?/??€?Know Ya Place??€?, which was musically bland without any input from the 45 King but was not without it??€�s moments vocally. He??€�s also popped-up on the Put The Funk Out There bootleg and the King??€�s Cat Jams in recent times, sinding a little raspy but still bringing it regardless.
Chill Rob G - Chillin' [Wild Pitch, 1988]
Chill Rob G - Let The Words Flow [Wild Pitch, 1989]
Chill Rob G - DJ Red Alert Intro [DJ Red Alert??€�s We Can Do This, Next Plateau, 1988]
Videos:
"Court Is Now In Session":
( <- Click! )"Let Me Show You (Remix)":
( <- Click! )1. There was a also a promo-only remix for this song by Cutfather & Soulshock.
2. The original one from Sydney, Australia.
you just never know when you're living in a golden age.
Skinny Boys - Weightless Album Review
Nineteen eighty six was a good year for rap, but also an awkward one. Fresh ideas seemed to be drying-up as everyone realised there was only so many times you could replay the theme to Gilligan??€�s Island over a drum machine beat before people would get sick of it. Shout Rap was starting to sound a little tired compared to the intricate rhymes of T La Rock and the stylish tough talk of Just-Ice, but it would be another twelve months until Criminal Minded would rewrite the rules of the game. Schoolly D had damn-near perfected the art of sparse, abrasive drum machine assaults, but this debut from Connecticut??€�s Skinny Boys demonstrated that there was still some life left in the bare-bones sound.
Combining TR-909 programming with loud turntable stabs of noise and a whole lotta human beatboxing, Shockin??€� Shaun and Jockbox rocked vocal routines with the gusto you??€�d expect from a late-night house party set. Weightless stands the test of time as a testament to the sound of hardcore rap, as twenty years later it still has the capacity to smash speakers and upset your neighbours when played at inappropriate volumes.
The keyboards on tracks like ??€?Weightless??€? might sound ancient, but the scratch-heavy ??€?Unity??€? and the guitar-shredding ??€?Rip The Cut??€? and ??€?Feed Us The Beat??€? sound better than ever compared to the smoothed-out sounds of recent years. ??€?Jock Box??€? is a quality showcase of mid-school beatboxing, while ??€?Awesome??€? is just that. I spoke to the crew recently and they explained that their management screwed them over royally, so they hardly saw a cent from this album and didn??€�t even know that it had been reissued until I mentioned the fact, but it doesn??€�t alter the fact that this is a fine example raw rap designed for your boom box - fuck the radio.
Skinny Boys - Feed Us The Beat [Weightless, Warlock, 1986] Reissued by Traffic Entertainment, 2006.
Nineteen eighty six was a good year for rap, but also an awkward one. Fresh ideas seemed to be drying-up as everyone realised there was only so many times you could replay the theme to Gilligan??€�s Island over a drum machine beat before people would get sick of it. Shout Rap was starting to sound a little tired compared to the intricate rhymes of T La Rock and the stylish tough talk of Just-Ice, but it would be another twelve months until Criminal Minded would rewrite the rules of the game. Schoolly D had damn-near perfected the art of sparse, abrasive drum machine assaults, but this debut from Connecticut??€�s Skinny Boys demonstrated that there was still some life left in the bare-bones sound.
Combining TR-909 programming with loud turntable stabs of noise and a whole lotta human beatboxing, Shockin??€� Shaun and Jockbox rocked vocal routines with the gusto you??€�d expect from a late-night house party set. Weightless stands the test of time as a testament to the sound of hardcore rap, as twenty years later it still has the capacity to smash speakers and upset your neighbours when played at inappropriate volumes.
The keyboards on tracks like ??€?Weightless??€? might sound ancient, but the scratch-heavy ??€?Unity??€? and the guitar-shredding ??€?Rip The Cut??€? and ??€?Feed Us The Beat??€? sound better than ever compared to the smoothed-out sounds of recent years. ??€?Jock Box??€? is a quality showcase of mid-school beatboxing, while ??€?Awesome??€? is just that. I spoke to the crew recently and they explained that their management screwed them over royally, so they hardly saw a cent from this album and didn??€�t even know that it had been reissued until I mentioned the fact, but it doesn??€�t alter the fact that this is a fine example raw rap designed for your boom box - fuck the radio.
Skinny Boys - Feed Us The Beat [Weightless, Warlock, 1986] Reissued by Traffic Entertainment, 2006.
you just never know when you're living in a golden age.
K-Def - Willie Boo Boo Album Review + Giveaway
From his days rolling with Marley Marl to his memorable work with his own group Real Live, K-Def has continued to stay ahead of the pack with his diverse range of beats. Most recently he laced some of the best cuts from Theodore Unit??€�s 718, as well as contributing ??€?It??€�s Over??€? and all of the skits with beats for The Pretty Toney Album, but a few months ago he released a full-length beat album called ??€?Willie Boo Boo - The Fool??€?, which I??€�m pleased to report sets a new standard for ??€?instrumental hip-hop??€?.
Instead of your standard ??€?twelve five-minute beats??€? type of records, K laces it together like a mix tape, complete with cuts, drops from comedy albums, movies and all that good stuff to keep the story moving, but the thing that makes it stand out is that in the process he runs through a selection of around forty original tracks!
What really makes this thing win is the sheer variety of the styles and moods for the beats served-up on here, as both unused breaks and previously unearthed records get flipped correctly. Everything from uptempo joints to eerie creepers to laid-back lounging-type material is on here, so you know this isn??€�t one of those beat tapes that have you??€�ll snoozing behind the wheel. To cut to the chase, this the first album from 2006 that??€�s still getting play after two weeks, which is about as high as a recommendation as I can give these days.
Out now on CD and vinyl through Ghetto Man Beats / Red Line Music
K-Def's Flash Site
K-Def @ Myspace
You can catch LP snippets at the MySpace page, so I thought I might hit you with one of my favourite old K-Def productions - ??€?Ain??€�t No Love??€?. Much like the rest of The Turnaround album, the beat for this selection took the cinematic sound to new heights - no one was really killing strings like this in ??€?96. Sorry Jay, your version sucked.
Real Live - Ain't No Love [The Turnaround, Big Beat, 1996]
From his days rolling with Marley Marl to his memorable work with his own group Real Live, K-Def has continued to stay ahead of the pack with his diverse range of beats. Most recently he laced some of the best cuts from Theodore Unit??€�s 718, as well as contributing ??€?It??€�s Over??€? and all of the skits with beats for The Pretty Toney Album, but a few months ago he released a full-length beat album called ??€?Willie Boo Boo - The Fool??€?, which I??€�m pleased to report sets a new standard for ??€?instrumental hip-hop??€?.
Instead of your standard ??€?twelve five-minute beats??€? type of records, K laces it together like a mix tape, complete with cuts, drops from comedy albums, movies and all that good stuff to keep the story moving, but the thing that makes it stand out is that in the process he runs through a selection of around forty original tracks!
What really makes this thing win is the sheer variety of the styles and moods for the beats served-up on here, as both unused breaks and previously unearthed records get flipped correctly. Everything from uptempo joints to eerie creepers to laid-back lounging-type material is on here, so you know this isn??€�t one of those beat tapes that have you??€�ll snoozing behind the wheel. To cut to the chase, this the first album from 2006 that??€�s still getting play after two weeks, which is about as high as a recommendation as I can give these days.
Out now on CD and vinyl through Ghetto Man Beats / Red Line Music
K-Def's Flash Site
K-Def @ Myspace
You can catch LP snippets at the MySpace page, so I thought I might hit you with one of my favourite old K-Def productions - ??€?Ain??€�t No Love??€?. Much like the rest of The Turnaround album, the beat for this selection took the cinematic sound to new heights - no one was really killing strings like this in ??€?96. Sorry Jay, your version sucked.
Real Live - Ain't No Love [The Turnaround, Big Beat, 1996]
you just never know when you're living in a golden age.
Xtra-p and OC on Stretch Armstrong, Nov '93
To my mind, there are two incarnations OC - the humble vocabulary-spill expert who used to roll with Organized Konfusion and gave us Word…Life, and the flashy, show-off O who simplified his advanced vocal techniques so as not to scare off the broads at the bar. Confused?
Compare this:
Large Professor and OC - Live on The Stretch Armstrong Show, Nov '93 [Freestyle Frenzy Vol. 1, Dolo, 1994]
to this:
( <- Click! )
Dude could still rap his ass off but it just wasn't the same.
To my mind, there are two incarnations OC - the humble vocabulary-spill expert who used to roll with Organized Konfusion and gave us Word…Life, and the flashy, show-off O who simplified his advanced vocal techniques so as not to scare off the broads at the bar. Confused?
Compare this:
Large Professor and OC - Live on The Stretch Armstrong Show, Nov '93 [Freestyle Frenzy Vol. 1, Dolo, 1994]
to this:
( <- Click! )Dude could still rap his ass off but it just wasn't the same.
you just never know when you're living in a golden age.
The Other Ultimate Force?
Another abrasive, scratch-heavy Shout Rap track? Why not. As Chilly B-Ware and G-Supreme declare, DJ R is �the quickest of the quick - anytime of the night!�. Not to be confused with the Ultimate Force that Diamond D started off with, these guys do a pretty good job of bigging-up their DJ while at the same time warning sucker MC’s not to test: I definitely am a gangster, I’m the hardest not softest/ a wanted poster of me in the local post office!
Don’t know much about this crew, but I’ve got an EP on the same label from some other kids. More importantly, this was a good excuse to rock my new Numark portable, which is a lot quicker to set-up than the 1200, and should result in a lot more old vinyl getting featured up in here, and in theory I can now bump my collection of Cold Chillin" 7 inch’s at the local park bench thanks to the battery feature… finally I can impress those winos!
The Ultimate Force - Cuts Like These [Hip-Hop Records, 1986]
Another abrasive, scratch-heavy Shout Rap track? Why not. As Chilly B-Ware and G-Supreme declare, DJ R is �the quickest of the quick - anytime of the night!�. Not to be confused with the Ultimate Force that Diamond D started off with, these guys do a pretty good job of bigging-up their DJ while at the same time warning sucker MC’s not to test: I definitely am a gangster, I’m the hardest not softest/ a wanted poster of me in the local post office!
Don’t know much about this crew, but I’ve got an EP on the same label from some other kids. More importantly, this was a good excuse to rock my new Numark portable, which is a lot quicker to set-up than the 1200, and should result in a lot more old vinyl getting featured up in here, and in theory I can now bump my collection of Cold Chillin" 7 inch’s at the local park bench thanks to the battery feature… finally I can impress those winos!
The Ultimate Force - Cuts Like These [Hip-Hop Records, 1986]
you just never know when you're living in a golden age.
Lord Alibaski - The Top Gun
In terms of being low profile, Lord Alibaski would have to be the most elusive Flavor Unit member/affiliate. I’ve never read so much as a paragraph about him in a magazine, seen a picture of him - nothing! All I can tell you is that he featured heavily on original issue of The 45 King Presents The Flavor Unit LP, contributing four solo shots and a verse on the posse cut. When the album was repackaged as Queen Latifah and the Original Flavor Unit in 1996, three of Alibaski’s songs were removed for some reason. 45 King has previously stated that most of the songs off this album were old demos - and it’s that raw, basement flavor sound that makes these songs so great. No over-produced dramatics here, just dope loops and drum breaks. Alibaski flexes the trademark Flavor U style - combining a dominant, deep-voiced delivery with a variety of flow patterns and an accomplished braggadocio technique.
Lord Alibaski - Top Gun [The 45 King Presents The Flavor Unit, Tuff City, 1990]
Lord Alibaski - Crunch Time [The 45 King Presents The Flavor Unit, Tuff City, 1990] [1]
Lord Alibaski - What It Takes To Be A Rapper [The 45 King Presents The Flavor Unit, Tuff City, 1990]
1. 1. Produced by The Mighty Maestro.
In terms of being low profile, Lord Alibaski would have to be the most elusive Flavor Unit member/affiliate. I’ve never read so much as a paragraph about him in a magazine, seen a picture of him - nothing! All I can tell you is that he featured heavily on original issue of The 45 King Presents The Flavor Unit LP, contributing four solo shots and a verse on the posse cut. When the album was repackaged as Queen Latifah and the Original Flavor Unit in 1996, three of Alibaski’s songs were removed for some reason. 45 King has previously stated that most of the songs off this album were old demos - and it’s that raw, basement flavor sound that makes these songs so great. No over-produced dramatics here, just dope loops and drum breaks. Alibaski flexes the trademark Flavor U style - combining a dominant, deep-voiced delivery with a variety of flow patterns and an accomplished braggadocio technique.
Lord Alibaski - Top Gun [The 45 King Presents The Flavor Unit, Tuff City, 1990]
Lord Alibaski - Crunch Time [The 45 King Presents The Flavor Unit, Tuff City, 1990] [1]
Lord Alibaski - What It Takes To Be A Rapper [The 45 King Presents The Flavor Unit, Tuff City, 1990]
1. 1. Produced by The Mighty Maestro.
you just never know when you're living in a golden age.
DJ Afrika Bambaata premiered Da Common Cauze debut single
"The Last Shall Be First" on his radio show � True School� at WHCR
On September 20,2006 DJ Afrika Bambaata premiered Da Common Cauze debut single The Last Shall Be First on his radio show " True School" at WHCR. Bambaata is the second Hip Hop pioneer to endorse Da Common Cauze.
The First being DJ Kool Herc himself at the Advanced Music Seminar, held this past summer at the Pennsylvania hotel in New York City. It was one of the best music events of the summer. Mrs. Emani P. Taylor Esq, put the Seminar together, and she did an excellent job of putting together a roster of top entertainment people for the three-day event. We are talking about Sharon L. McPherson Esq, Deron Tucker Esq, Bert Padell, Jay Hamilton, Maria Davis and Dj Kool Herc just to name a few. This was a three-day crash course on the music industry from the people who make the deals. Everyone from record label executives, A&R's, record producers, studio managers were present.
Da Common Cauze a hip hop duo from the Bronx, NY were the first artist that Allout recording & entertainment CEO Mark " Gangsta" King signed to the label In hopes of putting the Bronx and Harlem back on the Hip Hop map. Da Common Cauze first single" The Last Shall Be First" has been given rave reviews from music industry insiders. Most notably Ray Roberts of RCI Music Promotions "WE CONSIDER THIS PARTICULAR SONG VERY CHART WORTHY AND VERY COMMERCIAL.WE BELIEVE THAT THIS PRODUCT WILL EXCEED IN SALES 10,000 UNITS AT THE LEAST."
Da Common Cauze has 5 tracks on the soon to be released Allout Compilation Hostile Takeover cd. Slated for early 2007. K-Dash A.K.A. Kotic of Da Common Cauze solo single "Da Bronx" is slated for late 2006. It's the ultimate Bronx anthem so put your X up in the air, the Bronx is about to make a big comeback.
Slideshow with pictures taken on the WCHR "True School" radio show over their latest single
"The Last Shall Be First" on his radio show � True School� at WHCR
On September 20,2006 DJ Afrika Bambaata premiered Da Common Cauze debut single The Last Shall Be First on his radio show " True School" at WHCR. Bambaata is the second Hip Hop pioneer to endorse Da Common Cauze.
The First being DJ Kool Herc himself at the Advanced Music Seminar, held this past summer at the Pennsylvania hotel in New York City. It was one of the best music events of the summer. Mrs. Emani P. Taylor Esq, put the Seminar together, and she did an excellent job of putting together a roster of top entertainment people for the three-day event. We are talking about Sharon L. McPherson Esq, Deron Tucker Esq, Bert Padell, Jay Hamilton, Maria Davis and Dj Kool Herc just to name a few. This was a three-day crash course on the music industry from the people who make the deals. Everyone from record label executives, A&R's, record producers, studio managers were present.
