The Ass Hurt Anthem??? - KRS One's "I Was There"

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  • street_muzikstreet_muzik 3,919 Posts
    Zoot Suit Riots, I was there.

  • dayday 9,611 Posts
    Jesus' birth, I was there.

  • spelunkspelunk 3,400 Posts
    A lot of people diss KRS but what he is doing is bringing awareness of the essence of Hip Hop to the younger cats who grew up in the Puffy era who don???t have the reference points we have.
    People are saying Marley isnt relevant anymore and that they can make better beats than him but if anyone ???Was There??? they weren???t saying that when they were 14 years old and first heard The Symphony etc.

    I feel positive about ???Hip Hop Lives??? because its that Return Of The Boom Bap mentality and another example of that effortless flow of talent that KRS, Marley and others of the Golden Era had and still have today.


    What good is KRS really doing if he is putting out shitty music like this? This shit is wack, and would have been wack 5, 10, or 20 years ago. I mean honestly, what impression is KRS leaving about his era of hip-hop? There are a lot of younger hip-hop dudes these days who have this impression like "Yeah I respect the old-school dudes because it's history and roots" but don't get down to their music in the slightest, because they haven't ever been exposed to the dope music of that era, just the fucking infomercials like this turd. They've never been exposed to Brand Nubian, Organized Konfusion, Main Source, X-Clan, or 90% of Public Enemy. Forget about Biz Markie or Marley Marl, or anything Electro. All they hear about the old school is this asshurt shit plus more asshurt underground rappers shouting out the old school are left thinking "well that didn't excite me in the slightest but I have to dig it because it's old."

    Sorry, shit like this just bugs me; evangelizing hip-hop idealism through wack music is some regressive bullshit. If KRS wants to revive that sound and style, then he should go make a dope record instead of blathering his resume over this shit.

  • BsidesBsides 4,244 Posts
    A lot of people diss KRS but what he is doing is bringing awareness of the essence of Hip Hop to the younger cats who grew up in the Puffy era who don???t have the reference points we have.
    People are saying Marley isnt relevant anymore and that they can make better beats than him but if anyone ???Was There??? they weren???t saying that when they were 14 years old and first heard The Symphony etc.

    I feel positive about ???Hip Hop Lives??? because its that Return Of The Boom Bap mentality and another example of that effortless flow of talent that KRS, Marley and others of the Golden Era had and still have today.


    What good is KRS really doing if he is putting out shitty music like this? This shit is wack, and would have been wack 5, 10, or 20 years ago. I mean honestly, what impression is KRS leaving about his era of hip-hop? There are a lot of younger hip-hop dudes these days who have this impression like "Yeah I respect the old-school dudes because it's history and roots" but don't get down to their music in the slightest, because they haven't ever been exposed to the dope music of that era, just the fucking infomercials like this turd. They've never been exposed to Brand Nubian, Organized Konfusion, Main Source, X-Clan, or 90% of Public Enemy. Forget about Biz Markie or Marley Marl, or anything Electro. All they hear about the old school is this asshurt shit plus more asshurt underground rappers shouting out the old school are left thinking "well that didn't excite me in the slightest but I have to dig it because it's old."

    Sorry, shit like this just bugs me; evangelizing hip-hop idealism through wack music is some regressive bullshit. If KRS wants to revive that sound and style, then he should go make a dope record instead of blathering his resume over this shit.



    but........he was THERE.


    krs is still doing what he always does. god bless him and hes a legend and he gets props over here. Im not rushing out to buy anything hes putting out anymore but still how can you really be that mad at dude?

  • yoigotbeatsyoigotbeats 1,667 Posts
    I guess I'm asshurt cuz I would rather newjacks not revise history cuz they've just found this exciting part of the past. As much as I like most of you OG journalists, none of you really provided the critical journalism needed for the genre not become what it is (remember when James Bernard got beat down and The Source mysteriously started giving everything 3 & a half mics?). I'm just relived that Bill Adler's doing the encyclopedia of Hip Hop.

    Get a fucking latepass, sit down and don't act like you fucking know CUZ I WAS THERE!

  • DJ_EnkiDJ_Enki 6,471 Posts
    Grassy Knoll, I was there.

    Fake moon landing, I was there.

