KRS-ONE

[fox69]

"Lord Live Within My Heart"

"Lord Live Within My Heart"


[repeat 2X - sung]
Lord live within my heart.. Lord don't you ever stop..
Fill me up with what I need.. just have to ask I shall receive..

Look, look!
Ba-bi-di-ba-bi-dang-a-dang-diggy
How many rappers can actually hang with me?
My style is that Kris-style, it's witty
In they style, I have no more Faith like Biggie
I battle on many levels, I shatter so many devils
'Fore you challenge me you better know the essentials
It's the K to the R to the S, to the uno
You know, if you don't know your crew know
When you hear the thunderin sound, you under the ground
You can tell by the way we jumpin around
It's the teacher, breakin it down
I'm an upright MC, these others they be crawlin around, word

[repeat 2X - sung]
Lord live within my heart.. Lord don't you ever stop..
Fill me up with what I need.. just have to ask I shall receive..

Yeah yeah, word up, look, look!
You know when the teacher returns, just get ready to learn
Just get ready to earn, health, love
awareness and money to burn, I'm not really concerned
how the Benz just turn, 'round the corner
for our sons and daughters to yearn, stand firm
If you lookin at these hooks you becomin a mad worm
Danglin from the pole of the fisher, the corporate fisher
The talent scout and no doubt ready to get ya!

[repeat 1X - sung]
Lord live within my heart.. Lord don't you ever stop..
Fill me up with what I need.. just have to ask I shall receive..

Look look look look!
I'm anything BUT regular, not even similar
I get rid of the SIN in ya when I spit at ya, my new literature
Now who forever been with ya? THE TEACHER!
Who remembers the kid in ya? THE TEACHER!
I'm winnin ya, or winnin a convert when the rhyme splurt at the concert
Forget the times that hurt, if the mind's alert let the mind work
Uh! Let the body divert
To get to the top of the mountain, you've got to climb dirt
So c'mon climb through, don't get stuck lookin behind you
It'll blind you, however I'm here to remind you
Many of you lost you've got to find you
You'll be found you simply by you finding you, c'mon!

[repeat 4X - sung]
Lord live within my heart.. Lord don't you ever stop..
Fill me up with what I need.. just have to ask I shall receive..

 

[fox69]

"Mad Crew"

"Mad Crew"


[Intro:]
So in the clubs I get (mad)
On the mic I get (mad)
On the beats I get (mad)
Yo,

[Chorus:]
I got the
(Mad, mad crew up in the house)
I'm wit the
I be chillin' wit the
I'm rollin' wit the

[Verse 1:]
See, this is what I'm sayin' and I know you don't see this
Wack, underpriveledged MCs think they can see Kris
They watchin' too much television and they rocka
This ain't the TV show "Taxi," and I ain't Lotka
I break an MC off proper, yo don't check me
Ask your Moms and Pops, yo they respect me
But here you stand, tryin' to get yours, but gettin' NOTHIN'
You probably can't spell "Boogie Down" or "Productions"
I play for jeeps, I play for keeps, I play for streets, believe me
Put down the microphone and consider a squeegie
You're rated PG
Again I win when I begin
I'm slammin' again, no win, try to comprehend
I don't bend
I ravage and damage
I'm wild like a savage, kickin' asses
Hot flashes, your style's with trash's
Stay out of my classes, PUNK
Stay out of my classes - yo

[Chorus]

[Verse 2:]
Twinkle, twinkle to the little rap star
I got all type of MC tongue in a pickle jar
So here's a quick freestyle to my target:
My core audience, (fuck) the rest of the market!
'Cause I spark it, styles I loanshark it
Then break your legs if you try to chart it
I got heart, it
Doesn't take a lot to rock a record, get wit it
Some MCs can't rock for five minutes
Sorry, that's not the way to approach me
Use caution
I rip up lyrical crews and MCs often
You probably don't know this:
I give birth to MCs
And I also give abortions
I'll do a number to your body structure
You look like supper
And I'm that _hungry_ motherfucker!
You don't wanna be on the menu!
I'll end you, twist you up and bend you
Like Gestapo
Pick up the microphone and crush up MC like a taco
No, we're never sad because we nah deal with sorrow
That's why dem challenge me, jah man you know dem challenge trouble
Me are number one of me there is no double!
And you don't want no trouble
'Cause Blastmaster KRS is flashin' lyrics on the double