Da Common Cauze a hip hop duo from the Bronx, NY were the first artist that Allout recording & entertainment CEO Mark " Gangsta" King signed to the label In hopes of putting the Bronx and Harlem back on the Hip Hop map. Da Common Cauze first single" The Last Shall Be First" has been given rave reviews from music industry insiders. Most notably Ray Roberts of RCI Music Promotions "WE CONSIDER THIS PARTICULAR SONG VERY CHART WORTHY AND VERY COMMERCIAL.WE BELIEVE THAT THIS PRODUCT WILL EXCEED IN SALES 10,000 UNITS AT THE LEAST."
Da Common Cauze has 5 tracks on the soon to be released Allout Compilation Hostile Takeover cd. Slated for early 2007. K-Dash A.K.A. Kotic of Da Common Cauze solo single "Da Bronx" is slated for late 2006. It's the ultimate Bronx anthem so put your X up in the air, the Bronx is about to make a big comeback.
Slideshow with pictures taken on the WCHR "True School" radio show over their latest single
Sadat X - Black October Album Review
Tuesday October 10th 2006, rating: 3 Becks
Sure, I was going to review this weeks ago but I wanted to wait until I could rock it in the whip to get a true appreciation. The verdict? Not great, but not a complete waste of time either. Although it lacks that finished touch due to it being a rushed product as a result of Sadat’s impending incarceration, I’d still rather hear this than most of the other albums that I’ve had to endure lately.
That being said, there’s ususally an element that detracts from a lot of the tracks, whether it be an awful chorus (�Chosen Few�), poor production (�Who�) or unnecessary sequel (�The Post�). There are some bright spots though, as The Beatminerz contribute an unusual yet enjoyable beat and the one and only Greg N-I-C-E makes a welcome return. There are also a couple of hidden tracks, one of them being �Why? (Lesbian)�, which is a classic Sadat record from a couple of years ago that never got a proper issue, as he takes on the role of a character who’s trying to prevent a broad seducing his girl! It’s these kind of original concepts that keep the X Man relevent after such a long tour of duty in the rap game. The title track with DJ Spinna is also noteworthy, as X gives us a suprisingly honest account of preparing himself for jail.
For loyal fans this is still worth checking out, but if Education & Experience didn’t move you then this project will do little to change your mind, for although Black October is miles ahead of something like Behind Bars, it’s no Wild Cowboys either.
Tuesday October 10th 2006, rating: 3 Becks
Sure, I was going to review this weeks ago but I wanted to wait until I could rock it in the whip to get a true appreciation. The verdict? Not great, but not a complete waste of time either. Although it lacks that finished touch due to it being a rushed product as a result of Sadat’s impending incarceration, I’d still rather hear this than most of the other albums that I’ve had to endure lately.
That being said, there’s ususally an element that detracts from a lot of the tracks, whether it be an awful chorus (�Chosen Few�), poor production (�Who�) or unnecessary sequel (�The Post�). There are some bright spots though, as The Beatminerz contribute an unusual yet enjoyable beat and the one and only Greg N-I-C-E makes a welcome return. There are also a couple of hidden tracks, one of them being �Why? (Lesbian)�, which is a classic Sadat record from a couple of years ago that never got a proper issue, as he takes on the role of a character who’s trying to prevent a broad seducing his girl! It’s these kind of original concepts that keep the X Man relevent after such a long tour of duty in the rap game. The title track with DJ Spinna is also noteworthy, as X gives us a suprisingly honest account of preparing himself for jail.
For loyal fans this is still worth checking out, but if Education & Experience didn’t move you then this project will do little to change your mind, for although Black October is miles ahead of something like Behind Bars, it’s no Wild Cowboys either.
you just never know when you're living in a golden age.
The Kenny Parker Show - Part 1
- Tuesday, September 26th, 2006
KRS-One’s younger brother and long time BDP producer/DJ Kenny Parker recently provided a first-person perspective of what happened at the PM Dawn bumrush from BDP’s perspective:
Robbie: You guys must have felt like Prince Be deserved to get his ass kicked?
Kenny Parker: Actually, it didn’t start out that way. The plan wasn’t to attack Prince Be at all. The climate at that time…we had just finished doing the Sex & Violence album, and over the past year, year and a half before that, people had been taking little subliminal shots at Kris. No one came out like �KRS - you suck!�, nobody really came out like that.
Ice Cube had that little comment.
Yeah, that really started the whole thing, when Ice Cube said, �Some rappers are heaven sent/but Self Destruction don’t pay the fuckin’ rent!� That line kinda pissed Kris off. �Self Destruction� was his baby - the concept, gettin’ all the rappers together - the whole thing was his baby, and Ice Cube just came out and dissed. Later, Ice Cube came out and said he ain’t really mean it like Kris took it. I don’t really know what other way he coulda meant, but that’s what he said.
He might’ve just meant that positive records don’t sell. It’s hard to say though, in retrospect.
In retrospect, I’m gonna say �whatever� to his answer. He also said on his first album: �I’m not a rebel or a renegade or none of that crap, I’m a N-I-double-G-A�, and everyone knows Kris says �Rebel, renegade, must stay paid�. So you hear all stuff like that and you’re like �OK, this guys dissin’�, but Kris didn’t really…I remember him being a little pissed, but he didn’t really say �I’m gonna answer Ice Cube�…actually, you know what? That’s a lie. We started doing a song about, say, Ice Cube, a response to that, but we never finished it. It was one of those spur-of-the-moment things and then it was like �Ah, this is wack. You know what? Forget this�. Now moving along, then X-Clan made �Fire and Earth�.
Where they were talking about �We’re not down with the humanists�.
Yeah, and that’s around the same time that Kris was coming out with Human Education Against Lies, that was his new thing. �I’m a humanist� - that was his new stance, and X-Clan thought that he was a sell-out. So that little subliminal thing was going on too. Aight, cool. So dude’s are sayin’ their little somethin’, whatever. So Kris went and made �Build and Destroy�. That song was absolutely an answer to X-Clan. So then when Kris was doin’ a interview, he heard about PM Dawn. A writer say �So how do you feel about PM Dawn dissin’ you?� and he was like �I don’t know what you talking about�. The guy repeated what he said in the article, so Kris was like �Damn! Now I got a dude like PM Dawn tryin’ to diss me! And he said my name! What’s goin’ on? OK, now I’m gettin’ pissed off�.
So now that was the climate. It just so happens that maybe two weeks or a week after he heard this, I found this flyer at some party, and it was the MTV party. I think it was Leaders of the New School, Nice & Smooth, Supercat and PM Dawn, and I think somebody else was on the bill. And I came to Kris with the flyer, we were in the studio, and I said, �Yo, PM Dawn got this show!� So he was like �You know what? I’m gonna go there and I’m gonna challenge him right there on stage. I’mma throw on a couple of my records, hype up the crowd, them I’mma challenge him to battle me right there.� That was the initial mindset. �I’m gonna go up there, and I’m gonna be like �KRS One’s a teacher, a teacher of what?’ I’m gonna show you right now�, and that’s that. That was the initial mindset that we talked about - me, Kris and Willie D. The show was five days later, so we was like OK, some of us is gonna go down to the place and we was gonna meet a couple of other people, and we was gonna go in. So I think the initial people that went down there - Freddie Foxx was supposed to meet us, but he never showed up - it was me, it was Kris, it was Willie D, it was ICU, it was Just-Ice. I don’t remember if K-Def was there, but I know Larry-O was there - I’m gonna say both of �em were there, but I’m sure Larry-O was there.
So we initially got there - there was, say, nine of us - initially went to the club. Now Kool Kim was sayin’ twenty dudes came on stage with all hoodies and black shirts on. It wasn’t even that organised, like we were all gonna wear the same clothes or whatever. We just hooked-up and we went. Kris actually had a hoody on that day, ’cause I remember he came in the club - we came in there early - and Kris doesn’t usually hang out in clubs unless he’s trying to get on and rock - so for him to just come to a club and hang-out was out of his norm. I remember he came there, we sat in the corner by the stage and he had a hood over his head and he was just chillin’. We chilled there for about two hours.
Was he wearing the hood so no one would recognize him?
Yeah, he was tryin’ to be on the low. We was just chillin’ there with the crowd, but you couldn’t really see him. But the stupidity was, I was just there chillin’! So people that knew me, they’d be looking to see Kris! [laughs] So it was really stupid, that was the stupidity. A couple of guys we knew were in there and they’re like �Yo Kris, what’s goin’ on?� and he’s like �Yo, PM Dawn tried to diss me! I’m gonna run-up on his set�, so they was like �OK, we’re down�. So now nine or ten became fifteen. Then we saw Naughty By Nature - Treach and �em - and we was like �We’re gonna run-up on stage�, so of course Treach is down, and of course they was deep as hell, so now fifteen becomes twenty-five! I’m not gonna say Naughty was down with us to rush PM Dawn, but if Kris is like �Yo, I’m goin’ on stage, it’s about to happen�, then Treach is like �Whatever, I’m wit’chu�. That’s how I recall it, I don’t wanna put words in Treach’s mouth. And Latifah was there too.
So we had two plans. The first plan involved me - to get control of the DJ both. â€?By any means necessary - Kenny, you get control of the boothâ€?. That was it, that was the only real plan we had. And Kris says â€?When I get the mic, you throw on â€?Still #1′â€?. So that was the plan. So I had a couple of guys with me, we went to the DJ booth around twenty minutes before PM Dawn was meant to go on. I had never even seen him, I didn’t even know he was in the place. Clark Kent was deejaying, so I went up there and I said to Clark: â€?In about ten minutes I’m gonna need the turntables for a secondâ€?, and he was kinda reluctant. I guess he thought like I was tryin’ to get on his set - like he was the DJ for the night and because it was a packed crowd, I just wanted to get on. He had a look like â€?C’mon man, I’m deejayin’ up here!â€? So I was like â€?Look, something’s about to happen, Kris is about to run on stage. I need to be set-up and I need to be ready.â€? He was like â€?Aight, coolâ€?, and he wasn’t deejayin’ at that moment ’cause there was shows goin’ on. So we chilled. I think Leaders went on first, then there was a break and I’m like â€?Is PM Dawn goin’ on?â€? Then PM Dawn comes on stage and starts doin’ his show - and nothing happens! So I’m like â€?Aww man, Kris backed-out. He’s not gonna do itâ€?. I remember I had â€?Still #1″ on a big acetate, ’cause there was no instrumental of â€?Still #1″ on wax. It’s really hard to cue-up those acetates - I had to keep checking to see if it was ready, ’cause you have to really move it to get it started. In my mind I’m like â€?Yo, this acetate is gettin’ on my nerves! What is Kris doin? Is he gonna do it? What’s goin’ on?â€?
Then all of a sudden, â€?Set Adrift On Memory Blissâ€? comes on, and PM Dawn starts doin’ his thing, and then you see Kris comin’ up - there was like a ramp comin’ up the stage - and you see people comin’ up the stage, so I start cuing up. Now let me say this - Kris actually never hit PM Dawn. I think that’s like a big misconception. The guy who actually did - I’m not gonna repeat his name - but there was one guy in our crew, his attitude was like â€?I’m wylin’ out!â€?. Right when we came in the club, he said to Kris â€?Whatever happens Kris, make sure you bail me outâ€?, and we all started laughin’. So they rushed the stage, and PM Dawn’s music…he had a DJ up there, but the music wasn’t on his turntables - it was on a DAT - coming from somewhere else, maybe the side of the stage. So Kool Kim said he heard a â€?Rrrrrippp!â€? and the music go off - that’s not what happened, he wasn’t even on turntables! So that’s not true either. So this guy with us takes the record off the turntable and smashes it, but the music is still playin’. I guess whoever saw what was goin’ on stopped the DAT. PM Dawn had some girl dancers up there - this guy pushes one of the dancers into the crowd - hard! And I remember she tried to sue Kris a few months after that. While this guy’s doin’ this, Kris comes up. PM Dawn is not knowin’ what’s goin’ on - imagine, he’s in show mode and his music stops - and Kris grabs the microphone, so they both have it. Like a tug-of-war for a second, and then Kris pushes him and takes the microphone in his hand. Right at the same time, the guy who pushed the girl into the crowd punches PM Dawn in his face - POW! Then he punches him again - POW! In the face, twice. Then, if I recall, Just-Ice pushed him off [the stage] and Prince Be fell into the crowd. I don’t remember dudes jumping him and beating him up. The crowd in the front backed-up when he fell - you couldn’t really see what was goin’ on, it looked like a robbery. Then Kris has the mic and he goes â€?BDP is in the motherfuckin’ house!â€? and then everybody was like â€?Hooo!â€?, the whole crowd was like that, and right at that moment I threw on â€?Still #1″ [does the horn part]. It was over! People was jumping up and down and they was goin’ crazy and screamin’…it was like a riot!
Clark Kent turned to me and he said �Yo, that’s the greatest thing I ever seen in my life!� Where I’m at is across the room, upstairs on the second level, looking down. That’s how the DJ booth was set-up. When Clark Kent said that, I remember bending down to get �The Bridge Is Over� out of my bag, and when I came to cue it up, Clark Kent had already left the DJ booth, went downstairs and ran across the crowd to climb up on stage! I think Queen Latifah was on top of a speaker, just whylin’ out. Everybody was goin’ crazy. So I threw on �The Bridge Is Over�, and then Kris was - Kris was supposed to rhyme, too! If I threw on the song, he was supposed to do the rhyme! But it was just so wild that he never even rhymed! He was just goin’ �Jump! Jump!� and everybody was just goin’ crazy. All I remember him doin’ was �The Dawn is over, the Dawn is over!�, like that. I think the third record I threw on was �Duck Down�. That hadn’t even had a video or nuttin’, I think that was really new when I threw it on. Kris was just talkin’ shit. He was goin’ �What?! What?! Anybody that try to diss BDP! What?!� He wasn’t even rhymin’! I remember seeing T-Money, it was his party, and he was up up stage, jumping around. The stage was packed now! The wack part was that later on, when all the flack came, T-Money was like �Ahh, man, that was bullshit. Kris messed-up my party!� I knew that he worked for MTV at the time, but I thought that was bullshit that he said that, ’cause I saw him goin’ crazy on stage.
So out of the corner of my eye, I saw security come rushing in, onto the left side, but then when they saw it was Kris and they saw it was like a party-like atmosphere, they just stopped - they was just looking. I guess they thought something happened, but when they ran in it was like a show, almost. Now Kool Kim said that PM Dawn was rocking the party? Let me set the scene for you real quick - this is a party with LONS, Nice & Smooth and Supercat - now a party that those people would be rocking…PM Dawn wouldn’t rock in that setting. His record might’ve been number one in the country at that moment, but in that setting I don’t think he was rocking. What happened was, there was a lot of record company people there from Island. When he came out, they was clapping. His people were clapping, but it wasn’t like the whole crowd was lovin’ him ’cause it wasn’t that type of crowd. Actually, Clark Kent was playing some new Das-EFX stuff on a reel-to-reel. When I went up to the booth I asked him what he was playin’, and he said, �This is my group, Das-EFX�. It wasn’t �They Want EFX�, it was somethin’ else, actually I think it was somethin’ that wasn’t on the album. So in a place where you’re playin’ Das-EFX reel-to-reels and Leaders of the New School is performing, I just don’t see PM Dawn ripping like Kool Kim said. I saw a handful of people that looked like record company reps there that was rockin’, but there was like a thousand people there! It wasn’t all those people rocking to PM Dawn. I’m gonna say �No� to that.