  • roistoroisto 879 Posts
    As much as I like most of you OG journalists, none of you really provided the critical journalism needed for the genre not become what it is

    So journalists are to blame for all the wackness that's out there now?

  • mannybolonemannybolone Los Angeles, CA 15,025 Posts
    I guess I'm asshurt cuz I would rather newjacks not revise history cuz they've just found this exciting part of the past. As much as I like most of you OG journalists, none of you really provided the critical journalism needed for the genre not become what it is (remember when James Bernard got beat down and The Source mysteriously started giving everything 3 & a half mics?). I'm just relived that Bill Adler's doing the encyclopedia of Hip Hop

    Uh Georges...you realize that most of whom Adler is reaching out to are probably the same "OG journalists" you just put on blast?

    Doh.



    For real though - you're kind of confusing things a bit here. The lack of critical journalism in hip-hop has been a consequence of at least two factors: the writers and the editors. And in that regard, yeah, the writers deserve to shoulder part of the blame for being cheerleaders when they should have been telling shit like it is but hey, EVERYONE in that era were cheerleaders. We all wanted to see hip-hop "succeed" (whatever the fuck that meant in hindsight) and given how insanely ass hurt artists would get over even the most constructive of criticism (need I even name names?), it hardly created an atmosphere for the kind of, say, rock criticism you saw in the heydey of the Meltzer/Christgau/Marcus/Bangs era.

    But without trying to pass the buck too hard, ultimately, you have to recognize that what writers were able to do was largely constrained by the editorial vision (or lack thereof) of the publishers and editors. Why do you think The Source started handing out 3.5s? You think that was the critics' call? I know you know you better. By the late '90s, ALL the major mags were pandering, with the exception of ego trip and maybe a teeny handful of others.

    And in any case, I don't see how KRS' narcissism challenges any of this. He's as much a bullshit myth maker as anyone.

  • DB_CooperDB_Cooper Manhatin' 7,823 Posts
    Grassy Knoll, I was there.

    Fake moon landing, I was there.

    When KRS One stopped being relevant, I was there.


    By the way, I think people need to revisit BDP and early KRS solo work. You may find his earlier stuff isn't quite as brilliant as you remember it being.

  • yoigotbeatsyoigotbeats 1,667 Posts
    As much as I like most of you OG journalists, none of you really provided the critical journalism needed for the genre not become what it is

    So journalists are to blame for all the wackness that's out there now?

    Let's not be dense. If no one points out marginal records as being marginal, when shit has dwindled to utter crap one can't sit and wonder how it happened. We all watched this train-wreck, and some people could've put in print what they said and felt to their friends. And when Melle-Mel gets in some interweb squab and says I told you so, we can't act like he's just bitter - dude's been saying the same shit since 87!

  • mannybolonemannybolone Los Angeles, CA 15,025 Posts
    As much as I like most of you OG journalists, none of you really provided the critical journalism needed for the genre not become what it is

    So journalists are to blame for all the wackness that's out there now?

    Let's not be dense. If no one points out marginal records as being marginal, when shit has dwindled to utter crap one can't sit and wonder how it happened. We all watched this train-wreck, and some people could've put in print what they said and felt to their friends. And when Melle-Mel gets in some interweb squab and says I told you so, we can't act like he's just bitter - dude's been saying the same shit since 87!

    My friend - you give the profession far, far, far too much credit. Not that I disagree with some of your underlying presumptions but at the end of the day, the journalistic role as "gatekeepers" is widely overstated. You think 1000 negative reviews would have prevented 1000 shitty albums from coming out? Especially now? Saying.

  • yoigotbeatsyoigotbeats 1,667 Posts
    Uh Georges...you realize that most of whom Adler is reaching out to are probably the same "OG journalists" you just put on blast?

    I doubt dream hampton or P-Fine will be contributers... Bill being involved, to me, means that he will at the very least question shit that may be suspect. He's been there (no pun intended) since pretty much the beginning and watching his passion for this shit in 85 is still inspiring. I think He'll do it the best shot of accuracy one could ask for and being in cats like you, jeff, harry allen, nelson, et al will only make the shit as good as it can be.


