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Blast Master KRS-ONE rocks the house at Hillside Chapel and Truth Center, April 25 -27, 2003 |
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Born Lawrence Kris Parker in Park Slope, Brooklyn in the summer of 1965, the rapper left home at 14 to play basketball and read books free of the gaze of the authorities (his mother and the New York City public school system). He landed in a homeless shelter in the South Bronx, where he was dubbed Krishna by residents because of his interest in the Hare Krishna spirituality of some of the antipoverty workers. By the time Krishna met youth counselor Scott Sterling, he was also writing graffiti as KRS-One (Knowledge Reigns Supreme Over Nearly Everyone). Together he and Sterling, a.k.a. DJ Scott La Rock, created Boogie Down Productions, releasing their landmark debut album, Criminal Minded, in 1988.
Having lectured at Harvard, Yale, Vassar, Columbia, N.Y.U. and Stanford, KRS-One is nicknamed "THE TEACHER." There is only one KRS-One. That's it, that's all, solo, single, no more, no less. KRS-One has been quoted as saying "This is rebellious music, not gangster music." KRS-One is beyond rap, he is a manifestation of hip hop culture. KRS-One is a force in rap so powerful that his songs are sampled by many artists, giving rise to other hit records for these artists. After all these projects, KRS ONE is still going strong in 2003. He can still please the hardcore hip hop fans with tracks like "The MC", "Can't Stop, Won't Stop and "Step Into A World". Who knows how long he'll keep going on, one thing we do know is that KRS ONE is one of the biggest, if not the biggest, names of all time in hip hop. In his own words "If you don't know me by now, I doubt you'll ever know me". Click on picture to enlarge Blessing the ATL with his unbelievable knowledge, KRS-One volunteered his time, music and most of all his knowledge to the the youth and many of the adults at Hillside Chapel and Truth Center the weekend of April 25th. While embracing the sermon by KRS-One on Sunday, many people in the church, including myself were hanging on every word. KRS-One spoke passionately about real issues and how you have to reach deep within yourself to find soul - utions to everyday situations. He emphasized several times to be accountable for your own actions and to learn as much as you can. I was particularly impressed with the fact that KRS-One placed a lot of emphasis on how valuable women were in today's society. He talked about the sacrifices his mother made for him and how she kept him away from the troubles that were lurking in the streets of his neighborhood. He praised his wife for her patience with him in a way that made you want to hug every woman you knew. As I took notes towards the end of his sermon, I actually ran out of places to write on my program. KRS-One made a comment about not being able to really finish what he had started and someone yelled, "that's okay come back and finish," the church burst into and thunderous applause and it was clear that KRS-One was the king of this throne, he was also at a loss of words, probably for the first time in his life as he dropped his head. It took him a minute to regroup and he finally said thanks and seemed really moved by the response from the audience and almost teared up. He then made a stunning announcement that he would be back to Hillside and that he and his wife were now residents of Atlanta. I later confirmed with his wife Simone that they were indeed part-time residents, because I was excited that we now had Chuck D from Public Enemy and the Blast Master himself as residents of our great city. He praised associate pastor Darin Woodard, with giving him knowledge and then embraced him as a brother. It's funny how the media often portrays the negatives in black folk 24-7, but watching the news all weekend I never heard any mention of probably the most positive and best selling brother in rap ( Over ten albums sold ), reaching out to the youth of our community for free. On top of that, he volunteered an entire weekend to raise money for the youth program of Hillside, by giving the profits of his Spiritual Minded CD to the youth program of the church, now that's news!
KRS-One is a man that leads by example and has helped millions of troubled souls with his words, time, wisdom and giving nature. ATLANTAHAPPS.COM welcomes the now part-time Atlanta resident and his lovely wife to Atlanta. Vincent P. McCant for ATLANTAHAPPS.COM
Click on picture to enlarge
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