After all this happens, Kris rushes out. Kris is gone. He told his wife �When I go up on stage, bring the car ’round, so as soon as I leave out the building I can jump in the car�. But somehow she didn’t leave off the stage until after he was already rocking, so she was late bringing the car ’round. So when I came outside it was just me and another guy. She was all upset, goin’ �Where’s Kris?� and I’m goin’ �I don’t know, he was supposed to be with you!� So she was like �You gotta go back in there and look for him�. The crowd was so wild that they started fighting amongst themselves - that part that Kool Kim said was true - they was so wild, it looked like you could throw raw meat out there. They were so savage…like somehow they just turned on each other and started fighting! When she said �Go back in� I was like �Go back in? Oh my god!� So I go back in the party, it’s a mess. There’s no more music, it was like a riot to me. I saw the Awesome Two - Teddy Ted and Special K - and they looked at me and they was like �Yo, are you alright?� and I’m like �Yeah, I’m fine! I’m cool!�
After that, I didn’t see Kris, I left and we went back to a meeting spot where we were always gonna meet-up, on Christopher Street somewhere, in the Village where he used to live. When I got there, he was outside talkin’ to Just-Ice and they was all laughing. So we got in the car and we went to his house in Jersey. It was just me and him after this whole thing, and we was up half the night, just talkin’ about it. It was like �Can you believe how wild it got?� It wasn’t even supposed to be that, but it just became that. I think it was just a classic case of �entourage gone wild�. [laughs] Ultimately, Kris is responsible because it is his people, and he is the absolute leader. Everybody follows what he says and does, in our crew at that time. But they just blacked-out. When they just got up there and started, they was just outta control. They just took it upon themselves. I’m not tryin’ to defend Kris, but he actually didn’t hit him! Kool Kim said he took the microphone and was hittin’ him on the head and you could hear it through the speakers - that’s bullshit. That absolutely did not happen. He just had the mic in his hand. the people that was really involved was KRS, Just-Ice, maybe ICU and this other guy. Those four guys were absolutely involved, and everybody else was just up there.
Boogie Down Productions - The Kenny Parker Show [Edutainment, Jive, 1990]
Look out for Part 2, where Kenny discusses the fall-out KRS suffered as a result of this incident, plus I picked his brain for some BDP trivia.
- Tuesday, September 26th, 2006
KRS-One’s younger brother and long time BDP producer/DJ Kenny Parker recently provided a first-person perspective of what happened at the PM Dawn bumrush from BDP’s perspective:
Robbie: You guys must have felt like Prince Be deserved to get his ass kicked?
Kenny Parker: Actually, it didn’t start out that way. The plan wasn’t to attack Prince Be at all. The climate at that time…we had just finished doing the Sex & Violence album, and over the past year, year and a half before that, people had been taking little subliminal shots at Kris. No one came out like �KRS - you suck!�, nobody really came out like that.
Ice Cube had that little comment.
Yeah, that really started the whole thing, when Ice Cube said, �Some rappers are heaven sent/but Self Destruction don’t pay the fuckin’ rent!� That line kinda pissed Kris off. �Self Destruction� was his baby - the concept, gettin’ all the rappers together - the whole thing was his baby, and Ice Cube just came out and dissed. Later, Ice Cube came out and said he ain’t really mean it like Kris took it. I don’t really know what other way he coulda meant, but that’s what he said.
He might’ve just meant that positive records don’t sell. It’s hard to say though, in retrospect.
In retrospect, I’m gonna say �whatever� to his answer. He also said on his first album: �I’m not a rebel or a renegade or none of that crap, I’m a N-I-double-G-A�, and everyone knows Kris says �Rebel, renegade, must stay paid�. So you hear all stuff like that and you’re like �OK, this guys dissin’�, but Kris didn’t really…I remember him being a little pissed, but he didn’t really say �I’m gonna answer Ice Cube�…actually, you know what? That’s a lie. We started doing a song about, say, Ice Cube, a response to that, but we never finished it. It was one of those spur-of-the-moment things and then it was like �Ah, this is wack. You know what? Forget this�. Now moving along, then X-Clan made �Fire and Earth�.
Where they were talking about �We’re not down with the humanists�.
Yeah, and that’s around the same time that Kris was coming out with Human Education Against Lies, that was his new thing. �I’m a humanist� - that was his new stance, and X-Clan thought that he was a sell-out. So that little subliminal thing was going on too. Aight, cool. So dude’s are sayin’ their little somethin’, whatever. So Kris went and made �Build and Destroy�. That song was absolutely an answer to X-Clan. So then when Kris was doin’ a interview, he heard about PM Dawn. A writer say �So how do you feel about PM Dawn dissin’ you?� and he was like �I don’t know what you talking about�. The guy repeated what he said in the article, so Kris was like �Damn! Now I got a dude like PM Dawn tryin’ to diss me! And he said my name! What’s goin’ on? OK, now I’m gettin’ pissed off�.
So now that was the climate. It just so happens that maybe two weeks or a week after he heard this, I found this flyer at some party, and it was the MTV party. I think it was Leaders of the New School, Nice & Smooth, Supercat and PM Dawn, and I think somebody else was on the bill. And I came to Kris with the flyer, we were in the studio, and I said, �Yo, PM Dawn got this show!� So he was like �You know what? I’m gonna go there and I’m gonna challenge him right there on stage. I’mma throw on a couple of my records, hype up the crowd, them I’mma challenge him to battle me right there.� That was the initial mindset. �I’m gonna go up there, and I’m gonna be like �KRS One’s a teacher, a teacher of what?’ I’m gonna show you right now�, and that’s that. That was the initial mindset that we talked about - me, Kris and Willie D. The show was five days later, so we was like OK, some of us is gonna go down to the place and we was gonna meet a couple of other people, and we was gonna go in. So I think the initial people that went down there - Freddie Foxx was supposed to meet us, but he never showed up - it was me, it was Kris, it was Willie D, it was ICU, it was Just-Ice. I don’t remember if K-Def was there, but I know Larry-O was there - I’m gonna say both of �em were there, but I’m sure Larry-O was there.
So we initially got there - there was, say, nine of us - initially went to the club. Now Kool Kim was sayin’ twenty dudes came on stage with all hoodies and black shirts on. It wasn’t even that organised, like we were all gonna wear the same clothes or whatever. We just hooked-up and we went. Kris actually had a hoody on that day, ’cause I remember he came in the club - we came in there early - and Kris doesn’t usually hang out in clubs unless he’s trying to get on and rock - so for him to just come to a club and hang-out was out of his norm. I remember he came there, we sat in the corner by the stage and he had a hood over his head and he was just chillin’. We chilled there for about two hours.
Was he wearing the hood so no one would recognize him?
Yeah, he was tryin’ to be on the low. We was just chillin’ there with the crowd, but you couldn’t really see him. But the stupidity was, I was just there chillin’! So people that knew me, they’d be looking to see Kris! [laughs] So it was really stupid, that was the stupidity. A couple of guys we knew were in there and they’re like �Yo Kris, what’s goin’ on?� and he’s like �Yo, PM Dawn tried to diss me! I’m gonna run-up on his set�, so they was like �OK, we’re down�. So now nine or ten became fifteen. Then we saw Naughty By Nature - Treach and �em - and we was like �We’re gonna run-up on stage�, so of course Treach is down, and of course they was deep as hell, so now fifteen becomes twenty-five! I’m not gonna say Naughty was down with us to rush PM Dawn, but if Kris is like �Yo, I’m goin’ on stage, it’s about to happen�, then Treach is like �Whatever, I’m wit’chu�. That’s how I recall it, I don’t wanna put words in Treach’s mouth. And Latifah was there too.
So we had two plans. The first plan involved me - to get control of the DJ both. â€?By any means necessary - Kenny, you get control of the boothâ€?. That was it, that was the only real plan we had. And Kris says â€?When I get the mic, you throw on â€?Still #1′â€?. So that was the plan. So I had a couple of guys with me, we went to the DJ booth around twenty minutes before PM Dawn was meant to go on. I had never even seen him, I didn’t even know he was in the place. Clark Kent was deejaying, so I went up there and I said to Clark: â€?In about ten minutes I’m gonna need the turntables for a secondâ€?, and he was kinda reluctant. I guess he thought like I was tryin’ to get on his set - like he was the DJ for the night and because it was a packed crowd, I just wanted to get on. He had a look like â€?C’mon man, I’m deejayin’ up here!â€? So I was like â€?Look, something’s about to happen, Kris is about to run on stage. I need to be set-up and I need to be ready.â€? He was like â€?Aight, coolâ€?, and he wasn’t deejayin’ at that moment ’cause there was shows goin’ on. So we chilled. I think Leaders went on first, then there was a break and I’m like â€?Is PM Dawn goin’ on?â€? Then PM Dawn comes on stage and starts doin’ his show - and nothing happens! So I’m like â€?Aww man, Kris backed-out. He’s not gonna do itâ€?. I remember I had â€?Still #1″ on a big acetate, ’cause there was no instrumental of â€?Still #1″ on wax. It’s really hard to cue-up those acetates - I had to keep checking to see if it was ready, ’cause you have to really move it to get it started. In my mind I’m like â€?Yo, this acetate is gettin’ on my nerves! What is Kris doin? Is he gonna do it? What’s goin’ on?â€?
Then all of a sudden, â€?Set Adrift On Memory Blissâ€? comes on, and PM Dawn starts doin’ his thing, and then you see Kris comin’ up - there was like a ramp comin’ up the stage - and you see people comin’ up the stage, so I start cuing up. Now let me say this - Kris actually never hit PM Dawn. I think that’s like a big misconception. The guy who actually did - I’m not gonna repeat his name - but there was one guy in our crew, his attitude was like â€?I’m wylin’ out!â€?. Right when we came in the club, he said to Kris â€?Whatever happens Kris, make sure you bail me outâ€?, and we all started laughin’. So they rushed the stage, and PM Dawn’s music…he had a DJ up there, but the music wasn’t on his turntables - it was on a DAT - coming from somewhere else, maybe the side of the stage. So Kool Kim said he heard a â€?Rrrrrippp!â€? and the music go off - that’s not what happened, he wasn’t even on turntables! So that’s not true either. So this guy with us takes the record off the turntable and smashes it, but the music is still playin’. I guess whoever saw what was goin’ on stopped the DAT. PM Dawn had some girl dancers up there - this guy pushes one of the dancers into the crowd - hard! And I remember she tried to sue Kris a few months after that. While this guy’s doin’ this, Kris comes up. PM Dawn is not knowin’ what’s goin’ on - imagine, he’s in show mode and his music stops - and Kris grabs the microphone, so they both have it. Like a tug-of-war for a second, and then Kris pushes him and takes the microphone in his hand. Right at the same time, the guy who pushed the girl into the crowd punches PM Dawn in his face - POW! Then he punches him again - POW! In the face, twice. Then, if I recall, Just-Ice pushed him off [the stage] and Prince Be fell into the crowd. I don’t remember dudes jumping him and beating him up. The crowd in the front backed-up when he fell - you couldn’t really see what was goin’ on, it looked like a robbery. Then Kris has the mic and he goes â€?BDP is in the motherfuckin’ house!â€? and then everybody was like â€?Hooo!â€?, the whole crowd was like that, and right at that moment I threw on â€?Still #1″ [does the horn part]. It was over! People was jumping up and down and they was goin’ crazy and screamin’…it was like a riot!
Clark Kent turned to me and he said �Yo, that’s the greatest thing I ever seen in my life!� Where I’m at is across the room, upstairs on the second level, looking down. That’s how the DJ booth was set-up. When Clark Kent said that, I remember bending down to get �The Bridge Is Over� out of my bag, and when I came to cue it up, Clark Kent had already left the DJ booth, went downstairs and ran across the crowd to climb up on stage! I think Queen Latifah was on top of a speaker, just whylin’ out. Everybody was goin’ crazy. So I threw on �The Bridge Is Over�, and then Kris was - Kris was supposed to rhyme, too! If I threw on the song, he was supposed to do the rhyme! But it was just so wild that he never even rhymed! He was just goin’ �Jump! Jump!� and everybody was just goin’ crazy. All I remember him doin’ was �The Dawn is over, the Dawn is over!�, like that. I think the third record I threw on was �Duck Down�. That hadn’t even had a video or nuttin’, I think that was really new when I threw it on. Kris was just talkin’ shit. He was goin’ �What?! What?! Anybody that try to diss BDP! What?!� He wasn’t even rhymin’! I remember seeing T-Money, it was his party, and he was up up stage, jumping around. The stage was packed now! The wack part was that later on, when all the flack came, T-Money was like �Ahh, man, that was bullshit. Kris messed-up my party!� I knew that he worked for MTV at the time, but I thought that was bullshit that he said that, ’cause I saw him goin’ crazy on stage.
So out of the corner of my eye, I saw security come rushing in, onto the left side, but then when they saw it was Kris and they saw it was like a party-like atmosphere, they just stopped - they was just looking. I guess they thought something happened, but when they ran in it was like a show, almost. Now Kool Kim said that PM Dawn was rocking the party? Let me set the scene for you real quick - this is a party with LONS, Nice & Smooth and Supercat - now a party that those people would be rocking…PM Dawn wouldn’t rock in that setting. His record might’ve been number one in the country at that moment, but in that setting I don’t think he was rocking. What happened was, there was a lot of record company people there from Island. When he came out, they was clapping. His people were clapping, but it wasn’t like the whole crowd was lovin’ him ’cause it wasn’t that type of crowd. Actually, Clark Kent was playing some new Das-EFX stuff on a reel-to-reel. When I went up to the booth I asked him what he was playin’, and he said, �This is my group, Das-EFX�. It wasn’t �They Want EFX�, it was somethin’ else, actually I think it was somethin’ that wasn’t on the album. So in a place where you’re playin’ Das-EFX reel-to-reels and Leaders of the New School is performing, I just don’t see PM Dawn ripping like Kool Kim said. I saw a handful of people that looked like record company reps there that was rockin’, but there was like a thousand people there! It wasn’t all those people rocking to PM Dawn. I’m gonna say �No� to that.
After all this happens, Kris rushes out. Kris is gone. He told his wife �When I go up on stage, bring the car ’round, so as soon as I leave out the building I can jump in the car�. But somehow she didn’t leave off the stage until after he was already rocking, so she was late bringing the car ’round. So when I came outside it was just me and another guy. She was all upset, goin’ �Where’s Kris?� and I’m goin’ �I don’t know, he was supposed to be with you!� So she was like �You gotta go back in there and look for him�. The crowd was so wild that they started fighting amongst themselves - that part that Kool Kim said was true - they was so wild, it looked like you could throw raw meat out there. They were so savage…like somehow they just turned on each other and started fighting! When she said �Go back in� I was like �Go back in? Oh my god!� So I go back in the party, it’s a mess. There’s no more music, it was like a riot to me. I saw the Awesome Two - Teddy Ted and Special K - and they looked at me and they was like �Yo, are you alright?� and I’m like �Yeah, I’m fine! I’m cool!�
After that, I didn’t see Kris, I left and we went back to a meeting spot where we were always gonna meet-up, on Christopher Street somewhere, in the Village where he used to live. When I got there, he was outside talkin’ to Just-Ice and they was all laughing. So we got in the car and we went to his house in Jersey. It was just me and him after this whole thing, and we was up half the night, just talkin’ about it. It was like �Can you believe how wild it got?� It wasn’t even supposed to be that, but it just became that. I think it was just a classic case of �entourage gone wild�. [laughs] Ultimately, Kris is responsible because it is his people, and he is the absolute leader. Everybody follows what he says and does, in our crew at that time. But they just blacked-out. When they just got up there and started, they was just outta control. They just took it upon themselves. I’m not tryin’ to defend Kris, but he actually didn’t hit him! Kool Kim said he took the microphone and was hittin’ him on the head and you could hear it through the speakers - that’s bullshit. That absolutely did not happen. He just had the mic in his hand. the people that was really involved was KRS, Just-Ice, maybe ICU and this other guy. Those four guys were absolutely involved, and everybody else was just up there.
