KRS-One

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I think that hip-hop should be spelled with a capital "H," and as one word. It's the name of the culture, and it's the name of the identity and consciousness. I think hip-hop is not a product, but a culture. I think rap is a product, but when hip-hop becomes a product, that's slavery, because you're talking about people's souls.
- KRS-One
Collection: Rap
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There's a Universe Instrument, where we apply Hip-Hop to astronomy, and we flush out the chemistry of Hip-Hop. We also flushed out the astronomy, to see where Hip-Hop is read in the stars.
- KRS-One
Collection: Stars
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It's not that you don't make any money doing conscious rap music. You make a lot of money doing this, but if you're greedy and you're not satisfied with $500,000 a year, and you want $2 million a year, then you will suffer as a conscious rap artist.
- KRS-One
Collection: Rap
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Just black executives have a bias against older artists. We don't respect our elders. That's not because of white people. That's because of black leadership. We just have that problem, and it's something that I am going to spend the rest of my life trying to conquer.
- KRS-One
Collection: Artist
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I think music should be free. I think all communication should be free. I think people should respect artists, and there should be a certain respect for artists who give their music away for free. If your music winds up on Napster and you approve of it, then the person downloading your music should at least go to your concert, should at least purchase your songs.
- KRS-One
Collection: Song
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I used to let the olde english 8- suds bubble in the last car of the Franklin Avenue shuttle
- KRS-One
Collection: Rap
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I've enjoyed much success. The IRS is always at my door, constantly.
- KRS-One
Collection: Doors
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I know that I'm freer as a hip-hopper than as an executive. Even as a black man, I enjoy more freedom as a hip-hopper than as a black man. That, s controversial to say, but it's the truth.
- KRS-One
Collection: Men
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Real men are real friends, showing their real commitment.
- KRS-One
Collection: Real
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Teachers teach and do the world good, Kings just rule and most are never understood
- KRS-One
Collection: Teacher
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I'm not saying I'm number 1, oh sorry I lied.. I'm number 1,2,3,4 and 5
- KRS-One
Collection: Sorry
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The true word of God is written in our heart.
- KRS-One
Collection: Heart
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If the society that we're talking about is a society that starts wars all over the world, degrades indigenous cultures, is misogynistic in itself, if that's the society we're talking about, then it's not a bad thing if hip-hop did degrade that society.
- KRS-One
Collection: War
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We [black people] don't respect our elders. Besides artists, we don't respect Frederick Douglass. We don't respect Martin Luther King. You look at every Martin Luther King Boulevard out here, and it's a crack block. That's not because of white people. That's because of black leadership. We just have that problem, and it's something that I am going to spend the rest of my life trying to conquer.
- KRS-One
Collection: Kings
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I think that all journalists, specifically print journalists, have a responsibility to educate the public. When you handle a culture's intellectual property, like journalists do, you have a responsibility not to tear it down, but to raise it up. The depiction of rap and of hip-hop culture in the media is one that needs more of a responsible approach from journalists. We need more 30-year-old journalists. We need more journalists who have children, who have families and wives or husbands, those kinds of journalists. And then you'll get a different depiction of hip-hop and rap music.
- KRS-One
Collection: Children
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If you're true to the upliftment of people and the unity of people, raising the self-worth of people, then you live within your means. But the problem is that we're looking at the grass on the other side, saying, "That's greener. I want to be in the thug market, but I want to be a conscious rap artist." It doesn't work like that.
- KRS-One
Collection: Rap
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I think that hip-hop should be spelled with a capital "H," and as one word. It's the name of our black people culture, and it's the name of our identity and consciousness. I think hip-hop is not a product, but a culture. I think rap is a product, but when hip-hop becomes a product, that's slavery, because you're talking about people's souls. To me, that's the biggest problem.
- KRS-One
Collection: Rap
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Don't you think it's time we thought about the future? Whether our children are gonna be winners or losers
- KRS-One
Collection: Children
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You are not doing hip hop; you ARE hip hop.
- KRS-One
Collection: Hip Hop
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The whole world is conscious. It's just that we become conscious at times, and you become conscious when you lose a parent, or just a loved one, period - a wife, a brother, you know. You wake up and say, "Man, it's real. I don't need this pimp gangster stuff anymore, I need something with a little more substance." And there is marketing for that.
- KRS-One
Collection: Brother
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I make intelligence cool. I make spirituality cool. If we can make one's devotion to God cool, then I think I did a great thing. I can rest in peace.
- KRS-One
Collection: Rest In Peace
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You sleep with a man, that's your husband. So make sure before you lay down, you love him.
- KRS-One
Collection: Husband
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Hip-hop as a culture itself goes through stages. It grows - it's breathing, living. I've noticed that we usually start off conscious, then we wind up very highly sexual, and then we thug it out. Then things get a little funny again, with comedy and that kind of thing.
- KRS-One
Collection: Thug
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Rebel, renegade, must stay paid.
- KRS-One
Collection: Rap