Hip Hop Knowledge Lyrics - The Sneak Attack - Krs One

You know, life is funny 

If you don't repeat the actions of your own success 

You won't be successful 

You gotta know your own formula, your own ingredients 

What made you, YOU 

1987 I was at the Latin Quarters 

Listenin to Afrika Bambaata give the order 

The call of the order was to avoid the slaughter 

He said, "Record companies ain't got nuttin for ya!" 

Without a lawyer, he taught The Infinity Lessons 

In how hip-hop could be a, many a blessing 

And that was great, so in 1988 

There was no debate, we had to end the hate 

The name of the game was "Stop the Violence" 

And unity, knowledge, and self-reliance 

We - started talkin bout Martin and Malcolm 

Had these ghetto kids goin, "Huh, what about him?" 

1989, Professor Griff speaks his mind 

But his freedom of speech is declined 

1990 came with the West coast 

East coast, West coast, who is the best coast? 

Lookin back now, of COURSE it was bogus 

The whole argument was where we lost focus 

We got hopeless; not with the lyrics and music 

But with hip-hop, and how we used it 

Or abused it, you know how the crew get 

"You like it cause you choose it" 

1991, we opened our eyes 

With Human Education Against Lies, we tried 

To talk about the state of humanity 

But all these others rappers got mad at me 

They called me "Captain Human", another message was sent 

"Self Destruction don't pay the {fuckin} rent" 

Remember that? Nobody wanted conscious rap 

It was like - where these ballers at? 

Where can they call us at? All was wack 

Hip-Hop culture was fallin flat and that was that 

So in 1992, I found my crew 

They said, "Yo Kris, what you wanna do?" 

I said, "Damn - why they wanna get with me? 

If I bust they {shit} I'm contradictory. 

If I play the bitch role, they take my shoe. 

Tell me what the {fuck} am I supposed to do?" 

So I did it, don't stop get it get it get it 

All of a sudden these critics they wanna spit it 

"Kay Are Ess One is con-tra-dic-to-ry" 

Just cause I wouldn't let these rappers get with me 

{Fuck} that, {fuck} you and {fuck} your pen 

If a rapper wanna diss, yo I'd do it again 

But I'm makin these ends, and I got my friends 

And I really don't wanna have to sit in the pen 

So I go back to the philosopher 

1993 hip-hop is uhh.. wack 

Go back, check the facts 

1994, "Return of the Boom Bap" 

It wasn't all about the loot 

It was all about Harry Allen Rhythm Cultural Institute 

Blowin up, 1995 

Conscious rap is still alive 

But nobody wanna play it, nobody wanna say it 

Nobody okayed it, they'd all rather hate it 

1996 it really don't stop 

We put together somethin called the Temple of Hip-Hop 

Not just DJin, breakin, graf and lyrics 

But how hip-hop affects the spirit 

"Step Into a World," that's what I did 

1997 I was raisin my kid 

Or kids, but I, had to go 

Cause New York DJ's changed the flows 

To clothes and hoes, but that wasn't me 

I'll be damned if I dance for the MTV 

So in 1998 I began to debate 

Should I go now, or should I really wait? 

'99, I moved to L.A. you see 

And took a gig with the WB 

Started studyin philosophy full-time 

To have a full heart, full body, full mind 

But you know what the problem is or was? 

DJ's don't raise our kids, cuz 

They so caught up in the cash and jewels 

How they gonna really see a hip-hop school? 

How they gonna really see a hip-hop temple? 

They don't even wanna play my instrumentals, but 

Big up Dr. Dre, Snoop, Xzibit 

Especially Xzibit, he was there in a minute 

Mic Conception, all of them, said 

"Yo you need help? I should call them" 

When I was in L.A., I held the crown 

Bloods, Crips, they held me down 

I could never forget Mad Lion, killer pride 

With the gat in the lap in the low-ride 

Oh I can't forget, Icy Ice, Lucky Lou 

Julio G, that was the crew 

Davey D, Ingrid, David Connor 

The list goes on and on, let me tell ya 

FredWreck, and my man Protest 

Much respect, no less 

To my spiritual and mental defenders 

Big up to L.A., temple members 

But in 2000, I seen how I wanted to live 

I wasn't no executive 

So I picked up the mic and I quit my job 

Said to Simone I gotta get with God 

She said, "Don't worry bout these dollars and quarters. 

Record companies ain't got nuttin for ya." 

Damn, she took me back to Bam! 

Took me back to who I am! 

Brought me back to the New York land! 

Now I overstand! 

{interviewer} 

Now KRS-One, now you've been quoted as saying that 

Rap is something we do, hip-hop is something you live. 

{KRS} Yes! 

{interviewer} 

Explain that to us please. 

{KRS-One} 

Well, well, today hip-hop, we are advocating that hip-hop is not, 

Just a music, it is an attitude, it is an awareness, it is a way 

To view the world. So rap music, is something we do, but HIP-HOP, 

Is something we live. And we look at hip-hop, in it's 9 elements; 

Which is breaking, emceeing, graffiti art, deejaying, beatboxing, 

Street fashion, street language, street knowledge, and street 

Entrepenurialism - trade and business. And uhh, that's where y'know 

That's the hip-hop that that that we're about. We come from the uhh 

The root of, of Kool DJ Herc, who originated hip-hop in the early 70's 

And then Afrika Bambaata and Zulu Nation (mmhmm) 

Who instigated something called The Infinity Lessons 

And added conciousness to hip-hop, and then Grandmaster Flash 

With the invention of the mixer, on to Run-D.M.C. and then myself. 

And uhh, we created the "Stop the Violence" movement, you may recall 

A song, "Self Destruction" and and and so on. All of this, goes to 

Uhh uhh, the idea of LIVING this culture out and taking responsibility 

For how it looks and and acts in society.