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Hip hop Quotes by KRS-One

64 Hip hop quotes by KRS-One

All Hip hop quotes KRS-One’s page

KRS‑One says knowing hip‑hop is part of being American, and that the culture is about reality, not money or crime. He stresses that true hip‑hop is a mindset—courage to be yourself and a principle that goes beyond performance. He also reflects on his own role as a voice for the movement.

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Rebel, renegade, must stay paid.

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I was born in Hip Hop. That's all I ever needed.

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It's not about a salary, it's all about reality.

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You were put here to protect us. But who protects us from you?

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Ignorance is a poison and knowledge will nourish.

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You are not doing hip hop; you ARE hip hop.

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There was no hip-hop before Afrika Bambaataa.

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Rap is something you live; hip hop is something you do.

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Too many MC's take that word 'emcee' lightly; They can't Move a Crowd, not even slightly.

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Hip-hop is not about crime. Hip-hop is not about being a gangster.

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Hip-hop is a worldwide culture. We have permeated every urban environment.

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Yo Premier, why these rappers so soft? They corny ass raps be makin me doze off.

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Hip-Hop is being spoken through spirituality... Meaning that you'll be able to listen to it spiritually for yourself.

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Hip hop is a human skill, and the practice of real hip hop should remind us of our humanity.

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The only time you had blacks, whites, and Latinos jamming together was in hip-hop. It's an unsung history.

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I'd rather make one righteous dollar on my level Than make a million dollars spittin' rhymes for the devil.

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Record companies feel they are the culture. Hip-hop has to begin to define, protect, and promote itself, and that's why we founded…

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Every ten years, we get a new old school. In 1987, we thought 1977 was the best era in hip-hop. Here we…

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Rap is like a set-up...a lot of games, A lot of suckers with colorful names. 'I'm so-and-so,' 'I'm this, I'm that.' But…

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I find it fascinating how hip hop as a culture mirrors every mythology from the beginning of mythology. The concept of the…

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The Temple of Hip-Hop makes sure that we don't just approach hip-hop just through music or through rap. We approach the totality…

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What is American education? What should our students be taught? Is hip-hop something that is worthwhile and useful for students to learn?…

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I break an emcee off proper Yo don't check me, Ask your Moms and Pops, Yo they respect me, But here you…

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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…

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I mistakably paid respect and condolences to the wrong Beastie Boy member King Ad-Rock when it should have been MCA. In light…

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When I say hip-hoppers, I mean black, white, Asian, Latino, Chicano, everybody. Everybody. Hip-hop has united all races. Hip-hop has formed a…

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Take a look at the police and how they treat you, Take a look at these corporations that cheat you. Democrats and…

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If I were to critique myself - step out of KRS objectively and look at him - I would say that KRS…

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...Cops just surrounding me with pistols everywhere. They put me in the backseat of their car handcuffed, Pushed out them chests like…

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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,…

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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,…

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When my time is up in hip-hop, it's going to remain what Afrika Bambaataa thought it was supposed to be. It's going…

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You can never be too old for hip-hop.

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You got to have style, and learn to be original.

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In the future, hip-hop is going to be called American folklore.

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The courage to be yourself is the essence of hip hop

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Original hip hop manipulated technologies of all sorts; it was not manipulated by the technology itself.

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How can you call yourself a cosmopolitan modern person if you don't know what hip-hop is?

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It's just hypocrisy on hip-hop's part to cry racial profiling when your race is on TV acting like fools.

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I haven't come to tell you I've got juice I just produce, create, innovate on a higher level

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More by KRS-One

If you don't know hip-hop, at least a little bit of it, you can't even call yourself an American.

It's not about a salary, it's all about reality.

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…

Hip-hop is not about crime. Hip-hop is not about being a gangster.

I break an emcee off proper Yo don't check me, Ask your Moms and Pops, Yo they respect me, But here you stand, tryin'…

I mistakably paid respect and condolences to the wrong Beastie Boy member King Ad-Rock when it should have been MCA. In light of this,…

Maybe I'm the prophet of hip hop for real. Maybe I do come with some kind of divine principle behind me, because I know…

“The God of your understanding, has chosen you and you've agreed To be here in this space and time to do something, that only…

There is no forgiveness, justice, or healing on any level when hate is involved.

I've enjoyed much success. The IRS is always at my door, constantly.

When rap music needed to have a teacher, I became it.

You know something, it's best no to have what you need because then, you start looking for what you need and make it what…

I used to let the olde english 8- suds bubble in the last car of the Franklin Avenue shuttle

I honestly now know that I'm the physical embodiment of hip-hop on earth. That's my only purpose here on earth is to keep the…

If I were to critique myself - step out of KRS objectively and look at him - I would say that KRS has introduced…