Boogie Down Productions - The Kenny Parker Show [Edutainment, Jive, 1990]
Look out for Part 2, where Kenny discusses the fall-out KRS suffered as a result of this incident, plus I picked his brain for some BDP trivia.
you just never know when you're living in a golden age.
The Kenny Parker Show - Part 2
- Tuesday, October 03rd, 2006
Kenny Parker: So the next day, Jive Records calls up and they’re like �The press wants to talk to you, Kris. Come down to Jive�. When we got there, the mood was really somber. Everybody was upset, and I remember seeing Busta Rhymes - I guess he was there with Tribe [Called Quest], I dunno what reason Busta had to be at Jive that day, but he was there - and he was like, �Yo, you are the greatest!� He was hugging Kris, and he was shaking him so hard he was crying! Busta was crying tears, and he was hugging Kris and he was shaking him so hard that they knocked over a computer off of somebody’s desk and break it on the ground! At this point they had done �Scenario�, so I guess Jive didn’t really care, but they broke a computer that day. [chuckles] It was just the illest thing, ’cause it looked like a classic video: sucker MC’s rhymin’, super MC comes along and knocks him off and starts rhymin’. It looked like that.
Jive was like �every press in the country and overseas wants to know what happened�. It was MTV, it was all Europe press, every magazine…everybody was like �What happened? Why did you do this?� And I think that’s where the problem started. When Kris said �PM Dawn tried to diss me so I went up there and showed �em who the Teacher is�, that’s when all the backlash started. And let me say for the record - the backlash was enormously negative for him. ENORMOUS! You know how people say �All publicity is good publicity�? I’m gonna say �No� to that. I think Kris would’ve been better off saying, �Yo, I was just there and it was wack, and I was drunk and we just went up there and I just wanted to livin’ up the party!� He might’ve been better-off saying that then �PM Dawn tried to diss me so that’s why I went up there�. Because then it became: �Hold up, you’re the guy who made �Stop The Violence’. You’re a hypocrite. You’re a fraud!� And from that point on, people started saying �Kris is a hypocrite. Says one thing and does another�.
I think Kris is two kinds of MC’s. He’s a battle rapper, and he came-up battling, and he’s had a lot of numerous battles that people know about - and don’t even know about - AND he’s also a conscious rapper who tries to talk about upliftment of our race, the government, and things goin’ on. I think there’s no way you can be both without being contradictory, in my opinion. The problem Kris has had over the years is that when he starts talking about the government, about �Black man rise up�, people start saying �Yo, he’s too preachy. Edutainment was too preachy. Whatever happened to Criminal Minded? Why won’t he make �9MM’? Why won’t he rhyme like that?� Then when he makes battle records, then the �conscious� people go �Oh, he’s contradictory. How’s he talkin’ about snapping a MC’s neck? He’s supposed to be talkin’ about �Stop The Violence’!� The problem is that Kris would’ve had to leave one of those behind. Either he would’ve had to say �I’m not a battle rapper. I ain’t making those kind of records ever again�, or he would’ve had to say �I’m a battle rapper. I’m not making conscious records ever again�. Every album he has, he’ll do both. He’ll talk about things things going on in society, then he’ll make records talkin’ about how he’ll crush an MC.
I don’t have a problem with that, personally.
I don’t have a problem with it either, but in his career I’ve noticed that either which way he goes, the other side is gonna call him contradictory. That’s the price that he has to pay for being both. Knowing Kris, he really is both! He really likes battling and he write rhymes about rappers, even though he has no beef with them. He’ll just write a song about somebody and then just never use it. He’s just that kinda guy. And also he likes to talk about the government and Malcolm X - he’s that too. If you look at By All Means Necessary…that record �Stop The Violence� - everybody points to that, but on that same album on �My Philosophy�, he says �KRS-One is the kind of guy who lead a crew/right up to your face and diss you!� That’s there in clear English! No one hears that part, they just hear �stop the violence�, so if he takes a run-up with a crew they gonna say �Where that come from? He’s not like that!� when he’s tellin’ you �Yeah, I am!�
The biggest thing that hurt Kris with that PM Dawn thing is not even the incident, but it’s that Source article. That article caused us so much drama that year. The year of �92, into �93, was like �damage control year�, from that Source article.
He was callin’ out names big time in there.
Yeah, there’s two things in that article that caused us a lotta problems. One is that Kris was like �You know what? I’m tired of everybody. I’m tired of X-Clan, I’m tired of Ice Cube, I’m tired of PRT!� I don’t remember what Poor Righteous Teachers did that pissed Kris off. X-Clan I remember, and Ice Cube - I can’t remember for the life of me what Poor Righteous Teachers did! [laughs] Everyone that he mentioned in that article at some point that year tried to step up, and we had to deal with them. Also the second part that was a big thing was when Kris said �I am hip-hop�. That is the biggest polarization of his audience…and I think that’s a big misconception, because Kris says �I’m hip-hop. I’m not doing hip-hop - I am hip-hop. We ALL are hip-hop. We’re writing hip-hop as it goes along. There’s no rules! It’s not like a basketball player in the NBA and you have rules that you follow in the game. The hip-hop game - we’re writing the rules as we go along - so we ALL are hip-hop! I’m hip-hop, you’re hip-hop. We’re not doing it - we ARE it.� Even in that article he said �It’s not just me. Treach is hip-hop too.� But no one heard that part. They just heard him say �I’m hip-hop and I’m the greatest of all time!� and people was just like �This dude has lost his mind�. The funny thing was, I heard Vinny from Naughty By Nature said he was mad at that statement, and Kris said Treach was hip-hop!
He was just mad ’cause Kris didn’t say his name as well!
[laughs] Maybe! Vin is my man and I love Vinroc, but it got back to us that Vinny was mad too. Over the years a lotta people was mad. Biggie Smalls was mad over that! Biggie Smalls was like �How can KRS-One say he’s hip-hop? That’s bullshit�. But I think everyone’s missing what he was saying. Between him saying he’s hip-hop and him saying he’s stepping to the other rappers - yo, that hurt us. I think Kris lost half his audience that year. All the albums Kris had done prior to Sex and Violence went gold. At that time, Kris usually sold around 600,000 records or so, on the average. Sex and Violence sold like 300 [thousand].
Maybe that was because it was such a hardcore album - it was just raw.
I think that was part of it, but it was such a negative backlash. Every magazine you opened up: �KRS-One is a sucker. He’s a phony!�. I think a lotta people were like �You know what? Fuck him!� That whole year of �92 was damage control. Now the thing with X-Clan - that was turning into some big deal. It was getting back to us - we had mutual people that knew both camps - that �Yo, they said this� and it would go back them �Yo, Kris said this�, and it was gonna be a big deal, and Afrika Bambatta called a meeting up in Bronx River. He was like, �This is not good. I’m cool with both groups, and both of y’all are really talking about the same thing. We can’t have a divide and conquer situation going on�. So Afrika Bambatta calls us up to Bronx, and I remember that X-Clan had brought guns up there - they thought it was gonna be like an ambush or something. Willie D, who’s down with us, is president of a chapter of five in Zulu Nation, so we have a real close affiliation. So if dudes from Brooklyn is coming all the way up to Bronx River to have a meeting with some dudes that got beef that are down with Zulu Nation - they must’ve thought it was an ambush or some drama. Security that was there was saying that X-Clan had guns and the whole nine, they told �em to leave the guns outside and come inside.
I didn’t know they rolled like that.
I didn’t know they rolled like that either! So we had the meeting, and everything was squashed. By the time �Build and Destroy� came out that beef was already squashed. Kris was like �I’m down to squash the beef with X-Clan, but let me say my piece though. Then we good�. Here’s the third thing that caused us a lotta beef - he said something about the 5%ers that article too. 5%ers was furious! Kool Kim said �KRS did say nothing when 5%ers and King Sun was gonna fuck him up!� First of all - King Sun is our people from back in Latin Quarters days. We know King Sun really well. So King Sun came to one of our shows, and he was mad over the whole article and he wanted to talk to Kris about it. I don’t know if he actually got to talk to Kris, but he had a long conversation with Willie D about it. I wasn’t there at that moment, but Willie D told me after the fact that King Sun was mad, but he didn’t come there on some �Yo! I’mma punch Kris in the face!�. He came in on some �Yo, Kris. Why you say that? What’s the deal?�, and they squashed it up. But let me say, the second part is - people, you can’t just roll-up on us like that either. It’s not like �OK, I feel like punching KRS-One in the face. Here I go, I’m just going down to the show�. It wasn’t really like, because we had people with us too. You know what I mean? We had a show and a bunch of 5%ers came to our show too, and they was waitin’ outside and there was like thirty of �em, and they was mad as hell around this time too. But one of the leaders of their group knew Will - again - and they came upstairs and they talked to Kris and somehow they smoothed it out and it was all good.
All these little things were happening, week after week, after that article. I don’t know if this is true or not, but somebody told us that Lord Jamar from Brand Nubians was trying to organise all the 5%ers in hip-hop against KRS. I heard that he went to GURU, he went to Rakim, and they was like �Nah, Kris is our man. We’re not getting that deep with it�. But it was brought to our attention that Lord Jamar was trying to do this. I don’t know if it’s true or not, but it came to us like that.
So a week or so after this article comes out, Kris has a lecture in Jersey, and this is one of the first times I ever went to one of his lectures. All of a sudden, someone stands up in the crowd and goes: �You’re wrong, Blackman! You’re wrong!� So they shine the light on him and it’s Wise Intelligence from Poor Righteous Teachers! So first people was like �Shut up! Shut up! Sit down, he’s doing a lecture!� but Kris was like �Nah nah nah, let him say his piece!� So they get back and forth into a little debate. It was like ten minutes! I guess PRT’s stance was more like X-Clan’s: �How you gonna call yourself a humanist? You’re selling-out the Black race�. If I recall, that was kinda his stance. And this is on film - Kris has the tape! I don’t know what he did with it, but it was on tape though.
So were they yelling at each other?
Wise Intelligence was in the crowd - he was about maybe ten or fifteen rows back from the podium, so was yelling and Kris was talking on the mic - but it was heated! I remember getting mad because the whole time the other dude - Culture Freedom - he’s heated, he’s pacing back and forth. So finally Wise Intelligence goes� �You said in The Source that we were soft. What about PRT is soft?� to Kris. And Kris says �That guy right there!� and he points to Culture Freedom. [we both laugh] Right when he said that, I grabbed the microphone and I said �This debate is cool, but Culture Freedom if you’ve got problems we can settle it!� I remember saying it, and everybody jumps down my throat [in an official-sounding voice] �No! No! No! This is a college! This is intellectual!� You know, like �Get the fuck outta here� basically, to me! After I said that, then it was like �Aight, everything’s cool�. We did a show in Trenton a week later, right in their neighbourhood. When we got out the limo they was all standing outside, but it was just �What’s up� and we kept it moving. They was upset over that article but it wasn’t like they was gonna rush us. We travelled kinda deep a lot of the time, people don’t really know that. BDP crew was a lot of people at that time, so you couldn’t just run-up on KRS.
I think there’s a misconception in hip-hop that there’s an unwritten rule that back in the day all battles was on wax, and the rule was that everything was kept on wax. That was not the rule! It just so happened that it was like that, but the other crews had CREWS! So you didn’t want to run-up on them. For example, Eric B. & Rakim had a CRAZY crew! A NOTORIOUS crew!
Rich Porter and all them.
Yeah! All those dudes that was on the back on the album - those dudes were serious! Now if you was like �You know what? I wanna battle Rakim. I’ll run-up on Rakim� it wasn’t like that! You couldn’t just run-up on Rakim like that! Same with Big Daddy Kane. He was running with all those Brooklyn dudes - Hawk and all them guys. As a matter of fact, a lot of the fights that used to go on in Union Square and Latin Quarter was these Brooklyn dudes that used to run with Kane!
And they’d be fighting guys from the Bronx and different neighborhoods?
Yeah, they was always fighting guys from the Bronx. They was always fighting Chris Lighty and the Violators! [laughs] Back then, Chris Lighty was a Violator and he was a thug. You couldn’t even run-up on Red Alert! You think Red Alert is just the coolest guy in the world, and I love Red Alert - that’s my brother - but back in the day, if you ran-up on Red Alert like �Yo! Play my record!� you was gonna have problems! You follow me? Kane had a crew, BDP had a crew, Rakim had a crew…even Chuck D. If you ran-up on Public Enemy - those Security of the First World, the S1W’s was serious! They weren’t just marching around!
They knew kung-fu and shit!
Yeah! Professor Griff was a black belt in karate! Professor Griff will whip your ass! [laughs] Because dudes had respect - plus everybody was cool with each other - like KRS, Rakim, Kane…all these people were friends. But it was a mutual respect and dudes had crews. It wasn’t like a fear thing, it wasn’t like you were scarred of their crew, but you knew �If I step to Kane, there’s gonna be a problem�. People always thought battles was just on wax. Like if MC Shan had of decided �You know what? The �Bridge Is Over’ was a little too personal. I think I’m gonna kick KRS-One’s ass!� If the Juice Crew had thought �We’re coming for KRS�, it wasn’t that simple. There would have been a nice little skirmish! I’m not saying we woulda won or lost, I’m saying that it would’ve been a problem. I think a lot of people just think rap was just like �Yo, we’ll battle, and that’s it. It’s just cool, cause nothing’s ever gonna jump off. We’re just gonna battle and that’s the code!� That was not the code! The code was dudes was getting robbed and beat-up and all kind of shit was going on, and if you ran-up on somebody tryin’ to battle them, chances are their entourage - �entourages gone wild� - chances are, not the rapper but the people that’s with them, is probably gonna kick your ass!
Or even steal your equipment.
Yeah, even back in the day with Flash and all them, they had a crew! You ran-up and try to steal Grandmaster Flash’s turntables - you got a problem! And Zulu Nation? Forget about it! Don’t even THINK about stepping to Afrika Bambatta! That’s the last thing on earth you want to do. And Bam is the coolest guy and he talks about peace - Afrika Bambatta is one of the coolest guys I ever met. Don’t run-up on Zulu Nation and Bambatta. And because everyone had crews, I think that kept a lotta battles from not being battles. Plus you’ve gotta understand, back in the day if you lost a battle - your career was over! It’s not like now. Now dudes will make a couple of diss records on a mixtape and then they keep it moving. If Kane had of tooken out Rakim in a battle? Rakim was over! His credibility was over. I think that had a lot to do with it as well - dudes had a lot to lose.
But back to that PM Dawn incident…if Kris knew in hindsight? He wouldn’t have went to that thing at all. People say �Why didn’t he step to Ice Cube? Why didn’t he step to these other people like he stepped to PM Dawn?� After that PM Dawn incident and the amount of heat that Kris got - he wasn’t in the position to step to nobody! He had to really chill after that. After that thing, you probably coulda said anything you want about KRS for like a year, and he might’ve had to eat that, because there was so much flack. I can’t even begin to describe to you…everywhere we went…we went overseas to promote the album - nobody was even talking about �You have a new album out�, nothing. It was �PM Dawn!� People was talking - we needed a translator - we was in Japan, we didn’t know what they were saying, it was just �Duh duh duh duh PM Dawn duh duh duh duh!� We was like �Ohhh shit!� 90% of the time I was standing right next to Kris, so I saw all of the drama. If you was there at the club at that time? Then you was with it. If there was a thousand people there - 900 of them was like �This is the greatest thing I’ve ever seen�. But after you read the [Source] article, if you wasn’t there and you just read what people said and the you read Kris saying �I am hip-hop�…people was just like �Fuck him!� And you know what else? MTV was like �You know what Kris? You’re banned from MTV forever!� Cause it was their party and PM Dawn was their guy!
How long did that last?
Kris’ attitude was like �You didn’t play me records anyway, so fuck MTV!� was always his stance anyway. But they didn’t play no KRS records until �Rapture (Step Into A World)�. That was in �97, so it took about five years for MTV to get past that. Kris was always an underground rapper anyway, but MTV was furious. That incident hurt Kris more than it helped him, in my opinion. But it happened.