[Chorus]

[Verse 3:]
Check
Me comin' on quick, me cominadance, now me a sing
KRS-One in a party, man me do me own ting
Nuff MC test, but you don't hear vowel one
All you hear is when the BDP crew slap them up
We have the champion belt and lyrical cup
Any DJ they want my title filled, no way now man step up
But when you lose, now understand you get fucked up
This ain't no game upon the mic
Me bring the noise to you like Chuck

[Chorus]

Kid Capri got the
Gang Starr got the
Ill Will got the
Flavor Unit got the

 

[fox69]

"MC's"
(feat. Nas & Talib Kweli)

"MC's"
(feat. Nas & Talib Kweli)



[Intro]
Ladies and gentlemen, get ready here it come
Talib Kweli and I'm bangin on your eardrum

Ladies and gentlemen, get ready here it come
KRS ONE bangin on your eardrum

Ladies and gentlemen, get ready here it come
Nas bangin on your eardrum

Bangin on your eardrum

Bangin on your eardrum

[Chorus]

[KRS-ONE]
Rappers spit rhymes that are mostly illegal
Emcees spit rhymes to uplift their people

[Nas]
Oh you went platinum, yeah that's nice
Now let me see you do the same thing twice

[KRS-ONE]
Rappers spit rhymes that are mostly illegal
Emcees spit rhymes to uplift their people

[Talib Kweli]
Real hip-hop is missin from the shelf
Yep, it's what you felt when you listen to yourself

[Nas]
Ghetto niggaz struttin' with nothin' but dreams and Queens broke
Mack-10's, you can smell the PCP smoke
Mele Mel told it real in the music he wrote
Those were the days I remember
We used to be close, then I was nine, coldest winter I remember
Was slippin' in December, two feet of snow
Yeah, that's the East Coast, that black ice
Symbolized the rap life
It was slick and smooth
I understood I had to come from the hood
Doin' the Pee Wee Herman, the Smurf
Before them phones chirped
The block's drugs flowin', didn't have your own work
You had to have somebody else's, a small chrome on your pelvis
Starter Jacket, Blue Georgetown or Green Celtic
Your girl's too expensive, she wants shellfish
Red Lobster was poppin', standin' on that line forever
I wish somebody would step on my Bally leather's
Now it's whatever... hip-hop's forever

[Chorus]

[Talib Kweli]
Get it now, get it fast, get it right
Get it big, get it live, get it done, get it tight
But you don't really hear me though
I, spit it clearly so it's live at your stereo
To your heart while it's beatin in your chest
I'm speakin to execs in the seat behind the desk
To your spirit nuttin weaker than the flesh
So while you try to keep it fresh you gettin deeper in the depth
Real hip-hop is missin from the shelf
Yep, it's what you felt when you listen to yourself
Only a few is makin cuts that finish
So before you spend your hard-earned spinach
They like "What nigga? Wait right there
I got reservoir dogs, you be missin a right ear"
Get it clear, figure is my year
I'm everywhere makin appearances in niggaz nightmares

[Chorus]

[KRS-ONE]
How many of y'all got Criminal Minded
You, you, you, y'all don't be blinded
Me, I got no jewels on my neck
Why, I don't need em, I got your respect
KRS-One, twenty years I rock
I do it for JMJ and Scott La Rock
This hip-hop and we's a nation
Don't you wanna hear more KRS on your radio station
Instead of broadcasting how we smoke them trees
On the radio we need to hear more local emcees
Where you at?, c'mon where you at
This is the difference between emceeing and rap
Rappers spit rhymes that are mostly illegal
Emcees spit rhymes to uplift their people
Peace, Love, Unity, havin' fun
These are the lyrics of KRS-One