    For real though - you're kind of confusing things a bit here. The lack of critical journalism in hip-hop has been a consequence of at least two factors: the writers and the editors. And in that regard, yeah, the writers deserve to shoulder part of the blame for being cheerleaders when they should have been telling shit like it is but hey, EVERYONE in that era were cheerleaders. We all wanted to see hip-hop "succeed" (whatever the fuck that meant in hindsight) and given how insanely ass hurt artists would get over even the most constructive of criticism (need I even name names?), it hardly created an atmosphere for the kind of, say, rock criticism you saw in the heydey of the Meltzer/Christgau/Marcus/Bangs era.

    You & I have talked about my beef with the lack of rock-type critcs and you're prolly right in the regard that it was the editors who reined a lot of you in. I kinda feel like I'm continuing a convo with some of you without the rest of those reading are privvy to, so I'll continue when I see/talk to some of you in person (dub - I have a surprise for you!)


    And in any case, I don't see how KRS' narcissism challenges any of this. He's as much a bullshit myth maker as anyone.

    I know this mang, but to me he's that DUDE. Remember he said

    "I'm not saying I'm number one - sorry I lied
    I number one, two, three, four & five"

    he's never been one to let being "right" get in the way of his convictions.

    The best emcee to ever touch a mic. I rock Krisstyles. I'll roll with him always.

  • yoigotbeatsyoigotbeats 1,667 Posts
    My friend - you give the profession far, far, far too much credit. Not that I disagree with some of your underlying presumptions but at the end of the day, the journalistic role as "gatekeepers" is widely overstated.

    Of course I do - I'm an optimist. I still believe good art (whether it be music, film, books, et al) will always find its way to the masses. shit's wack now cuz WE'RE WACK NOW. We've all let shit slide in general. LIke I said earlier, my thought process isn't as liner as it need to be for this context.

  • MANIPHESTMANIPHEST 40 Posts
    By the way, I think people need to revisit BDP and early KRS solo work. You may find his earlier stuff isn't quite as brilliant as you remember it being.

    Just revisited I'm still # 1 and its still dope
    Jack of Spades = still dope
    Outta Here = still dope
    South Bronx = still dope


  • DB_CooperDB_Cooper Manhatin' 7,823 Posts
    By the way, I think people need to revisit BDP and early KRS solo work. You may find his earlier stuff isn't quite as brilliant as you remember it being.

    Just revisited I'm still # 1 and its still dope
    Jack of Spades = still dope
    Outta Here = still dope
    South Bronx = still dope


    I mean brilliant in the sense of "intellectually advanced." Dude was referred to as "The Teacher," no?

  • mannybolonemannybolone Los Angeles, CA 15,025 Posts
    By the way, I think people need to revisit BDP and early KRS solo work. You may find his earlier stuff isn't quite as brilliant as you remember it being.

    Just revisited I'm still # 1 and its still dope
    Jack of Spades = still dope
    Outta Here = still dope
    South Bronx = still dope


    Put on "My Philosophy" and "You Must Learn" and re-evaluate.

  • batmonbatmon 27,574 Posts
    By the way, I think people need to revisit BDP and early KRS solo work. You may find his earlier stuff isn't quite as brilliant as you remember it being.


    You have to critique it in its proper context. At the time he was sayin things that these other mcs werent.
    And he was still light years ahead of all the Black Power Rap wannabees.


    Beef, what a relief
    When will this poisonous product cease?
    This is another public service announcement
    You can believe it, or you can doubt it
    Let us begin now with the cow
    The way it gets to your plate and how
    The cow doesn't grow fast enough for man
    So through his greed he makes a faster plan
    He has drugs to make the cow grow quicker
    Through the stress the cow gets sicker
    Twenty-one different drugs are pumped
    Into the cow in one big lump
    So just before it dies, it cries
    In the slaughterhouse full of germs and flies
    Off with the head, they pack it, drain it, and cart it
    And there it is, in your local supermarket
    Red and bloody, a corpse, neatly packed
    And you wonder about heart attacks?
    Come on now man let's be for real
    You are what you eat is the way I feel
    But, the Food and Drug Administration
    Will tell you meat is the perfect combination
    See cows live under fear and stress
    Trying to think what's gonna happen next

