--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Hip-hoppers are not interpreting what…" description: "\"Hip-hoppers are not interpreting what hip-hop is, and when we do interpret it, we interpret it as something immature, unorganized, and outlaw.\" — KRS-One" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f9e/krs-one-2404_hip-hop_hip-hoppers-are-not-interpreting-what-hi_1278606.png" --- # Hip-hoppers are not interpreting what hip-hop is, and when… ![“Hip-hoppers are not interpreting what hip-hop is, and when we do interpret it, we interpret it as something immature, unorganized, and outlaw.” quote by KRS-One](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f9e/krs-one-2404_hip-hop_hip-hoppers-are-not-interpreting-what-hi_1278606.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f9e/krs-one-2404_hip-hop_hip-hoppers-are-not-interpreting-what-hi_1278606.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f9e/krs-one-2404_hip-hop_hip-hoppers-are-not-interpreting-what-hi_1278606.png) > “Hip-hoppers are not interpreting what hip-hop is, and when we do interpret it, we interpret it as something immature, unorganized, and outlaw.” [KRS-One](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/krs-one/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People often misinterpret hip‑hop as immature or chaotic, missing its depth and organization. **In simple terms:** Hip‑hop is often misunderstood. Key Takeaway Seek deeper understanding of hip‑hop. Themes culture misinterpretation artistry Mood reflective critical Type analytical educational When to use this quote - music education - community events - media analysis Key Concepts sociology music theory identity Questions to Reflect On - How does personal experience shape your view of hip‑hop? - What aspects of hip‑hop challenge your assumptions? A Different Perspective Interpretations can be biased by stereotypes. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Hip hop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hip-hop/) [Hip Hoppers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hip-hoppers-1785532/) [Hips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hips/) [Hop Interpret](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hop-interpret-4124272/) [Hops](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hops/) [Immature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/immature/) [Immature Unorganized](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/immature-unorganized-4124273/) [Interpret Immature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/interpret-immature-4124271/) [Interpreting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/interpreting/) [Interpreting Hip](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/interpreting-hip-4124270/) [Outlaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/outlaw/) [Rapper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rapper/) ## Related quotes > [I find it fascinating how hip hop as a culture mirrors every mythology from the beginning of mythology. The concept of the single mother…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/krs-one/i-find-it-fascinating-how-hip-hop-as-a-culture-mirrors-every/) [KRS-One](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/krs-one/) > [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 platform for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/krs-one/when-i-say-hip-hoppers-i-mean-black-white-asian-latino-chicano/) [KRS-One](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/krs-one/) > [There are a lot of hip-hoppers who play golf.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scarface/there-are-a-lot-of-hip-hoppers-who-play-golf/) [Scarface](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scarface/) > [I turned a lot of people in white America - and not just white America, but middle-class America - into hip-hoppers, you know?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vanilla-ice/i-turned-a-lot-of-people-in-white-america-and-not-just-white-america/) [Vanilla Ice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vanilla-ice/) > [I think hip-hop could help rebuild America, once hip-hoppers own hip-hop... We are our own politicians, our own government, we have something to say.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nas/i-think-hip-hop-could-help-rebuild-america-once-hip-hoppers-own-hip/) [Nas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nas/) > [There is no fixed physical reality, no single perception of the world, just numerous ways of interpreting world views as dictated by one's nervous…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/there-is-no-fixed-physical-reality-no-single-perception-of-the-world/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [I don't feel I have to struggle against allegory. I let the readers do the interpreting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-davis/i-don-t-feel-i-have-to-struggle-against-allegory-i-let-the-readers-do/) [Lydia Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-davis/) > [In recitals, you are naked before the audience - well, naked with your jacket and tails. The audience sees and hears the real person,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-carreras/in-recitals-you-are-naked-before-the-audience-well-naked-with-your/) [Jose Carreras](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-carreras/) > [The act of thinking and interpreting is so central to Judaism that it makes more sense that we've become people like Woody Allen -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-kushner/the-act-of-thinking-and-interpreting-is-so-central-to-judaism-that-it/) [Tony Kushner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-kushner/) > [What one wishes is to be touched by truth and to be able to interpret that truth so that one may use what one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-jackson/what-one-wishes-is-to-be-touched-by-truth-and-to-be-able-to-interpret/) [Michael Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-jackson/) > [Working on an adaptation is not as satisfying, because it's not your original work: you're interpreting. With 'L.A. Confidential,' I loved the book. In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-helgeland/working-on-an-adaptation-is-not-as-satisfying-because-it-s-not-your/) [Brian Helgeland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-helgeland/) > [We should let Scripture interpret us more than we interpret Scripture.