[Outro]
Ladies and gentlemen, get ready here it come
Talib Kweli and I'm bangin on your eardrum

Ladies and gentlemen, get ready here it come
KRS ONE bangin on your eardrum

Ladies and gentlemen, get ready here it come
Nas bangin on your eardrum

Real Hip Hop Bangin on your eardrum

Real Hip Hop Bangin on your eardrum

 

[fox69]

"MC's Act Like They Don't Know"

"MC's Act Like They Don't Know"


[Intro]
Clap your hands everybody, if you got what it takes
Cos I'm KRS and I'm on the mic, and Premier's on The Breaks

[Verse 1]
If you don't know me by now I doubt you'll ever know me
I never won a Grammy, I won't win a Tony
But I'm not the only MC keepin' it real
When I grab the mic to smash a rapper, girls go "Illlll!"
Check the time as I rhyme, it's 1995
Whenever I arrive the party gets liver
Flow with the master rhymer, that's to leave behind
The video rapper, you know, the chart climber
Clapper, down goes another rapper
Onto another matter, punch up the data, Blastmaster
Knowledge Reigns Supreme Over Nearly Everybody
Call up KRS, I'm guaranteed to rip a party
Flat top, braids, bald heads or natty dread
There once was a story about a man named Jed
But now Jed is dead, all his kids instead
Want to kick rhymes off the top of they head
Word, what go around come around I figure
Now we got white kids callin' themselves niggas
The tables turned as the crosses burned
Remember You Must Learn
About the styles I flip and how wild I get
I go on like a space age rocket ship
You could be a mack, a pimp, hustler or player
But make sure live you is a dope rhyme sayer

[Verse 2]
This is what you waited all year for
The hardcore, that's what KRS is here for
Big up Grand Wizard Theodore, gettin' ill
If you see then ya saw I'm in your grill with mad skill
MC's can only battle with rhymes that got punchlines
Let's battle to see who headlines
Instead of flow for flow let's go show for show
Toe for toe, yo, you better act like you know
Too many MC's take that word 'emcee' lightly
They can't Move a Crowd, not even slightly
It might be the fact that they express wackness
Let me show ya whose ass is the blackest
I flip a script a little bit, you ride the tip and shit
Too sick to get with it, admit you bit, your style is counterfeit
Now tone it down a bit
My title you will never get, I'm too intelligent
I'll send your family my sentiments, my style is toxic
When I rock and shock and hip hop it unlock your head, I knock it
It split quick from the lyric
Direct hit, perfect fit, you can't get with it

[Verse 3]
Some MC's don't like the KRS but they must respect him
Cos they know this kid gets all up in they rectum
Slappin' and selectin' em, checkin' em, disrespectin' em
Just deckin' em, deckin' em, deck-in' em
Who in their right mind can mimic a style like mine?
I design rhyme and get mine all the time
MC's standin' on the sidelines, always dissin'
When I roll up and rush their crew they start bitchin'
I don't burn, I don't freeze, yet some MC's
Believe they could tangle with the likes of these
Cross your t's and dot your i's whenever I arrive
Wide, magnified, live like the ocean tide
You dope, you lied, I reside like artefacts
On the wrong side of the tracks, electrified
Comin' around the mountain, you run and hide
Hopin' your defence mechanism can divert my heat-seeking lyricism
As I spark mad iszm
The 1996 lyrical style's what I give 'em

 

[fox69]

"Me Man"

"Me Man"


[KRS-One]
You told me man, you need me man
Who the teacher me man, who gon' lead you me man
Who gon' free you me man, well not mostly me man
But come up close to me man, make a toast with me man
I'm not starvin me man, I be feedin me man
You won't be seein me man, cause I be bookin me man
Them lights be hookin me man, while people look at me man
They sing the hooks with me man, yo read this book with me man
How these rappers slash actors wanna fuck with me man
When we be up inside the spot they be duckin me man
I be movin me man, showin and provin me man
My wife is soothin me man, yo' life is new to me man