Still to come: The third and final part of this interview, where Kenny talks about his production work and massive collection of BDP demo tapes….
X-Clan featuring KRS-One - Speak The Truth [Return From Mecca, Suburban Noize, 2006]
- Tuesday, October 03rd, 2006
Kenny Parker: So the next day, Jive Records calls up and they’re like �The press wants to talk to you, Kris. Come down to Jive�. When we got there, the mood was really somber. Everybody was upset, and I remember seeing Busta Rhymes - I guess he was there with Tribe [Called Quest], I dunno what reason Busta had to be at Jive that day, but he was there - and he was like, �Yo, you are the greatest!� He was hugging Kris, and he was shaking him so hard he was crying! Busta was crying tears, and he was hugging Kris and he was shaking him so hard that they knocked over a computer off of somebody’s desk and break it on the ground! At this point they had done �Scenario�, so I guess Jive didn’t really care, but they broke a computer that day. [chuckles] It was just the illest thing, ’cause it looked like a classic video: sucker MC’s rhymin’, super MC comes along and knocks him off and starts rhymin’. It looked like that.
Jive was like �every press in the country and overseas wants to know what happened�. It was MTV, it was all Europe press, every magazine…everybody was like �What happened? Why did you do this?� And I think that’s where the problem started. When Kris said �PM Dawn tried to diss me so I went up there and showed �em who the Teacher is�, that’s when all the backlash started. And let me say for the record - the backlash was enormously negative for him. ENORMOUS! You know how people say �All publicity is good publicity�? I’m gonna say �No� to that. I think Kris would’ve been better off saying, �Yo, I was just there and it was wack, and I was drunk and we just went up there and I just wanted to livin’ up the party!� He might’ve been better-off saying that then �PM Dawn tried to diss me so that’s why I went up there�. Because then it became: �Hold up, you’re the guy who made �Stop The Violence’. You’re a hypocrite. You’re a fraud!� And from that point on, people started saying �Kris is a hypocrite. Says one thing and does another�.
I think Kris is two kinds of MC’s. He’s a battle rapper, and he came-up battling, and he’s had a lot of numerous battles that people know about - and don’t even know about - AND he’s also a conscious rapper who tries to talk about upliftment of our race, the government, and things goin’ on. I think there’s no way you can be both without being contradictory, in my opinion. The problem Kris has had over the years is that when he starts talking about the government, about �Black man rise up�, people start saying �Yo, he’s too preachy. Edutainment was too preachy. Whatever happened to Criminal Minded? Why won’t he make �9MM’? Why won’t he rhyme like that?� Then when he makes battle records, then the �conscious� people go �Oh, he’s contradictory. How’s he talkin’ about snapping a MC’s neck? He’s supposed to be talkin’ about �Stop The Violence’!� The problem is that Kris would’ve had to leave one of those behind. Either he would’ve had to say �I’m not a battle rapper. I ain’t making those kind of records ever again�, or he would’ve had to say �I’m a battle rapper. I’m not making conscious records ever again�. Every album he has, he’ll do both. He’ll talk about things things going on in society, then he’ll make records talkin’ about how he’ll crush an MC.
I don’t have a problem with that, personally.
I don’t have a problem with it either, but in his career I’ve noticed that either which way he goes, the other side is gonna call him contradictory. That’s the price that he has to pay for being both. Knowing Kris, he really is both! He really likes battling and he write rhymes about rappers, even though he has no beef with them. He’ll just write a song about somebody and then just never use it. He’s just that kinda guy. And also he likes to talk about the government and Malcolm X - he’s that too. If you look at By All Means Necessary…that record �Stop The Violence� - everybody points to that, but on that same album on �My Philosophy�, he says �KRS-One is the kind of guy who lead a crew/right up to your face and diss you!� That’s there in clear English! No one hears that part, they just hear �stop the violence�, so if he takes a run-up with a crew they gonna say �Where that come from? He’s not like that!� when he’s tellin’ you �Yeah, I am!�
The biggest thing that hurt Kris with that PM Dawn thing is not even the incident, but it’s that Source article. That article caused us so much drama that year. The year of �92, into �93, was like �damage control year�, from that Source article.
He was callin’ out names big time in there.
Yeah, there’s two things in that article that caused us a lotta problems. One is that Kris was like �You know what? I’m tired of everybody. I’m tired of X-Clan, I’m tired of Ice Cube, I’m tired of PRT!� I don’t remember what Poor Righteous Teachers did that pissed Kris off. X-Clan I remember, and Ice Cube - I can’t remember for the life of me what Poor Righteous Teachers did! [laughs] Everyone that he mentioned in that article at some point that year tried to step up, and we had to deal with them. Also the second part that was a big thing was when Kris said �I am hip-hop�. That is the biggest polarization of his audience…and I think that’s a big misconception, because Kris says �I’m hip-hop. I’m not doing hip-hop - I am hip-hop. We ALL are hip-hop. We’re writing hip-hop as it goes along. There’s no rules! It’s not like a basketball player in the NBA and you have rules that you follow in the game. The hip-hop game - we’re writing the rules as we go along - so we ALL are hip-hop! I’m hip-hop, you’re hip-hop. We’re not doing it - we ARE it.� Even in that article he said �It’s not just me. Treach is hip-hop too.� But no one heard that part. They just heard him say �I’m hip-hop and I’m the greatest of all time!� and people was just like �This dude has lost his mind�. The funny thing was, I heard Vinny from Naughty By Nature said he was mad at that statement, and Kris said Treach was hip-hop!
He was just mad ’cause Kris didn’t say his name as well!
[laughs] Maybe! Vin is my man and I love Vinroc, but it got back to us that Vinny was mad too. Over the years a lotta people was mad. Biggie Smalls was mad over that! Biggie Smalls was like �How can KRS-One say he’s hip-hop? That’s bullshit�. But I think everyone’s missing what he was saying. Between him saying he’s hip-hop and him saying he’s stepping to the other rappers - yo, that hurt us. I think Kris lost half his audience that year. All the albums Kris had done prior to Sex and Violence went gold. At that time, Kris usually sold around 600,000 records or so, on the average. Sex and Violence sold like 300 [thousand].
Maybe that was because it was such a hardcore album - it was just raw.
I think that was part of it, but it was such a negative backlash. Every magazine you opened up: �KRS-One is a sucker. He’s a phony!�. I think a lotta people were like �You know what? Fuck him!� That whole year of �92 was damage control. Now the thing with X-Clan - that was turning into some big deal. It was getting back to us - we had mutual people that knew both camps - that �Yo, they said this� and it would go back them �Yo, Kris said this�, and it was gonna be a big deal, and Afrika Bambatta called a meeting up in Bronx River. He was like, �This is not good. I’m cool with both groups, and both of y’all are really talking about the same thing. We can’t have a divide and conquer situation going on�. So Afrika Bambatta calls us up to Bronx, and I remember that X-Clan had brought guns up there - they thought it was gonna be like an ambush or something. Willie D, who’s down with us, is president of a chapter of five in Zulu Nation, so we have a real close affiliation. So if dudes from Brooklyn is coming all the way up to Bronx River to have a meeting with some dudes that got beef that are down with Zulu Nation - they must’ve thought it was an ambush or some drama. Security that was there was saying that X-Clan had guns and the whole nine, they told �em to leave the guns outside and come inside.
I didn’t know they rolled like that.
I didn’t know they rolled like that either! So we had the meeting, and everything was squashed. By the time �Build and Destroy� came out that beef was already squashed. Kris was like �I’m down to squash the beef with X-Clan, but let me say my piece though. Then we good�. Here’s the third thing that caused us a lotta beef - he said something about the 5%ers that article too. 5%ers was furious! Kool Kim said �KRS did say nothing when 5%ers and King Sun was gonna fuck him up!� First of all - King Sun is our people from back in Latin Quarters days. We know King Sun really well. So King Sun came to one of our shows, and he was mad over the whole article and he wanted to talk to Kris about it. I don’t know if he actually got to talk to Kris, but he had a long conversation with Willie D about it. I wasn’t there at that moment, but Willie D told me after the fact that King Sun was mad, but he didn’t come there on some �Yo! I’mma punch Kris in the face!�. He came in on some �Yo, Kris. Why you say that? What’s the deal?�, and they squashed it up. But let me say, the second part is - people, you can’t just roll-up on us like that either. It’s not like �OK, I feel like punching KRS-One in the face. Here I go, I’m just going down to the show�. It wasn’t really like, because we had people with us too. You know what I mean? We had a show and a bunch of 5%ers came to our show too, and they was waitin’ outside and there was like thirty of �em, and they was mad as hell around this time too. But one of the leaders of their group knew Will - again - and they came upstairs and they talked to Kris and somehow they smoothed it out and it was all good.
All these little things were happening, week after week, after that article. I don’t know if this is true or not, but somebody told us that Lord Jamar from Brand Nubians was trying to organise all the 5%ers in hip-hop against KRS. I heard that he went to GURU, he went to Rakim, and they was like �Nah, Kris is our man. We’re not getting that deep with it�. But it was brought to our attention that Lord Jamar was trying to do this. I don’t know if it’s true or not, but it came to us like that.
So a week or so after this article comes out, Kris has a lecture in Jersey, and this is one of the first times I ever went to one of his lectures. All of a sudden, someone stands up in the crowd and goes: �You’re wrong, Blackman! You’re wrong!� So they shine the light on him and it’s Wise Intelligence from Poor Righteous Teachers! So first people was like �Shut up! Shut up! Sit down, he’s doing a lecture!� but Kris was like �Nah nah nah, let him say his piece!� So they get back and forth into a little debate. It was like ten minutes! I guess PRT’s stance was more like X-Clan’s: �How you gonna call yourself a humanist? You’re selling-out the Black race�. If I recall, that was kinda his stance. And this is on film - Kris has the tape! I don’t know what he did with it, but it was on tape though.
So were they yelling at each other?
Wise Intelligence was in the crowd - he was about maybe ten or fifteen rows back from the podium, so was yelling and Kris was talking on the mic - but it was heated! I remember getting mad because the whole time the other dude - Culture Freedom - he’s heated, he’s pacing back and forth. So finally Wise Intelligence goes� �You said in The Source that we were soft. What about PRT is soft?� to Kris. And Kris says �That guy right there!� and he points to Culture Freedom. [we both laugh] Right when he said that, I grabbed the microphone and I said �This debate is cool, but Culture Freedom if you’ve got problems we can settle it!� I remember saying it, and everybody jumps down my throat [in an official-sounding voice] �No! No! No! This is a college! This is intellectual!� You know, like �Get the fuck outta here� basically, to me! After I said that, then it was like �Aight, everything’s cool�. We did a show in Trenton a week later, right in their neighbourhood. When we got out the limo they was all standing outside, but it was just �What’s up� and we kept it moving. They was upset over that article but it wasn’t like they was gonna rush us. We travelled kinda deep a lot of the time, people don’t really know that. BDP crew was a lot of people at that time, so you couldn’t just run-up on KRS.
I think there’s a misconception in hip-hop that there’s an unwritten rule that back in the day all battles was on wax, and the rule was that everything was kept on wax. That was not the rule! It just so happened that it was like that, but the other crews had CREWS! So you didn’t want to run-up on them. For example, Eric B. & Rakim had a CRAZY crew! A NOTORIOUS crew!
Rich Porter and all them.
Yeah! All those dudes that was on the back on the album - those dudes were serious! Now if you was like �You know what? I wanna battle Rakim. I’ll run-up on Rakim� it wasn’t like that! You couldn’t just run-up on Rakim like that! Same with Big Daddy Kane. He was running with all those Brooklyn dudes - Hawk and all them guys. As a matter of fact, a lot of the fights that used to go on in Union Square and Latin Quarter was these Brooklyn dudes that used to run with Kane!
And they’d be fighting guys from the Bronx and different neighborhoods?
Yeah, they was always fighting guys from the Bronx. They was always fighting Chris Lighty and the Violators! [laughs] Back then, Chris Lighty was a Violator and he was a thug. You couldn’t even run-up on Red Alert! You think Red Alert is just the coolest guy in the world, and I love Red Alert - that’s my brother - but back in the day, if you ran-up on Red Alert like �Yo! Play my record!� you was gonna have problems! You follow me? Kane had a crew, BDP had a crew, Rakim had a crew…even Chuck D. If you ran-up on Public Enemy - those Security of the First World, the S1W’s was serious! They weren’t just marching around!
They knew kung-fu and shit!
Yeah! Professor Griff was a black belt in karate! Professor Griff will whip your ass! [laughs] Because dudes had respect - plus everybody was cool with each other - like KRS, Rakim, Kane…all these people were friends. But it was a mutual respect and dudes had crews. It wasn’t like a fear thing, it wasn’t like you were scarred of their crew, but you knew �If I step to Kane, there’s gonna be a problem�. People always thought battles was just on wax. Like if MC Shan had of decided �You know what? The �Bridge Is Over’ was a little too personal. I think I’m gonna kick KRS-One’s ass!� If the Juice Crew had thought �We’re coming for KRS�, it wasn’t that simple. There would have been a nice little skirmish! I’m not saying we woulda won or lost, I’m saying that it would’ve been a problem. I think a lot of people just think rap was just like �Yo, we’ll battle, and that’s it. It’s just cool, cause nothing’s ever gonna jump off. We’re just gonna battle and that’s the code!� That was not the code! The code was dudes was getting robbed and beat-up and all kind of shit was going on, and if you ran-up on somebody tryin’ to battle them, chances are their entourage - �entourages gone wild� - chances are, not the rapper but the people that’s with them, is probably gonna kick your ass!
Or even steal your equipment.
Yeah, even back in the day with Flash and all them, they had a crew! You ran-up and try to steal Grandmaster Flash’s turntables - you got a problem! And Zulu Nation? Forget about it! Don’t even THINK about stepping to Afrika Bambatta! That’s the last thing on earth you want to do. And Bam is the coolest guy and he talks about peace - Afrika Bambatta is one of the coolest guys I ever met. Don’t run-up on Zulu Nation and Bambatta. And because everyone had crews, I think that kept a lotta battles from not being battles. Plus you’ve gotta understand, back in the day if you lost a battle - your career was over! It’s not like now. Now dudes will make a couple of diss records on a mixtape and then they keep it moving. If Kane had of tooken out Rakim in a battle? Rakim was over! His credibility was over. I think that had a lot to do with it as well - dudes had a lot to lose.
But back to that PM Dawn incident…if Kris knew in hindsight? He wouldn’t have went to that thing at all. People say �Why didn’t he step to Ice Cube? Why didn’t he step to these other people like he stepped to PM Dawn?� After that PM Dawn incident and the amount of heat that Kris got - he wasn’t in the position to step to nobody! He had to really chill after that. After that thing, you probably coulda said anything you want about KRS for like a year, and he might’ve had to eat that, because there was so much flack. I can’t even begin to describe to you…everywhere we went…we went overseas to promote the album - nobody was even talking about �You have a new album out�, nothing. It was �PM Dawn!� People was talking - we needed a translator - we was in Japan, we didn’t know what they were saying, it was just �Duh duh duh duh PM Dawn duh duh duh duh!� We was like �Ohhh shit!� 90% of the time I was standing right next to Kris, so I saw all of the drama. If you was there at the club at that time? Then you was with it. If there was a thousand people there - 900 of them was like �This is the greatest thing I’ve ever seen�. But after you read the [Source] article, if you wasn’t there and you just read what people said and the you read Kris saying �I am hip-hop�…people was just like �Fuck him!� And you know what else? MTV was like �You know what Kris? You’re banned from MTV forever!� Cause it was their party and PM Dawn was their guy!
How long did that last?