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-keller/we-should-let-scripture-interpret-us-more-than-we-interpret-scripture/) [Timothy Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-keller/) > [Bold ideas, unjustified anticipations, and speculative thought, are our only means for interpreting nature: our only organon, our only instrument, for grasping her. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-popper/bold-ideas-unjustified-anticipations-and-speculative-thought-are-our/) [Karl Popper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-popper/) > [These maxims and the art of interpreting them may be said to constitute the premisses of science but I prefer to call them our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-polanyi/these-maxims-and-the-art-of-interpreting-them-may-be-said-to/) [Michael Polanyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-polanyi/) > [To an ever greater extent out experience is governed by pictures, pictures in newspapers and magazines, on television and in the cinema. Next to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-crimp/to-an-ever-greater-extent-out-experience-is-governed-by-pictures/) [Douglas Crimp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-crimp/) ## 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.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/krs-one/if-you-don-t-know-hip-hop-at-least-a-little-bit-of-it-you-can-t-even/) [KRS-One](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/krs-one/) > [It's not about a salary, it's all about reality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/krs-one/it-s-not-about-a-salary-it-s-all-about-reality/) [KRS-One](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/krs-one/) > [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…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/krs-one/it-s-not-that-you-don-t-make-any-money-doing-conscious-rap-music-you/) [KRS-One](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/krs-one/) > [Hip-hop is not about crime. Hip-hop is not about being a gangster.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/krs-one/hip-hop-is-not-about-crime-hip-hop-is-not-about-being-a-gangster/) [KRS-One](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/krs-one/) > [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'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/krs-one/i-break-an-emcee-off-proper-yo-don-t-check-me-ask-your-moms-and-pops/) [KRS-One](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/krs-one/) > [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,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/krs-one/i-mistakably-paid-respect-and-condolences-to-the-wrong-beastie-boy/) [KRS-One](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/krs-one/) > [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…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/krs-one/maybe-i-m-the-prophet-of-hip-hop-for-real-maybe-i-do-come-with-some/) [KRS-One](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/krs-one/) > [“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…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/krs-one/the-god-of-your-understanding-has-chosen-you-and-you-ve-agreed-to-be/) [KRS-One](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/krs-one/) > [There is no forgiveness, justice, or healing on any level when hate is involved.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/krs-one/there-is-no-forgiveness-justice-or-healing-on-any-level-when-hate-is/) [KRS-One](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/krs-one/) > [I've enjoyed much success. The IRS is always at my door, constantly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/krs-one/i-ve-enjoyed-much-success-the-irs-is-always-at-my-door-constantly/) [KRS-One](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/krs-one/) > [When rap music needed to have a teacher, I became it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/krs-one/when-rap-music-needed-to-have-a-teacher-i-became-it/) [KRS-One](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/krs-one/) > [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…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/krs-one/you-know-something-it-s-best-no-to-have-what-you-need-because-then/) [KRS-One](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/krs-one/) > [I used to let the olde english 8- suds bubble in the last car of the Franklin Avenue shuttle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/krs-one/i-used-to-let-the-olde-english-8-suds-bubble-in-the-last-car-of-the/) [KRS-One](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/krs-one/) > [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…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/krs-one/i-honestly-now-know-that-i-m-the-physical-embodiment-of-hip-hop-on/) [KRS-One](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/krs-one/) > [If I were to critique myself - step out of KRS objectively and look at him - I would say that KRS has introduced…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/krs-one/if-i-were-to-critique-myself-step-out-of-krs-objectively-and-look-at/) [KRS-One](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/krs-one/) [Explore all 168 KRS-One quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/krs-one/) ## More Hip hop quotes > [I've been writing songs since I was 10 years old and always had a penchant for rhyming. I started listening to hip hop through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hoodie-allen/i-ve-been-writing-songs-since-i-was-10-years-old-and-always-had-a/) [Hoodie Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hoodie-allen/) > [Everything affects hip-hop. The question is, how does it affect the money that corporations are going to invest to put out different kinds of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-i-am/everything-affects-hip-hop-the-question-is-how-does-it-affect-the/) [will.i.am](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-i-am/) > [By the time you get into other kinds of music - R&B, country, or whatever - it becomes something that's romantic. It becomes something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/talib-kweli/by-the-time-you-get-into-other-kinds-of-music-r-b-country-or-whatever/) [Talib Kweli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/talib-kweli/) > [God is never late, we're just impatient.