[Minister Server]
Aiyyo what's goin on this is Minister Server
Now you've been readin the books, seein the lectures
Hearin the CD's watchin the tapes
Now's the time for you to get rid of your fears
Aiyyo teacher tell 'em what's going on

[KRS-One]
You see me man, it don't take much to be me man
I just stay extra focused on the G-O-D in me man
Not too many ahead of me man
If rappers were television channels I'd be C-SPAN, believe me man
Don't nobody sound like me man, I'm a free man
For that golden age hip-hop, you know you gotta see me man
From 1973 man, to 1993 man
If you unaware of them 20 years you won't understand me man
So here's the plan for you and me man
Hip-Hop is not a product to be bought and sold
Hip-Hop is you and me man
So in the years to come you gonna see me man
On top of a Shaquille like Leland
And you gonna be right there with me man
As you can see man I got S-T-Y-L-E man
Why for 17 years you already knew this about me man
So you be you man, and I'll be me man
But remember Knowledge Reigns Supreme - yup, that's me man!

 

[fox69]

"Money"
(feat. MC Lyte)

"Money"
(feat. MC Lyte)



[MM Lyte:]
Money - M-o-n-e-y
(Money!)
Money - M-o-n-e-y
(Money!)

[KRS-One:]
M-o-n-e-y, what you need to just get by
Money, honey, ain't it funny?
Money, people wanna die
It seems without money, people cry, people will lie
You cannot deny, without money you can't apply
For anything that catches your eye, I wonder why
The root of all evil, let me teach you, now who am I?
The MC, teachin' my people "Don't live that lie"
You got to get money, but don't let money get you, guy

I can break it down like whatever you want
Whatever you spend your money on strong, yo that's what you flaunt
Spend your money on these honeys, yo if that's what you want
Spend your money on attorneys if you're goin' to court
If I look around your neck I can see what you bought
What, you think you get respect? No, you takin' a short
Yo, you need the money, of course, you need it to live
(Yo, what you put your money on, Kris?) Yo, right on my kids

[MC Lyte:]
M-o-n-e-y, don't ask why. It IS the root of all evil
Though very necessary to your livelihood
It's all good when you got enough
Til enough ain't enough and you hit upon rough times
You make your money and I'll make mine
(Yo, we need the...) (Money!)

[KRS-One:]
Don't get me wrong, mistakin' this song
Like money is not important - yes, it is, just be strong
It's the reason for the thievin' and that war goin'on
It's the reason that you seein' all these girls in their thong
It's the reason that the radio's on
It's the reason that you believe if you gotta work from sun-up 'til dawn
It's the cravings that connect you to that money you makin'
Your desire is the fire got you feelin' you slavin'

(Free yourself!) Money doesn't make you the man
(Be yourself!) A man gets his money in credit[?]

Ok, I'm a get this money, really, all day
But not to the point where I'm goin' the wrong way
I'm a put my money down on rides and all that
Hook up the house so me and my spouse can fall back
Investing my knowledge way beyond college
Write books and fly hooks in my cottage

Cheese - Kris bling-blingin'? Yo, please!
Money is an energy that gets what I need
I can understand them cats that rap flossin' and frontin'
It's all good, they from the hood, never had nothin'
They just got they money and everything's sunny
Hear what I'm saying, they preyin', boy, and lookin for bunnies

[MC Lyte:]
Did we floss what we bought
Forgetting that sharing is what we've been taught?
'Cause this here gettin' money is an individual sport
Money can get me in to the same place where years ago
My bros and sisters with black skin
Were confined to the back door and the kitchen

[KRS-One:]
Last verse, where your cash purse
Reach into your wallet, nothin' alloted, that hurts
Breath stinkin' you're thinkin', but can't afford Certs
Need the dollar and baby hollerin' - no work
I don't know how you gonna get the dough
You could become educated, you could become a ho
You could do both, that's like puttin' butter on toast
The bread is the knowledge, butter is what gets you that close