Kris’ attitude was like �You didn’t play me records anyway, so fuck MTV!� was always his stance anyway. But they didn’t play no KRS records until �Rapture (Step Into A World)�. That was in �97, so it took about five years for MTV to get past that. Kris was always an underground rapper anyway, but MTV was furious. That incident hurt Kris more than it helped him, in my opinion. But it happened.
Still to come: The third and final part of this interview, where Kenny talks about his production work and massive collection of BDP demo tapes….
X-Clan featuring KRS-One - Speak The Truth [Return From Mecca, Suburban Noize, 2006]
you just never know when you're living in a golden age.
The Kenny Parker Show - Part 3
- Friday, October 13th, 2006
Wrapping up my conversation with Kenny Parker, he shares some classic BDP stories, including the night that KRS debuted �The Bridge Is Over� at Union Square….
Robbie: So did Kris really become a �Born Again� Christian?
Kenny Parker: For lack of a better term, I’m gonna say �Yeah�. But he’s a little more deeper than that. The thing with Kris is he’s forever evolving. He reads a lot and he evolves a lot, and when you catch him at a particular time, where he’s at at that time is what he’s gonna say, and then another year or two from now he might move on to something else. And he might be �Well, this is me now. I’m this�, and then you might say �What happened to that from two years ago? Oh, you’re contradictory. You know what? Get outta here�. From Criminal Minded to By All Means Necessary, to me that was a completely different vibe for him, for the most part.
But it was all hits, so people were just like �It’s all good�. Kris being contradictory - I think some people say that like it’s cool to boot A-Rod, like after a while you just say it and you just do it. But if you really look at it…to me, you know what’s contradictory? When you come out hardcore with a hoody on, and on your next album you have a suit on and you’re smoking a cigar. [laughs] To me, that’s contradictory. I can name a whole bunch of rappers that was crazy hardcore in �93, �94, and then by �96 they was �Dons� and they had jewelry on. But they get a pass for that, ’cause I guess no one looks at it like that. Even Tupac - to me, Tupac is the most contradictory artist of all time, because he was a lot of different things! He really was a revolutionary, a thug, a ladies man - he was all of those things. So he made all of those records. At one moment he’ll say �Keep Your Head Up� and the next moment he’s like �Fuck bitches! Get Money!�. He’s all over the place, but he gets a pass. Most people get a pass but KRS-One - that’s his curse. He is �Stop The Violence� and that’s it.
I was also interested to know what you’ve been up to? Do you still do beats for Kris?
Yeah. Actually, he’s doing an album with Marley Marl…ironically. I never would have thought the day…now that, in all honesty, that might be contradictory. Marley was never really the problem, the problem was Mr. Magic. It end up being with Marley, and he dissed Shante when she had nothing to do with nothing, but he was like �Fuck it!�, and Shan. I find that ironic. Actually, I have a collection of old stuff that Kris did, like practice tapes and like some of the stuff that you have on your site, like unreleased stuff. Kris used to come to my house and we used to have a little $15 microphone and he used to rhyme onto the mixer and we used to record stuff over raw beats, and he would work-out routines or he’ll say some rhymes that end-up being on other stuff, and some rhymes that people never heard before. I was moving and I found all these cassettes that I had, so what I did was I took some of the stuff and I put it on CD, and I’m about to come out with it and put it out as a little album of all kinda practice tapes and unreleased stuff. I dunno if it’s long enough for a whole album, so I was thinking about adding some unreleased instrumentals that never came out, like �Sound of Da Police� and different beats.
I’ve been working on that project for a minute, I just haven’t had a chance to put it out. I’ve been doing a lotta deejaying in different spots, I haven’t had a chance to really sit down and say �Well let me do this�. But that’s the next thing I wanna do. I got rhymes that Kris said that were supposed to be on Return of the Boom Bap that didn’t…I got rhymes that were supposed to be on Criminal Minded! Little practice tapes that he did with Red Alert that no one ever heard. I’m the only one that has these tapes - I used to steal tapes from his house, back when I was younger. When Criminal Minded was out I was still in college, I wasn’t deejaying or anything. I was in school, so I used to come by the house and he’ll have a tape, and I used to be like �Let me hold this tape�, and then that was it! I’d just have it. So now, a lot of the stuff I have - I’m the only one on Earth in possession of it. Some of it doesn’t even have any hooks - it’s just rhyming, and then he’ll go �OK Kenny, cut that off�, or he’ll start talking and go �Nah, I’m gonna change that, and I’m gonna put this instead of that�. It’s real unedited stuff. He’s just rhyming and we’re just havin’ fun.
I’d buy a copy…that album you did with Heather B - the music on that was great. It was so raw, but the drums were crazy.
Thank-you very much, man. That was my little project. I just talked to Heather about a week ago. We were talking about doing some stuff, she had some ideas and I was like �Yo, let’s just put some stuff together and see how it sounds�. I still have a lot of tracks - I’ll still do tracks until the day I die. I’d talked about doing some more stuff with Kris, but then he ventured off and caught-up with Marley Marl. I guess Koch had some money, so he went off in that direction. [chuckles] But me and Kris was ’sposed to work on some stuff too - maybe afterwards or maybe a remix. I was always the one that got remixes on stuff. I did a couple of songs for Boom Bap that never made it, I did songs for different albums that somehow got cut-off…eventually Kris’ll get around to me.
Did you do Heather’s album on the SP?
The SP-1200, that’s my machine of choice. What happens is that’s the first drum machine I ever learned how to work, so I stuck with it. And I like how the drums sound on there - you get a harder kick and snare sound for some reason - so I still use it. I’m a little old school with that. There used to be a little civil war - the SP-1200 Vs. the MPC. I remember me and Premier were going back and forth about the virtues of both, and he was gonna teach me how to work the MPC one time, back when they was doin’ Boom Bap. I used to laugh about that, it was like a little war. On one side was the MPC guys, on the other side was the SP-1200 guys. But now the MPC is just so popular that I guess the MPC’s won. [laughs]
They stopped making the SP’s so they’re pretty expensive to get second-hand.
Mine is so old. My SP-1200 is from the 80’s! I still have my one from the 80’s, and actually - I jacked Kris for that! [laughing] All of my equipment I jacked! Kris is real impulsive. You could be like �Aww man, look at these turntables. They’re gettin’ kinda old. You should get some new turntables� and he’ll go �Yeah. Damn, I should!� and he’ll go buy some new turntables and you can go steal the old ones that weren’t really that old! Like the SP-1200 - we had been using it on the road, I used to rock beats in the shows, and I remember when we came back off the road and we was like �You know, this SP-1200’s been on the road, it’s been kinda beat-up� - imagine, we had it for like eight months - it was like �Yo, the SP-1200’s been all over the place! You should get another one� and he was like �Yeah, I’mma go get me a couple of �em!�. [laughs]
[laughing] So you were like �Kris, let me hold that old one!�
You can’t believe it. I got speakers, turntables - like four of �em, mixers - like five of �em, SP-1200, a four-track…I got all kind of stuff in that same mode of �Yo, this is garbage! Get a new one�.
Even though the BDP albums said �Produced by KRS-One�, DJ Doc and D-Nice used to help out as well, didn’t they?
Yeah, well it depends. Let me not speak on Doc because I wasn’t there for DJ Doc. I got aboard after Ghetto Music. I got on in â€?89, so I was at the studio a lot of times. I used to come from college and have some time off, so I’d go and hang out in the studio. I was in the studio when he did â€?Still #1″, but I didn’t even know what I was even looking at, so I’m not gonna comment on Doc. I know he was doin’ a lot of drum programming with Kris at that time, kinda the way that Ced Gee did with Scott [La Rock]. Scott had a lot of records and Scott knew the records he wanted, but Ced Gee is the one who hooked them up. Back then, it was the SP-12, Ced Gee was the only one that had one that anybody really knew! Ced Gee and Scott La Rock were real cool so Scott would have records and he’d be like â€?I wanna do this and this and thisâ€?, and Ced Gee would hook â€?em up. That’s how I understand it, but I wasn’t there. I think Doc was kinda the same with Chris in the early days, like â€?This is what I wanna doâ€? and Doc would hook it up. Supposedly, D-Nice brought Kris the beat for â€?Still #1″ - the 45 - and Kris took it and slowed it down and they hooked-up the drums and made the record.
I’ve read about three different people who claim they did the beat for Biz’s �Just A Friend�.
[laughing] It’s a fine line on what you did. Were you an engineer? Or did you actually add sounds? If you added sounds that’s different to me then if I say �You’re the one who knows how to work this machine, so can you engineer this for me?� You’re still supposed to get credit, but it’s a little different if you added sounds and you can say �I did it�. For example, I gave Kris the drums to �Ah Yeah�. It was not like a credit thing - Kris came to my house one day and was like �Yo, I need some drums for this song I’m working on�. I was like �Yo, check out these drums right here�. It was like a Sly Stone record or some obscure record at the time, and I gave him the drums and he said �Aight, cool� and left. And next thing I know…�Ah Yeah!�, that song was out. Or like �Black Cop� - I did the drums for �Black Cop�, and then Kris did the reggae part - which at the time, I thought was wack - and we got in a big argument over that song and I stormed out the studio. I was like �Oh, this is so wack!�.
And then he used it for Mad Lion.
Then Mad Lion got on it and used it again! Of course I got no credit and no publishing, but I just did the drums and that was it. The same thing with �The Jam�, that record he did with Shabba [Ranks]. I gave him the drums for that record. That was my thing, drums were like my thing.
But drums are the record a lot of the time…
I don’t wanna say that, but…right. But I learned how to produce from Kris. I’m not gonna say �I changed his career!� or anything, I’m just saying that some things I was down with. �Hip Hop Vs. Rap�…that record was my music but Kris put it together. It’s a funny story with �Hip Hop Vs Rap� - I was working with Heather B on something in D&D, and I left my a bunch of discs in the studio by accident. So Kris was working on something else, and he came there later on and they was like �Your brother left these discs, give it to him�, and Kris was like �I’ll take it and I’ll give it to him when I see him�. Of course he took �em and put �em in and was like �Well let’s hear what it is�, you know what I mean? So about a week later, Kris comes to me and goes �Yo, you left this music in the studio and they gave it to me to give to you, but I wanna use some of it. I’m gonna pay you some money for it�, and I was like �What? Some money out the blue? Aight, cool! I don’t care - whatever!�. So he was like �Well I already finished the record�. He asked backwards! He put the drums in there, but the music was different loops that I had left in the studio. He put it together and it became �Hip Hop Vs. Rap�.
A lot of times that’s how songs will get done with Kris. He lets people that’s in the studio have input, for the most part, if respects you. Plus people wanted to help Kris make songs - you want Kris to rhyme on your beats! So you’ll come and be like â€?Listen to this, I just did this. Listen to thatâ€?. Kris would be like â€?Cool - I’ll rock it!â€? and he’d put it together and that’d be the end of it! And later on, you might say â€?Damn, I kinda gave him this recordâ€?, but that’s neither here nor there. I mean I can’t be mad that I gave Kris some drums when I stole his SP-1200! So we have a different relationship. If I feel like I needed some money for a particular record, I could come to him now and say â€?Yo Kris, gimme $3000″. I don’t mind if he came to me like â€?I need drumsâ€? or â€?Let me get this disk right here so I can use it for this thing right hereâ€?. I don’t really care, I mean he’s the one who taught me how to produce! And he taught me how to DJ too! So I’m not really sweatin’ that.
So you’ve been deejayin’ the last couple of years?
We still do shows. I do some shows with Kris, not all the shows with Kris. He moved to LA. He took a job with Warner Brothers back in �99, he was Vice President of Reprise Records or somethin’ for like a year and a half. So when he moved out to LA, then it started not becoming really time or cost efficient for me to fly out there or fly all these places every time we had a show. Then I started deejaying in clubs around New York, and I’m deejaying in spots now. I’ve been doing a lot of club deejaying, mostly.
Do you just play a bit of everything?
It depends on where I’m at. Some spots I’m at, if it’s like a real hip-hop crowd, then I can play all the good hip-hop stuff. I like to play all the classic stuff people know - Gangstarr, Tribe, BDP, Public Enemy - I like playing stuff like that. But sometimes I’ll DJ for young people that like �Laffy Taffy� or whatever - which I think is the worst record ever recorded, by the way. In the history of recorded music, I think that’s the worst song.
[laughing] What about �Chicken Noodle Soup�?
You know what? I’m gonna say �Chicken Noodle Soup� is even better than �Laffy Taffy�. At least it’s a little girl, and it’s a stupid little record - she’s not coming out trying to say she’s the next dope MC, so I’ll give her a pass. �Laffy Taffy� is grown men. But when you’re deejaying for 20 year-olds, you can’t really play �The Bridge Is Over� because they was like two years old when that record came out! They’ll stop and just look at you like you’re stupid, or they’ll come up to you and ask you �Can you play 50 Cent again?�
As far as your production, I remember one of the first records you did was �I Get Wreck� with Heather B. She had a nice style on that record.
I’m gonna pass that little compliment along to her. She’ll be very happy to hear that too. I just put out two sample records with different samples that Kris used over the years. I had a part one and two that just came out last year, called BDP Breaks. I put some obscure stuff that I only I know he used…I don’t know if it’s sold-out now or what - they pressed maybe a thousand each of �em. The guy is really stressin’ me like �Come out with more stuff�, That’s why I was gonna put out the unreleased KRS stuff and all the mixtape stuff that we did, because I think that’s stuff that people would really like to hear, like crazy old rhymes from 1992. Some of it is straight from a cassette - it’s that raw. You ever been to a store that sells all kind of different stuff? They’ll have like pants, little t-shirts and all kinds of stupid shit, and they’ll have a microphone. It’s like �Let’s buy that mic so we can take it home and play around�. It’s that raw sounding, but some of the rhymes are crazy. I have him doing a freestyle of �Criminal Minded� over �Funky Drummer�, that Red Alert was cuttin’ up, and some of the rhymes are different. That’s a tape I stole from when I was in school, like twenty years ago!
Have you got any video footage of old shows? I remember he did that Live Hardcore Worldwide.
He’s been meaning to do another one for years, and never did it. He has all this footage…you know, Kris loses stuff a lot. You ever know somebody who you say �Don’t give them that tape ’cause it’s gonna get lost�? Everybody’s got a friend like �Don’t lend them nothin’!� Kris is like that. Like the footage of the thing with PRT, that whole thing at that lecture. Actually, Heather B was filming that lecture, and then Kris took the tape and you never saw the tape ever again! He’s not real reflective like that. Say he got a DAT with some old song that he never did, he wouldn’t be like �Yo, people might want to hear this�. He’ll just be like �Oh that’s trash. I was a whole different person then. I’m on to something new now�. But I’ll be like �Yo, let me get it. I’ll hold it�. A lot of the breaks he’s used over the years on different records, I end up having them in my possession because he’ll just throw the record somewhere, and that’ll be the end of it!
That whole era, especially around the first few albums, that was just a good era in hip-hop, so hearing anything from that time is always good.
Believe me, I know. But it’s a real uphill battle with that dude. Right now, all he’ll talk about is �I got this next, new rhyme, and a new rhyme style. I’m tryin’ to get this new rhyme out, I’m not even trying to think about �86 or �89.� Plus I told him I was gonna put out all this old practice tapes stuff that we had, he was like �I don’t care�. Only thing he said to me was �Give me a copy so I can learn the rhymes again, so maybe I can do it in a show�. That’s all he thinks about. If it’s not pertaining to a show, he don’t care.
Did you get many good photos over the years?
You know who has a lot of photos? Willie D. I never really had a camera. You know what my problem was? I was really stealing a lot of the stuff. I never created my own. If someone had something, I’ll steal it. Like tapes or vinyls or equipment - I was that guy, as sad as it sounds. Willie D has a good picture of KRS and Rakim, and I’ve never seen a picture of KRS and Rakim ever.