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lecrae/god-is-never-late-we-re-just-impatient/) [LeCrae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lecrae/) > [I gave birth to most of them MC's... So when it comes around to the month of May, Send me your royalty check for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roxanne-shante/i-gave-birth-to-most-of-them-mc-s-so-when-it-comes-around-to-the/) [Roxanne Shante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roxanne-shante/) > [Couples Therapy' is pretty big for me because it's opening the door to a new audience - a hip-hop following, which I feel is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carmen-carrera/couples-therapy-is-pretty-big-for-me-because-it-s-opening-the-door-to/) [Carmen Carrera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carmen-carrera/) > [If you scared to take chances, you'll never have the answers...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nas/if-you-scared-to-take-chances-you-ll-never-have-the-answers/) [Nas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nas/) > [Wherever I go, I bring the culture with me, so that they can understand that it's attainable. I didn't do it any other way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-z/wherever-i-go-i-bring-the-culture-with-me-so-that-they-can-understand/) [Jay-Z](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-z/) > [If you don't know hip-hop, at least a little bit of it, you can't even call yourself an American.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/krs-one/if-you-don-t-know-hip-hop-at-least-a-little-bit-of-it-you-can-t-even/) [KRS-One](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/krs-one/) > [I come from a young, hip-hop, urban world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brandon-t-jackson/i-come-from-a-young-hip-hop-urban-world/) [Brandon T. Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brandon-t-jackson/) > [For me, growing up in hip-hop culture, it's all about having the next style, the new fashion, the new way to express yourself, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/el-p/for-me-growing-up-in-hip-hop-culture-it-s-all-about-having-the-next/) [El-P](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/el-p/) > [It's not about a salary, it's all about reality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/krs-one/it-s-not-about-a-salary-it-s-all-about-reality/) [KRS-One](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/krs-one/) > [My first album, 'Get Lifted,' was a hip-hop soul album that had some of its roots in the church, as far as the sonic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-legend/my-first-album-get-lifted-was-a-hip-hop-soul-album-that-had-some-of/) [John Legend](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-legend/) > [If you watch wrestling, you now know the hip-hop culture is being represented with wrestling. For the longest time, the cultures have almost been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cena/if-you-watch-wrestling-you-now-know-the-hip-hop-culture-is-being/) [John Cena](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cena/) > [Ghostface, when it comes to hip-hop, was one of my favorite rappers and definitely one of my favorites in the Wu-Tang. He's also a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/no-i-d/ghostface-when-it-comes-to-hip-hop-was-one-of-my-favorite-rappers-and/) [No I.D](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/no-i-d/) [Browse all 3,272 Hip hop quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hip-hop/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Hip-hoppers are not interpreting what hip-hop is, and when we do interpret it, we interpret it as something immature, unorganized, and outlaw.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "KRS-One" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/krs-one/hip-hoppers-are-not-interpreting-what-hip-hop-is-and-when-we-do/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Hip hop" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/krs-one/hip-hoppers-are-not-interpreting-what-hip-hop-is-and-when-we-do/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f9e/krs-one-2404_hip-hop_hip-hoppers-are-not-interpreting-what-hi_1278606.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f9e/krs-one-2404_hip-hop_hip-hoppers-are-not-interpreting-what-hi_1278606.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f9e/krs-one-2404_hip-hop_hip-hoppers-are-not-interpreting-what-hi_1278606.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Hip-hoppers are not interpreting what hip-hop is, and when we do interpret it, we interpret it as something…” — KRS-One", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "KRS-One", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/krs-one/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Hip-hoppers are not interpreting what hip-hop...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/krs-one/hip-hoppers-are-not-interpreting-what-hip-hop-is-and-when-we-do/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/krs-one/hip-hoppers-are-not-interpreting-what-hip-hop-is-and-when-we-do/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```