[MC Lyte:]
Money is funny - how a piece of paper can make or break your very existence
Quick as it come, quick as it go - you better know about the ebb and the flow
You get money in droves, trick it on cars and blow
Throw dollars at black queens 'cause, for the dough they'll strip their clothes
And for the right amount of money
A king will pimp his queen into being a ho on a stroll
Life will always be hard when you choose to make money your god

 

[fox69]

"Mortal Thought"

"Mortal Thought"


Adjust that treble right now adjust the bass
Turn it up, stop frontin
C'mon, turn it up
Alright, check it out ninety-three lyrics, here we go
Bo!

I never want a jheri curl up under my hat
The woman in my bed has got to be strictly black
I never want money if my lyrics are wack
So I must, roc, the mic
I play only the reggae and I play only rap
I rock the African, the European, and Jap
Beneath I got to show you that I am all that
So I must, roc, the mic

Are you tired of lyrical liars, passing fliers
Wannabe MC's, but really good triers
Tripping over mic cords, getting you bored
A total fraud, this kind of thing I can't afford, so I
pick up the mic and kill it ill it top bill it
The cough is a skillet, where MC's get fried in it
You got beef chill it, blood I spill it
After seven long years of ripping the party and I'm still widdit
You call my name I don't think about suing ya
I come to the club with that BOOYAKA
Laughing while I'm doin ya the crowd is booin ya
Gimme one month, record for record on tape I'll ruin ya
Some likkle awl pon sound bwoy wan fi rule de city
His style is lookin pretty beats and rhymes are dibby dibby
Here comes the rootical ratical teacha
I'll eat ya defeat ya beat ya till ya stagger and ya teeth chatter
You'll be goin through convulsions as I flash data
Any rapper can be a decapitated rapper now what's the matter
You're full of more junk than a sausage
Let me show you what a real hip-hop artist

[DJ Premier cuts and scratches "My posse from the Bronx is thick!"]

I never want a jheri curl up under my hat
The woman in my bed has got to be strictly black
I never want money if my lyrics are wack
So I must, roc, the mic
I play only the reggae and I play only rap
I rock the African, the European, and Jap
Beneath I got to show you that I am all that
So I must, roc, the mic

Of course yeah I'm the most brilliant recording artist in your life
Never have to repeat a rhyme style twice, precise
In a lyrical drought like water to your lips oh yes my lyrics will suffice
I'm nice, like beans and rice, I am delicious
Who's the freshest lyricist on the mic, you don't want to fuck with Kris is
Lyric for lyric rhyme for rhyme style for style I break you like dishes
Either you come fully correct or the lyrics you simply makin wishes
We got no time for fake black leaders and dreamers blowin wishes
you'se a fraud, I mean a fraud like in fraudulation
I know what it is, the crown of rhyme supremacy you're tastin
And yes, before the flavor hits your greedy tongue
You get ripped up by KRS-One
Now, lyrics, somebody want lyrics, from the lyrical terrorist
Here's a little somethin for you all to remember Kris, and remember this
I am no pessimist, more of an optimist
Activist revolutionist, yes the hardest artist
And the smartest, Premier, spark this

[Premier cuts and scratches "My posse from the Bronx is thick!"]

I never want a jheri curl up under my hat
The woman in my bed has got to be strictly black
I never want money if my lyrics are wack
So I must, roc, the mic
I play only the reggae and I play only rap
I rock the African, the European, and Jap
Beneath I got to show you that I am all that
So I must, roc, the mic

 

[fox69]

"Mr. Percy"
(feat. Triune)

"Mr. Percy"
(feat. Triune)



[Chorus: KRS-One & Triune]
Have mercy Mr. Percy
4 million people out of work, right now
Can't find a cent to pay my rent
Half of the youth population out of work, right now
Give me another day
Homelessness risin' upon families
So I can try to find my way
Word up! Homelessness

[KRS-One & Triune:]
And I work
Several resumés on E-Mail
And I work
CD's I'm sellin' my beats
And I work
Part time at the retail
And I work
I'm just about to be in the street
And I work
The car that I'm drivin' around
And I work
Will I ever be on my feet again?