What’s Willie D doing these days?
Actually he has some group he was trying to shop, I was just talking to him about three months ago. He lives in the Bronx and he has an interesting story too. He’s been rolling with Kris since before �South Bronx�, ’cause B-Boy Records was right next to his house. That’s how they met. He’s not really much one for interviews though.
I read somewhere that ICU and Jesse West are the same person?
No, Jesse West and ICU aren’t the same guy. Jesse West is from the Bronx, he used to be down with Puffy. He produced �Step Into A World�. I was in the studio when Jesse West came in, and he put it on and everyone was like �Yo, that’s the beat right there!� and I’m like �That’s �Champ’. That’s regular old �Champ’�. He chopped it, but I didn’t see the vision. I was like �It’s aight�, but then the next day Kris was like �Yo, listen to this singing part�. When I heard that over the beat, then I was like �Oh, now that’s hot!� That was one of our biggest songs, that was a huge song for us that year. I’m always the one in Kris’ ear going �You know what? This sucks�. You ever known that guy who doesn’t like anything? I’m always that guy. I usually agree with most of the things he says, but every so often he’ll tell me something and I’ll go �Hell no�, and then it will come to pass and it’ll work, and I’ll be like �Oh, shoot�. Like he told me that he can get people to jump in the air, in 1989. This was when �Pump your fist like this!� - everybody was pumping their fist, that was like getting hype. And Kris was like �I think I can get them more hype. I think I can get them to jump.� I was like �Hell no. Americans? They’re not jumping up and down!� Boy was I wrong! [laughs]
I’m the first person that told him he was a corny rapper, actually. This is in �81, when he first started rhyming. I was like 14, he was like 15, and he used to make tapes and they were horrible. Like �You’re the worst, man�. He used to be like �I’m dope!� - nah he didn’t use �dope�, I dunno, whatever the word was…�I’m the joint�, we used to say that…
�I’m funky fresh�
[laughs] Yeah. When �South Bronx� blew-up, I was the first person that was like �Yo, you did it!� I can’t believe that this guy - my brother, I mean we used to argue over socks - this guy has a hit record. There’s a record called �Crack Attack�, and that was Boogie Down Productions actual first record. It came out a little bit before �South Bronx�. They’re on the same B-Boy Records, and he had to do that record in order to do �South Bronx�. He didn’t even write it, he just did it. It did nothing, it was just terrible. The first time I heard �South Bronx� I was like �Yo, it sounds like you’re dissing Shan?� and he was like �Yeah!�, and I was like �Yo, MC Shan is dope! Do you know what you’re doing?� He was like [unimpressed] �He’s alright�. I thought he was crazy to diss MC Shan! I remember hearing �Kill That Noise� and seeing Kris, and I said �Yo, Shan answered you. You had a good career, man. �South Bronx’ was a good song, and I told you not to mess with Shan!�
So you thought Shan shut him down?
Kind of! �Cause that’s the only rhyme that I’d heard him do. I didn’t know he had the whole Criminal Minded album already in his head. I was still in school, so I used to see him every so often, like on the weekends or whatever, and �South Bronx� was a big hit, but as it died down �Kill That Noise� came out and I was like �Damn, it’s over for you. At least you were like a one-hit wonder, you did your thing�, and he’s like �I’ve got this record called �The Bridge Is Over’, and I’m like [condescendingly] �How does it go?� He’s like [does the piano riff], I’m like �Aww, that’s wack! It’s over!� He was like �I’mma do it tonight at Union Square. Come to Union Square and I’mma do it�.
I went with him and he did his show, and then he did �South Bronx� and people started going �Kill that noise! Kill that noise!�, like that. Shan had people there, and Kris was going �What y’all saying? Kill that noise? Oh yeah?� I was like �Ohh shit!� and he was like �Yo, I got this record called �The Bridge Is Over’ - hit it Scott!� And Scott threw on the beat, and everybody’s quiet, and then he goes �The Bridge is over! The Bridge is over! Budda bye-bye!� and the whole place went to the ceiling! He’s saying these rhymes, and no one had never really said people’s names in a record like that: �Magic - sucking! Shante’s good for fucking!� This is the first time people were hearing…people were stunned. They were going bazerk. People was yelling and screaming. That’s still my favorite record he ever made - because how I got it - and I thought his career was over, and I got it live at Union Square in front of a thousand people going crazy! Every time I hear that record, I think of that day. That was an incredible song. I didn’t know he had that in him. I don’t know if you’ve got any brothers or sisters…
I’ve got a younger sister.
Can you imagine your sister coming out with a hit? And then another hit? It’s unbelievable. KRS was a really weird child. He used to talk about poetry and metaphysics at fourteen. I was tryin’ to play basketball and be cool, and he was like on some other…he had no friends, he was just like a real weirdo.
Hanging out at the library and stuff.
Yeah, and he used to run away from home every few weeks, and the police would find him and bring him back…if you look back on it, you can see how he became KRS, because his confidence…he’s always been ultra confident, but he wasn’t dope! It wasn’t like he was a dope MC - not in �81! He was just a regular dude trying to rhyme. He used to go to my friends house and make tapes. My friend used to have a tape deck, but he had a dog. So every time he used to play the music, the dog used to bark. They’d make tapes, and Kris would be rhyming and there’d be music playing - like whatever the hot record is of the day, �Catch The Beat�. I remember they used to rhyme to �Catch The Beat�, T-Ski Valley, all the time. �Catch The Beat� would come on, he’ll rhyme over the instrumental, but the dog would be barking in the background!
So now he’ll come back home, be like �Listen to this�. And it’s him rhyming, some corny rhyme, with the dog goin’ �Woof! Woof! Woof! Woof! Woof!� on the tape! [We both crack up with laughter] And I’m like �Yo, this shit is horrible! This is the worst shit I’ve ever heard in my life!� and he was like �You’re just jealous! You don’t know!� We’re like typical brothers, we used to argue all the time. So that’s why when �South Bronx� came out, it was like �Wow. You really can rhyme!� And then it was like �The Bridge Is Over� was a completely different style. It was incredible! It’s just amazing to see this guy come from running away from home to this big rap star. I still sometimes can’t believe it.
He changed the way people rhymed even, because everyone was trying to rap like Run-DMC.
Yeah! Imagine his ego and his confidence - he was so confident, that was like �I’m not rhyming like Run. I’m not rhyming like everybody else. I’m coming with this style�. He was almost a fool, you know what I mean? His style was dope, but it was almost like �Who do you think you are to say you’re not rhyming like Run?� But then when you heard the rhymes…see, I didn’t hear the rhymes until �South Bronx�. Then I was determined to steal tapes after that.
Before that, you were throwing the tapes out!
——————————————————————
Heather B. - I Get Wreck (twelve inch, Elektra, 1992]
KRS-One - Black Cop [Return of the Boom Bap, Jive, 1993]
Heather B - All Glocks Down (YouTube)
Heather B. - If Headz Only Knew (YouTube)
If you’re so inclined, you can grab the full Heather B LP over here.
- Friday, October 13th, 2006
Wrapping up my conversation with Kenny Parker, he shares some classic BDP stories, including the night that KRS debuted �The Bridge Is Over� at Union Square….
Robbie: So did Kris really become a �Born Again� Christian?
Kenny Parker: For lack of a better term, I’m gonna say �Yeah�. But he’s a little more deeper than that. The thing with Kris is he’s forever evolving. He reads a lot and he evolves a lot, and when you catch him at a particular time, where he’s at at that time is what he’s gonna say, and then another year or two from now he might move on to something else. And he might be �Well, this is me now. I’m this�, and then you might say �What happened to that from two years ago? Oh, you’re contradictory. You know what? Get outta here�. From Criminal Minded to By All Means Necessary, to me that was a completely different vibe for him, for the most part.
But it was all hits, so people were just like �It’s all good�. Kris being contradictory - I think some people say that like it’s cool to boot A-Rod, like after a while you just say it and you just do it. But if you really look at it…to me, you know what’s contradictory? When you come out hardcore with a hoody on, and on your next album you have a suit on and you’re smoking a cigar. [laughs] To me, that’s contradictory. I can name a whole bunch of rappers that was crazy hardcore in �93, �94, and then by �96 they was �Dons� and they had jewelry on. But they get a pass for that, ’cause I guess no one looks at it like that. Even Tupac - to me, Tupac is the most contradictory artist of all time, because he was a lot of different things! He really was a revolutionary, a thug, a ladies man - he was all of those things. So he made all of those records. At one moment he’ll say �Keep Your Head Up� and the next moment he’s like �Fuck bitches! Get Money!�. He’s all over the place, but he gets a pass. Most people get a pass but KRS-One - that’s his curse. He is �Stop The Violence� and that’s it.
I was also interested to know what you’ve been up to? Do you still do beats for Kris?
Yeah. Actually, he’s doing an album with Marley Marl…ironically. I never would have thought the day…now that, in all honesty, that might be contradictory. Marley was never really the problem, the problem was Mr. Magic. It end up being with Marley, and he dissed Shante when she had nothing to do with nothing, but he was like �Fuck it!�, and Shan. I find that ironic. Actually, I have a collection of old stuff that Kris did, like practice tapes and like some of the stuff that you have on your site, like unreleased stuff. Kris used to come to my house and we used to have a little $15 microphone and he used to rhyme onto the mixer and we used to record stuff over raw beats, and he would work-out routines or he’ll say some rhymes that end-up being on other stuff, and some rhymes that people never heard before. I was moving and I found all these cassettes that I had, so what I did was I took some of the stuff and I put it on CD, and I’m about to come out with it and put it out as a little album of all kinda practice tapes and unreleased stuff. I dunno if it’s long enough for a whole album, so I was thinking about adding some unreleased instrumentals that never came out, like �Sound of Da Police� and different beats.
I’ve been working on that project for a minute, I just haven’t had a chance to put it out. I’ve been doing a lotta deejaying in different spots, I haven’t had a chance to really sit down and say �Well let me do this�. But that’s the next thing I wanna do. I got rhymes that Kris said that were supposed to be on Return of the Boom Bap that didn’t…I got rhymes that were supposed to be on Criminal Minded! Little practice tapes that he did with Red Alert that no one ever heard. I’m the only one that has these tapes - I used to steal tapes from his house, back when I was younger. When Criminal Minded was out I was still in college, I wasn’t deejaying or anything. I was in school, so I used to come by the house and he’ll have a tape, and I used to be like �Let me hold this tape�, and then that was it! I’d just have it. So now, a lot of the stuff I have - I’m the only one on Earth in possession of it. Some of it doesn’t even have any hooks - it’s just rhyming, and then he’ll go �OK Kenny, cut that off�, or he’ll start talking and go �Nah, I’m gonna change that, and I’m gonna put this instead of that�. It’s real unedited stuff. He’s just rhyming and we’re just havin’ fun.
I’d buy a copy…that album you did with Heather B - the music on that was great. It was so raw, but the drums were crazy.
Thank-you very much, man. That was my little project. I just talked to Heather about a week ago. We were talking about doing some stuff, she had some ideas and I was like �Yo, let’s just put some stuff together and see how it sounds�. I still have a lot of tracks - I’ll still do tracks until the day I die. I’d talked about doing some more stuff with Kris, but then he ventured off and caught-up with Marley Marl. I guess Koch had some money, so he went off in that direction. [chuckles] But me and Kris was ’sposed to work on some stuff too - maybe afterwards or maybe a remix. I was always the one that got remixes on stuff. I did a couple of songs for Boom Bap that never made it, I did songs for different albums that somehow got cut-off…eventually Kris’ll get around to me.
Did you do Heather’s album on the SP?
The SP-1200, that’s my machine of choice. What happens is that’s the first drum machine I ever learned how to work, so I stuck with it. And I like how the drums sound on there - you get a harder kick and snare sound for some reason - so I still use it. I’m a little old school with that. There used to be a little civil war - the SP-1200 Vs. the MPC. I remember me and Premier were going back and forth about the virtues of both, and he was gonna teach me how to work the MPC one time, back when they was doin’ Boom Bap. I used to laugh about that, it was like a little war. On one side was the MPC guys, on the other side was the SP-1200 guys. But now the MPC is just so popular that I guess the MPC’s won. [laughs]
They stopped making the SP’s so they’re pretty expensive to get second-hand.
Mine is so old. My SP-1200 is from the 80’s! I still have my one from the 80’s, and actually - I jacked Kris for that! [laughing] All of my equipment I jacked! Kris is real impulsive. You could be like �Aww man, look at these turntables. They’re gettin’ kinda old. You should get some new turntables� and he’ll go �Yeah. Damn, I should!� and he’ll go buy some new turntables and you can go steal the old ones that weren’t really that old! Like the SP-1200 - we had been using it on the road, I used to rock beats in the shows, and I remember when we came back off the road and we was like �You know, this SP-1200’s been on the road, it’s been kinda beat-up� - imagine, we had it for like eight months - it was like �Yo, the SP-1200’s been all over the place! You should get another one� and he was like �Yeah, I’mma go get me a couple of �em!�. [laughs]
[laughing] So you were like �Kris, let me hold that old one!�
You can’t believe it. I got speakers, turntables - like four of �em, mixers - like five of �em, SP-1200, a four-track…I got all kind of stuff in that same mode of �Yo, this is garbage! Get a new one�.
Even though the BDP albums said �Produced by KRS-One�, DJ Doc and D-Nice used to help out as well, didn’t they?
Yeah, well it depends. Let me not speak on Doc because I wasn’t there for DJ Doc. I got aboard after Ghetto Music. I got on in â€?89, so I was at the studio a lot of times. I used to come from college and have some time off, so I’d go and hang out in the studio. I was in the studio when he did â€?Still #1″, but I didn’t even know what I was even looking at, so I’m not gonna comment on Doc. I know he was doin’ a lot of drum programming with Kris at that time, kinda the way that Ced Gee did with Scott [La Rock]. Scott had a lot of records and Scott knew the records he wanted, but Ced Gee is the one who hooked them up. Back then, it was the SP-12, Ced Gee was the only one that had one that anybody really knew! Ced Gee and Scott La Rock were real cool so Scott would have records and he’d be like â€?I wanna do this and this and thisâ€?, and Ced Gee would hook â€?em up. That’s how I understand it, but I wasn’t there. I think Doc was kinda the same with Chris in the early days, like â€?This is what I wanna doâ€? and Doc would hook it up. Supposedly, D-Nice brought Kris the beat for â€?Still #1″ - the 45 - and Kris took it and slowed it down and they hooked-up the drums and made the record.
I’ve read about three different people who claim they did the beat for Biz’s �Just A Friend�.
[laughing] It’s a fine line on what you did. Were you an engineer? Or did you actually add sounds? If you added sounds that’s different to me then if I say �You’re the one who knows how to work this machine, so can you engineer this for me?� You’re still supposed to get credit, but it’s a little different if you added sounds and you can say �I did it�. For example, I gave Kris the drums to �Ah Yeah�. It was not like a credit thing - Kris came to my house one day and was like �Yo, I need some drums for this song I’m working on�. I was like �Yo, check out these drums right here�. It was like a Sly Stone record or some obscure record at the time, and I gave him the drums and he said �Aight, cool� and left. And next thing I know…�Ah Yeah!�, that song was out. Or like �Black Cop� - I did the drums for �Black Cop�, and then Kris did the reggae part - which at the time, I thought was wack - and we got in a big argument over that song and I stormed out the studio. I was like �Oh, this is so wack!�.
And then he used it for Mad Lion.
Then Mad Lion got on it and used it again! Of course I got no credit and no publishing, but I just did the drums and that was it. The same thing with �The Jam�, that record he did with Shabba [Ranks]. I gave him the drums for that record. That was my thing, drums were like my thing.