    Fear and stress can become a part of you
    In your cells and blood, this is true
    So when the cow is killed, believe it
    You preserve those cells, you freeze it
    Thaw it out with the blood and season it
    Then you sit down and begin eatin it
    In your body, it's structure becomes your structure
    All the fear and stress of another
    Any drug is addictive by any name
    Even drugs in meat, they are the same
    The FDA has America strung out
    On drugs in beef no doubt
    So if you think that what I say is a bunch of crock
    Tell yourself you're gonna try and stop
    Eatin meat and you'll see you can't compete
    It's the number one drug on the street
    Not crack, cause that was made for just black
    But brown beef, for all American teeth
    Life brings life and death brings death
    Keep on eatin the dead and what's left
    Absolute disease and negative
    Read the book 'How to Eat to Live'
    By Elijah Muhammad, it's a brown paperback
    For anybody, either white or black
    See how many cows must be pumped up fatter
    How many rats gotta fall in the batter
    How many chickens that eat shit you eat
    How much high blood pressure you get from pig feet
    See you'll consume, the FDA could care less
    They'll sell you donkey meat and say it's
    FRESH! For nineteen-ninety, you SUCKERS

  • m_dejeanm_dejean Quadratisch. Praktisch. Gut. 2,946 Posts

  • batmonbatmon 27,574 Posts
    I copped.....6.0

  • faux_rillzfaux_rillz 14,343 Posts
    By the way, I think people need to revisit BDP and early KRS solo work. You may find his earlier stuff isn't quite as brilliant as you remember it being.


    You have to critique it in its proper context. At the time he was sayin things that these other mcs werent.
    And he was still light years ahead of all the Black Power Rap wannabees.


    Beef, what a relief
    When will this poisonous product cease?
    This is another public service announcement
    You can believe it, or you can doubt it
    Let us begin now with the cow
    The way it gets to your plate and how
    The cow doesn't grow fast enough for man
    So through his greed he makes a faster plan
    He has drugs to make the cow grow quicker
    Through the stress the cow gets sicker
    Twenty-one different drugs are pumped
    Into the cow in one big lump
    So just before it dies, it cries
    In the slaughterhouse full of germs and flies
    Off with the head, they pack it, drain it, and cart it
    And there it is, in your local supermarket
    Red and bloody, a corpse, neatly packed
    And you wonder about heart attacks?
    Come on now man let's be for real
    You are what you eat is the way I feel
    But, the Food and Drug Administration
    Will tell you meat is the perfect combination
    See cows live under fear and stress
    Trying to think what's gonna happen next

    Fear and stress can become a part of you
    In your cells and blood, this is true
    So when the cow is killed, believe it
    You preserve those cells, you freeze it
    Thaw it out with the blood and season it
    Then you sit down and begin eatin it
    In your body, it's structure becomes your structure
    All the fear and stress of another
    Any drug is addictive by any name
    Even drugs in meat, they are the same
    The FDA has America strung out
    On drugs in beef no doubt
    So if you think that what I say is a bunch of crock
    Tell yourself you're gonna try and stop
    Eatin meat and you'll see you can't compete
    It's the number one drug on the street
    Not crack, cause that was made for just black
    But brown beef, for all American teeth
    Life brings life and death brings death
    Keep on eatin the dead and what's left
    Absolute disease and negative
    Read the book 'How to Eat to Live'
    By Elijah Muhammad, it's a brown paperback
    For anybody, either white or black
    See how many cows must be pumped up fatter
    How many rats gotta fall in the batter
    How many chickens that eat shit you eat
    How much high blood pressure you get from pig feet
    See you'll consume, the FDA could care less
    They'll sell you donkey meat and say it's
    FRESH! For nineteen-ninety, you SUCKERS

    Seriously.

    The very act of KRS saying what he was saying at the time--even if I might take issue with some of the details--was so damn powerful.

  • By the way, I think people need to revisit BDP and early KRS solo work. You may find his earlier stuff isn't quite as brilliant as you remember it being.


    You have to critique it in its proper context. At the time he was sayin things that these other mcs werent.
    And he was still light years ahead of all the Black Power Rap wannabees.