[?]
We tellin' 'em this now

[KRS-One:]
Frankly, I don't see how
You can't see how you really, homeless now
When the emergency hits, who really holds you down?
When the sheriff's at your door, ready to throw you down
With the state of the economy and the way that it is
Many men are at the door with their wife and their kids, saying

[Chorus: KRS-One & Triune]
Have mercy Mr. Percy
4 million people out of work, right now
Can't find a cent to pay my rent
Half of the youth population out of work, right now
Give me another day
Homelessness risin' upon families
So I can try to find my way

And I work
Tried drive taxi cab
And I work
Enrolled in a technical school
And I work
My friends, my family for a loan
And I work
Dollar caps and car pools
And I work
Just another day now
And I work
I'm gettin' paid now

[?]
We tellin' 'em this now

[KRS-One:]
Everywhere across the nation
More people are joining the homeless population
From the south, to the north, to the west, to the east
People can't pay their mortgage or their lease
And last but not least
You better hear what I'm saying
So many men are at the door with their kids saying

Have mercy Mr. Percy
Can't find a cent to pay my rent
[?]
Give me another day
4 million people out of work right now, you gotta do something!
So I can try to find my way
[?]

[KRS-One:]
We're on the brink of revolution
You let it get to hot
So many people tryin' to hang on, and just cannot
They must have forgot
Last night's news spot
Read like a news murder plot
Starring who got shot
And very little upliftin'
Just who got knocked?
Very little givin'
Everybody's heart is locked
And they call this a civilization?
Where I can't even find work, with proper employment qualifications
Hip-Hop is the name of my nation
Where everyday is Saturday and 12 months is vacation
Peace, love, unity, havin' fun
You can tell by now, I'm not the average one

[Triune:]
Get choked for the dope here
Get stabbed for the stash
My X is brash
I rap for grabbin' the cash
They search for the blackless faces
So no need checkin' your [?] or applications
[?]
How the fuck I make thirty grand a year
With dudes holding a masters degree
It makes no sense, so I make no sense
Using my mind
[?]
There's a war going on outside, no man is safe from
I'm Tri-Uno, some call me the great one
Until Bush meet people in my community
I'm hustling for [?] till I get an opportunity

Have mercy Mr. Percy
Can't find a cent to pay my rent
Give me another day
So I can try to find my way

 

[fox69]

"Music For The '90s (Kid Capri Remix)"
(feat. G. Simone)

"Music For The '90s (Kid Capri Remix)"
(feat. G. Simone)



[G. Simone]
She won't play around - the remix

[G. Simone (KRS-One)]
She won't, let you down (G. Simone got the music for the 90's)
(So G. Simone got the music for the 90's)
(So G. Simone got the music for the 90's)
(So G. Simone got the music for the 90's)

[G. Simone]
Now that I have co-ooome we're gonna have some fun
G. Simone has got, the music for the 90's
Hangin out all day-ayyy, the summer's on it's way-ayyy
G. Simone has got the music for the 90's

[Chorus: G. Simone]
She won't, let you down..
Lookin all a-weepy around
She hits the hardest hip-hop sounds
She won't, play around..
When it's time to break it down
Listen closely to the sound

[KRS-One]
Ye-yeah!
So gimme the funk, gimme the funk, not the junk, while the trunk
pumps behind me G. Simone, got the music for the 90's
(So G. Simone got the music for the 90's)
(So G. Simone got the music for the 90's)
(So G. Simone got the music for the 90's)
(So G. Simone got the music for the 90's)
(So G. Simone got the music for the 90's)
(So G. Simone got the music for the 90's)