But drums are the record a lot of the time…
I don’t wanna say that, but…right. But I learned how to produce from Kris. I’m not gonna say �I changed his career!� or anything, I’m just saying that some things I was down with. �Hip Hop Vs. Rap�…that record was my music but Kris put it together. It’s a funny story with �Hip Hop Vs Rap� - I was working with Heather B on something in D&D, and I left my a bunch of discs in the studio by accident. So Kris was working on something else, and he came there later on and they was like �Your brother left these discs, give it to him�, and Kris was like �I’ll take it and I’ll give it to him when I see him�. Of course he took �em and put �em in and was like �Well let’s hear what it is�, you know what I mean? So about a week later, Kris comes to me and goes �Yo, you left this music in the studio and they gave it to me to give to you, but I wanna use some of it. I’m gonna pay you some money for it�, and I was like �What? Some money out the blue? Aight, cool! I don’t care - whatever!�. So he was like �Well I already finished the record�. He asked backwards! He put the drums in there, but the music was different loops that I had left in the studio. He put it together and it became �Hip Hop Vs. Rap�.
A lot of times that’s how songs will get done with Kris. He lets people that’s in the studio have input, for the most part, if respects you. Plus people wanted to help Kris make songs - you want Kris to rhyme on your beats! So you’ll come and be like â€?Listen to this, I just did this. Listen to thatâ€?. Kris would be like â€?Cool - I’ll rock it!â€? and he’d put it together and that’d be the end of it! And later on, you might say â€?Damn, I kinda gave him this recordâ€?, but that’s neither here nor there. I mean I can’t be mad that I gave Kris some drums when I stole his SP-1200! So we have a different relationship. If I feel like I needed some money for a particular record, I could come to him now and say â€?Yo Kris, gimme $3000″. I don’t mind if he came to me like â€?I need drumsâ€? or â€?Let me get this disk right here so I can use it for this thing right hereâ€?. I don’t really care, I mean he’s the one who taught me how to produce! And he taught me how to DJ too! So I’m not really sweatin’ that.
So you’ve been deejayin’ the last couple of years?
We still do shows. I do some shows with Kris, not all the shows with Kris. He moved to LA. He took a job with Warner Brothers back in �99, he was Vice President of Reprise Records or somethin’ for like a year and a half. So when he moved out to LA, then it started not becoming really time or cost efficient for me to fly out there or fly all these places every time we had a show. Then I started deejaying in clubs around New York, and I’m deejaying in spots now. I’ve been doing a lot of club deejaying, mostly.
Do you just play a bit of everything?
It depends on where I’m at. Some spots I’m at, if it’s like a real hip-hop crowd, then I can play all the good hip-hop stuff. I like to play all the classic stuff people know - Gangstarr, Tribe, BDP, Public Enemy - I like playing stuff like that. But sometimes I’ll DJ for young people that like �Laffy Taffy� or whatever - which I think is the worst record ever recorded, by the way. In the history of recorded music, I think that’s the worst song.
[laughing] What about �Chicken Noodle Soup�?
You know what? I’m gonna say �Chicken Noodle Soup� is even better than �Laffy Taffy�. At least it’s a little girl, and it’s a stupid little record - she’s not coming out trying to say she’s the next dope MC, so I’ll give her a pass. �Laffy Taffy� is grown men. But when you’re deejaying for 20 year-olds, you can’t really play �The Bridge Is Over� because they was like two years old when that record came out! They’ll stop and just look at you like you’re stupid, or they’ll come up to you and ask you �Can you play 50 Cent again?�
As far as your production, I remember one of the first records you did was �I Get Wreck� with Heather B. She had a nice style on that record.
I’m gonna pass that little compliment along to her. She’ll be very happy to hear that too. I just put out two sample records with different samples that Kris used over the years. I had a part one and two that just came out last year, called BDP Breaks. I put some obscure stuff that I only I know he used…I don’t know if it’s sold-out now or what - they pressed maybe a thousand each of �em. The guy is really stressin’ me like �Come out with more stuff�, That’s why I was gonna put out the unreleased KRS stuff and all the mixtape stuff that we did, because I think that’s stuff that people would really like to hear, like crazy old rhymes from 1992. Some of it is straight from a cassette - it’s that raw. You ever been to a store that sells all kind of different stuff? They’ll have like pants, little t-shirts and all kinds of stupid shit, and they’ll have a microphone. It’s like �Let’s buy that mic so we can take it home and play around�. It’s that raw sounding, but some of the rhymes are crazy. I have him doing a freestyle of �Criminal Minded� over �Funky Drummer�, that Red Alert was cuttin’ up, and some of the rhymes are different. That’s a tape I stole from when I was in school, like twenty years ago!
Have you got any video footage of old shows? I remember he did that Live Hardcore Worldwide.
He’s been meaning to do another one for years, and never did it. He has all this footage…you know, Kris loses stuff a lot. You ever know somebody who you say �Don’t give them that tape ’cause it’s gonna get lost�? Everybody’s got a friend like �Don’t lend them nothin’!� Kris is like that. Like the footage of the thing with PRT, that whole thing at that lecture. Actually, Heather B was filming that lecture, and then Kris took the tape and you never saw the tape ever again! He’s not real reflective like that. Say he got a DAT with some old song that he never did, he wouldn’t be like �Yo, people might want to hear this�. He’ll just be like �Oh that’s trash. I was a whole different person then. I’m on to something new now�. But I’ll be like �Yo, let me get it. I’ll hold it�. A lot of the breaks he’s used over the years on different records, I end up having them in my possession because he’ll just throw the record somewhere, and that’ll be the end of it!
That whole era, especially around the first few albums, that was just a good era in hip-hop, so hearing anything from that time is always good.
Believe me, I know. But it’s a real uphill battle with that dude. Right now, all he’ll talk about is �I got this next, new rhyme, and a new rhyme style. I’m tryin’ to get this new rhyme out, I’m not even trying to think about �86 or �89.� Plus I told him I was gonna put out all this old practice tapes stuff that we had, he was like �I don’t care�. Only thing he said to me was �Give me a copy so I can learn the rhymes again, so maybe I can do it in a show�. That’s all he thinks about. If it’s not pertaining to a show, he don’t care.
Did you get many good photos over the years?
You know who has a lot of photos? Willie D. I never really had a camera. You know what my problem was? I was really stealing a lot of the stuff. I never created my own. If someone had something, I’ll steal it. Like tapes or vinyls or equipment - I was that guy, as sad as it sounds. Willie D has a good picture of KRS and Rakim, and I’ve never seen a picture of KRS and Rakim ever.
What’s Willie D doing these days?
Actually he has some group he was trying to shop, I was just talking to him about three months ago. He lives in the Bronx and he has an interesting story too. He’s been rolling with Kris since before �South Bronx�, ’cause B-Boy Records was right next to his house. That’s how they met. He’s not really much one for interviews though.
I read somewhere that ICU and Jesse West are the same person?
No, Jesse West and ICU aren’t the same guy. Jesse West is from the Bronx, he used to be down with Puffy. He produced �Step Into A World�. I was in the studio when Jesse West came in, and he put it on and everyone was like �Yo, that’s the beat right there!� and I’m like �That’s �Champ’. That’s regular old �Champ’�. He chopped it, but I didn’t see the vision. I was like �It’s aight�, but then the next day Kris was like �Yo, listen to this singing part�. When I heard that over the beat, then I was like �Oh, now that’s hot!� That was one of our biggest songs, that was a huge song for us that year. I’m always the one in Kris’ ear going �You know what? This sucks�. You ever known that guy who doesn’t like anything? I’m always that guy. I usually agree with most of the things he says, but every so often he’ll tell me something and I’ll go �Hell no�, and then it will come to pass and it’ll work, and I’ll be like �Oh, shoot�. Like he told me that he can get people to jump in the air, in 1989. This was when �Pump your fist like this!� - everybody was pumping their fist, that was like getting hype. And Kris was like �I think I can get them more hype. I think I can get them to jump.� I was like �Hell no. Americans? They’re not jumping up and down!� Boy was I wrong! [laughs]
I’m the first person that told him he was a corny rapper, actually. This is in �81, when he first started rhyming. I was like 14, he was like 15, and he used to make tapes and they were horrible. Like �You’re the worst, man�. He used to be like �I’m dope!� - nah he didn’t use �dope�, I dunno, whatever the word was…�I’m the joint�, we used to say that…
�I’m funky fresh�
[laughs] Yeah. When �South Bronx� blew-up, I was the first person that was like �Yo, you did it!� I can’t believe that this guy - my brother, I mean we used to argue over socks - this guy has a hit record. There’s a record called �Crack Attack�, and that was Boogie Down Productions actual first record. It came out a little bit before �South Bronx�. They’re on the same B-Boy Records, and he had to do that record in order to do �South Bronx�. He didn’t even write it, he just did it. It did nothing, it was just terrible. The first time I heard �South Bronx� I was like �Yo, it sounds like you’re dissing Shan?� and he was like �Yeah!�, and I was like �Yo, MC Shan is dope! Do you know what you’re doing?� He was like [unimpressed] �He’s alright�. I thought he was crazy to diss MC Shan! I remember hearing �Kill That Noise� and seeing Kris, and I said �Yo, Shan answered you. You had a good career, man. �South Bronx’ was a good song, and I told you not to mess with Shan!�
So you thought Shan shut him down?
Kind of! �Cause that’s the only rhyme that I’d heard him do. I didn’t know he had the whole Criminal Minded album already in his head. I was still in school, so I used to see him every so often, like on the weekends or whatever, and �South Bronx� was a big hit, but as it died down �Kill That Noise� came out and I was like �Damn, it’s over for you. At least you were like a one-hit wonder, you did your thing�, and he’s like �I’ve got this record called �The Bridge Is Over’, and I’m like [condescendingly] �How does it go?� He’s like [does the piano riff], I’m like �Aww, that’s wack! It’s over!� He was like �I’mma do it tonight at Union Square. Come to Union Square and I’mma do it�.
I went with him and he did his show, and then he did �South Bronx� and people started going �Kill that noise! Kill that noise!�, like that. Shan had people there, and Kris was going �What y’all saying? Kill that noise? Oh yeah?� I was like �Ohh shit!� and he was like �Yo, I got this record called �The Bridge Is Over’ - hit it Scott!� And Scott threw on the beat, and everybody’s quiet, and then he goes �The Bridge is over! The Bridge is over! Budda bye-bye!� and the whole place went to the ceiling! He’s saying these rhymes, and no one had never really said people’s names in a record like that: �Magic - sucking! Shante’s good for fucking!� This is the first time people were hearing…people were stunned. They were going bazerk. People was yelling and screaming. That’s still my favorite record he ever made - because how I got it - and I thought his career was over, and I got it live at Union Square in front of a thousand people going crazy! Every time I hear that record, I think of that day. That was an incredible song. I didn’t know he had that in him. I don’t know if you’ve got any brothers or sisters…
I’ve got a younger sister.
Can you imagine your sister coming out with a hit? And then another hit? It’s unbelievable. KRS was a really weird child. He used to talk about poetry and metaphysics at fourteen. I was tryin’ to play basketball and be cool, and he was like on some other…he had no friends, he was just like a real weirdo.
Hanging out at the library and stuff.
Yeah, and he used to run away from home every few weeks, and the police would find him and bring him back…if you look back on it, you can see how he became KRS, because his confidence…he’s always been ultra confident, but he wasn’t dope! It wasn’t like he was a dope MC - not in �81! He was just a regular dude trying to rhyme. He used to go to my friends house and make tapes. My friend used to have a tape deck, but he had a dog. So every time he used to play the music, the dog used to bark. They’d make tapes, and Kris would be rhyming and there’d be music playing - like whatever the hot record is of the day, �Catch The Beat�. I remember they used to rhyme to �Catch The Beat�, T-Ski Valley, all the time. �Catch The Beat� would come on, he’ll rhyme over the instrumental, but the dog would be barking in the background!
So now he’ll come back home, be like �Listen to this�. And it’s him rhyming, some corny rhyme, with the dog goin’ �Woof! Woof! Woof! Woof! Woof!� on the tape! [We both crack up with laughter] And I’m like �Yo, this shit is horrible! This is the worst shit I’ve ever heard in my life!� and he was like �You’re just jealous! You don’t know!� We’re like typical brothers, we used to argue all the time. So that’s why when �South Bronx� came out, it was like �Wow. You really can rhyme!� And then it was like �The Bridge Is Over� was a completely different style. It was incredible! It’s just amazing to see this guy come from running away from home to this big rap star. I still sometimes can’t believe it.
He changed the way people rhymed even, because everyone was trying to rap like Run-DMC.
Yeah! Imagine his ego and his confidence - he was so confident, that was like �I’m not rhyming like Run. I’m not rhyming like everybody else. I’m coming with this style�. He was almost a fool, you know what I mean? His style was dope, but it was almost like �Who do you think you are to say you’re not rhyming like Run?� But then when you heard the rhymes…see, I didn’t hear the rhymes until �South Bronx�. Then I was determined to steal tapes after that.
Before that, you were throwing the tapes out!
——————————————————————
Heather B. - I Get Wreck (twelve inch, Elektra, 1992]
KRS-One - Black Cop [Return of the Boom Bap, Jive, 1993]
Heather B - All Glocks Down (YouTube)
Heather B. - If Headz Only Knew (YouTube)
If you’re so inclined, you can grab the full Heather B LP over here.
you just never know when you're living in a golden age.
�Lynched� Video Banned By YouTube
"Lynched" Video Banned By YouTube
After getting over 5,000 views in one day, YouTube removed this �anti-cooning� video from Staten Island’s NYOIL. I guess Google are throwing their weight around over there already, huh? Sounds like the Black Bastards cover controversy all over again…
Dude’s not biting his tongue for no one by the looks of things, as the clip calls out a whole bunch of �sell-out� rappers.
Stay tuned for an interview with this young upstart shortly.
NYOIL - "Y’All Should All Get Lynched" video:
After getting over 5,000 views in one day, YouTube removed this �anti-cooning� video from Staten Island’s NYOIL. I guess Google are throwing their weight around over there already, huh? Sounds like the Black Bastards cover controversy all over again…
Dude’s not biting his tongue for no one by the looks of things, as the clip calls out a whole bunch of �sell-out� rappers.
Stay tuned for an interview with this young upstart shortly.
NYOIL - "Y’All Should All Get Lynched" video:
you just never know when you're living in a golden age.
Beat This: A Hip Hop History (1984)
Dedicat persoanelor care au o slabiciune pentru acele vremuri. Filmul e de fapt o emisiune/documentar realizata pentru BBC prin anul 84 si contine secvente clasice, folosite in documentarele mai contemporane ( Freshest Kids, Scratch & others ) una din cele mai cunoscute fiind cea care-l are in prim plan pe Kool Herc mergand pe strazile din Bronx cu boxele pe bancheta din spate a masinii sale prezentand locurile unde dadea party-uri, de unde-si procura el discurile, iar pe celelalte va las sa le descoperiti singuri.
Va sugerez sa va inarmati si cu multa rabdare pentru a downloada de pe RS.de, mie mi-a luat o zi intreaga, dar satisfactia e pe masura
www.sunetesubsol.net
Dedicat persoanelor care au o slabiciune pentru acele vremuri. Filmul e de fapt o emisiune/documentar realizata pentru BBC prin anul 84 si contine secvente clasice, folosite in documentarele mai contemporane ( Freshest Kids, Scratch & others ) una din cele mai cunoscute fiind cea care-l are in prim plan pe Kool Herc mergand pe strazile din Bronx cu boxele pe bancheta din spate a masinii sale prezentand locurile unde dadea party-uri, de unde-si procura el discurile, iar pe celelalte va las sa le descoperiti singuri.
Va sugerez sa va inarmati si cu multa rabdare pentru a downloada de pe RS.de, mie mi-a luat o zi intreaga, dar satisfactia e pe masura
www.sunetesubsol.net
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