    Beef, what a relief
    When will this poisonous product cease?
    This is another public service announcement
    You can believe it, or you can doubt it
    Let us begin now with the cow
    The way it gets to your plate and how
    The cow doesn't grow fast enough for man
    So through his greed he makes a faster plan
    He has drugs to make the cow grow quicker
    Through the stress the cow gets sicker
    Twenty-one different drugs are pumped
    Into the cow in one big lump
    So just before it dies, it cries
    In the slaughterhouse full of germs and flies
    Off with the head, they pack it, drain it, and cart it
    And there it is, in your local supermarket
    Red and bloody, a corpse, neatly packed
    And you wonder about heart attacks?
    Come on now man let's be for real
    You are what you eat is the way I feel
    But, the Food and Drug Administration
    Will tell you meat is the perfect combination
    See cows live under fear and stress
    Trying to think what's gonna happen next

    Fear and stress can become a part of you
    In your cells and blood, this is true
    So when the cow is killed, believe it
    You preserve those cells, you freeze it
    Thaw it out with the blood and season it
    Then you sit down and begin eatin it
    In your body, it's structure becomes your structure
    All the fear and stress of another
    Any drug is addictive by any name
    Even drugs in meat, they are the same
    The FDA has America strung out
    On drugs in beef no doubt
    So if you think that what I say is a bunch of crock
    Tell yourself you're gonna try and stop
    Eatin meat and you'll see you can't compete
    It's the number one drug on the street
    Not crack, cause that was made for just black
    But brown beef, for all American teeth
    Life brings life and death brings death
    Keep on eatin the dead and what's left
    Absolute disease and negative
    Read the book 'How to Eat to Live'
    By Elijah Muhammad, it's a brown paperback
    For anybody, either white or black
    See how many cows must be pumped up fatter
    How many rats gotta fall in the batter
    How many chickens that eat shit you eat
    How much high blood pressure you get from pig feet
    See you'll consume, the FDA could care less
    They'll sell you donkey meat and say it's
    FRESH! For nineteen-ninety, you SUCKERS

    hell yeah, that track is insane.




  • Put on "My Philosophy" and "You Must Learn" and re-evaluate.

    What is the problem with these? I literally just listened to "My Philosophy" and it still bangs. Shit is the the origin of all kinds of catch-phrases.

  • batmonbatmon 27,574 Posts


    Put on "My Philosophy" and "You Must Learn" and re-evaluate.

    What is the problem with these? I literally just listened to "My Philosophy" and it still bangs. Shit is the the origin of all kinds of catch-phrases.

    Nothing. He was using those songs as an example of of BDP's skill. GBHills is out of touch w/ the MC's evolution.

    [krs-one]
    This shit is crazy! your remarks dont faze me!
    People have a problem with me, cause I aint lazy
    I talk on vinyl then I act
    What have you done, besides critique krs-one?
    I create organizations
    Without organization, therell be no black nation
    What the fuck are you really saying?
    You aint a human while your musics boomin anti-human
    Im assumin -- if you aint human youre a beast
    The white man could be the devil all the day, thats the least
    What are you doing for yourself black man?
    Trying hard to be the original man - who?
    The first man, with the first tan, on the first land
    With the first clan, who gives a damn? ? ? !
    In history krs is well advised
    But its something that my brain wont memorize
    I dont base my whole life on memory
    I base my life on my spirit and body chemistry
    Africa is the home of humanity
    Which makes the african a humanist, challenge me
    You gotta learn not to be so concerned
    With the original man, and see the criminal man, yeah!
    The now man, with the now plan, with the now tan
    With the right now genocide master plan
    Damn! we gotta think about stopping this
    God is not any black man on the land; God is conciousness
    When you understand this youll see kris
    Until then, you can get dissed
    Im not your prophet, messiah, minister, or savior
    Chill with that ill behavior
    I zero in like a laser
    Youre cuttin your wrists with a razor
    I got all type of flavors
    Yes I am the original teacher
    You gotta study the quran, torah, bahavaghita
    The bible, five baskets of buddha zen
    And when youve read them shits, read them shits again!
    But watch what youre repeatin
    If you dont know the history of the author
    You dont know what youre reading!
    Yeah Im still the original
    Leaving mcs lyrically miserable
    Their criminal syllables are minimal, show me respect boy
    Cause I build and destroy!
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