[G. Simone]
Won't you listen please, I'll put your mind at ease
G. Simone has got, the music for the 90's
Turnin up the bass, the treble's in your face
G. Simone has got the music for the 90's

[Chorus]

[KRS-One]
B-Boys in the house, turn it up, turn it up
G. Simone is in the place, lick two shots, BUCK BUCK
We're comin to you live and direct with the feelin
that G. Simone keeps the party jumpin to the ceilin
Yes this is the mad funk, females need to back up
When G. Simone reach the mic, brothers start to act up
Turn the track up, black, you won't be dissapointed
It's the music for the 90's kid - GET UP ON IT!

[G. Simone]
Yeah you know, my proudest flow
Show me yeah, show me yeah, show me you know
Everybody... come on sing it
G. Simone has got, the music for the 90's

[KRS] Give it to 'em!

[G. Simone]
Get up, ah get up, ah get up, ah get up
Ah get up, ah get up-ahhhhhh
Just funkin it up, just funkin it up
Funkit up-ahhhhhh

[Kid Capri]
Worrrrrrrrrrrrd up! Another fat Kid Capri remix
G. Simone, runnin things for the 9-0-S
And we up outta here, PEACE!

(So G. Simone got the music for the 90's)
(So G. Simone got the music for the 90's)
(So G. Simone got the music for the 90's)
(So G. Simone)

 

[fox69]

"My Life"

"My Life"


[scratched:] "Whattya think makes up a K-R-S?"

[KRS-One:]
Skinny cat, young cat, with a knapsack strapped to my back
1981 before the crack attack
I used to let the Olde English 800 suds bubble
In the last car of the Franklin Avenue shuttle
Brooklyn, no doubt, Wingate Park, no doubt
Prospect Park I'm all laid out
Homeless, my gear played out and I know this
But I'm an MC I stay focused
I took the shuttle to the D and wrote my rhymes in a hour
Took the D to the E, last stop the Twin Towers
Sittin in the belly of the beast
In the World Trade organization, bein harassed by the police
I wrote my rhymes right there on the spot
New York City, 1984 corruption was hot
Cats sellin uzis out the Jacob Javits Center for a high price
Let me tell you 'bout my life

[Chorus:]
[scratched:] "The type of shit a young black man
gotta go through every day of his life"
[scratched:] "Hard times to live in
Wake up in the morning thank God"
[scratched:] "The type of shit a young black man
gotta go through every day of his life"
[scratched:] "Hard times to live in
Wake up in the morning" ... "Now it's my turn"
{"Listen"}

[KRS-One:]
Eighty-five comes in, eighty-six comes in
The marijuana with the cocaine mix comes in
High class hustlers, I'm takin flicks with them
My first songs Red Alert, he's mixin them
This a far cry from a kid sleepin on the bench
Now I'm V.I.P. in the club, this don't make sense
But it does, as I take daps and hugs
from cats that move drugs, they say "Kris rise above"
Everybody knew my style, Kris was no coward
I wanted to get in the game but my peeps wouldn't allow it
They'd say, "Read them books and write them hooks
Save our children, give 'em a whole new outlook"
So I did, I lived like any street kid
But I was handed 20 books, others were handed 20 year bids
Still they wouldn't sell to your mother or your wife
There was respect man~! Let me tell you 'bout my life

[Chorus]

[KRS-One:]
1987 my career blowin up now
Me and Scott LaRock took the year growin up now
Me I'm just a private cat, whatever you perceive as live
KRS is as live as that
We the livest act, in eighty-eight, eighty-nine, and ninety-now
But them years be far behind me now
In ninety-one, no one can find me now
I chose the underground to rhyme where it's grimy, WOW
Rewind me now, 13 albums for you to see
Or catch me speakin at them universities
My mind stays keen, I'm hardly ever seen
I do a lot of work, just not in the mainstream

[scratched:] "Know what you need to learn
Old school artists don't always burn"

[scratched:] "Know what you need to learn...
KRS-One... don't always burn"