--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I think that hip-hop should be spelled…" description: "\"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 conscio..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f6f/krs-one-2404_consciousness_i-think-that-hip-hop-should-be-spelled-w_2582291.png" --- # I think that hip-hop should be spelled with a capital "H,"… ![“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…” quote by KRS-One](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f6f/krs-one-2404_consciousness_i-think-that-hip-hop-should-be-spelled-w_2582291.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f6f/krs-one-2404_consciousness_i-think-that-hip-hop-should-be-spelled-w_2582291.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f6f/krs-one-2404_consciousness_i-think-that-hip-hop-should-be-spelled-w_2582291.png) > “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](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. Hip‑hop is a cultural identity, not a commercial product; rap is a product, and turning hip‑hop into a product enslaves souls. **In simple terms:** Hip‑hop is culture, rap is product; commodifying culture is oppression. Key Takeaway Respect and protect cultural authenticity. Themes culture identity commercialization authenticity Mood defiant reflective Type philosophical social commentary When to use this quote - music festivals - branding campaigns - educational curricula - community events Key Concepts cultural appropriation artistic integrity social impact Questions to Reflect On - How can we honor cultural roots while reaching wider audiences? - What defines the line between art and product? A Different Perspective Commercial pressures can dilute cultural meaning. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Capital Word](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/capital-word-1788807/) [Consciousness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consciousness/) [Culture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/culture/) [Identity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/identity/) [Product Hip](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/product-hip-1788806/) [Rap](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rap/) [Rap Product](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rap-product-1788805/) [Rapper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rapper/) [Slavery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/slavery/) [Soul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/soul/) [Think Rap](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/think-rap-383312/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Word Culture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/word-culture-574407/) ## Related quotes > [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…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/krs-one/i-think-that-hip-hop-should-be-spelled-with-a-capital-h-and-as-one/) [KRS-One](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/krs-one/) > [Personally, I just think rap music is the best thing out there, period. If you look at my deck in my car radio, you're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eminem/personally-i-just-think-rap-music-is-the-best-thing-out-there-period/) [Eminem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eminem/) > [I think rap music is rap music. I mean, are there heavy writing aspects of it? Absolutely. In a sense, is it poetry? Yeah.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-sweatshirt/i-think-rap-music-is-rap-music-i-mean-are-there-heavy-writing-aspects/) [Earl Sweatshirt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-sweatshirt/) > [When you think about Memphis music, you think about Gotti, you know what I'm saying, and Three 6 and them. That was the face…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glorilla/when-you-think-about-memphis-music-you-think-about-gotti-you-know/) [GloRilla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glorilla/) > [I think that a rap aficionado, the hardcore rap fan, will always go away from pop, in the same way a hardcore jazz fan…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ice-t/i-think-that-a-rap-aficionado-the-hardcore-rap-fan-will-always-go/) [Ice T](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ice-t/) > [Whenever I hear the word culture, I reach for my Browning!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-goering/whenever-i-hear-the-word-culture-i-reach-for-my-browning/) [Hermann Goering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-goering/) > [It was play rather than work which enabled man to evolve his higher faculties - everything we mean by the word 'culture'.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-read/it-was-play-rather-than-work-which-enabled-man-to-evolve-his-higher/) [Herbert Read](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-read/) > [ I have always, privately and humbly, thought it a pity that so good a word \[as culture\] should go out of the best vocabularies;… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katharine-fullerton-gerould/i-have-always-privately-and-humbly-thought-it-a-pity-that-so-good-a/) [Katharine Fullerton Gerould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katharine-fullerton-gerould/) > [“When I hear the word culture, I reach for my gun”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hanns-johst/when-i-hear-the-word-culture-i-reach-for-my-gun/) [Hanns Johst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hanns-johst/) > [When I hear the word 'culture', I reach for my checkbook.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/when-i-hear-the-word-culture-i-reach-for-my-checkbook/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [The best definition of the word culture (workplaces included) that I've heard is that it's how people behave when nobody is watching.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gwyn-morgan/the-best-definition-of-the-word-culture-workplaces-included-that-i-ve/) [Gwyn Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gwyn-morgan/) > [“When politicians and civil servants hear the word culture they feel for their blue pencils.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-esher/when-politicians-and-civil-servants-hear-the-word-culture-they-feel/) [Lionel Esher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-esher/) > [When I hear the word 'culture,' I get out my revolver.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hanns-johst/when-i-hear-the-word-culture-i-get-out-my-revolver/) [Hanns Johst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hanns-johst/) > [“When I hear the word 'culture' I reach for my pistol.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hanns-johst/when-i-hear-the-word-culture-i-reach-for-my-pistol/) [Hanns Johst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hanns-johst/) > [Whenever I hear the word culture, I reach for my revolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-goring/whenever-i-hear-the-word-culture-i-reach-for-my-revolver/) [Hermann Goring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-goring/) ## 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 Consciousness quotes > [“You're never alone if you're with your soul.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerard-armond-powell/you-re-never-alone-if-you-re-with-your-soul/) [Gerard Armond Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerard-armond-powell/) > [“I now argue that entry into Upper Palaeolithic caves was probably seen as virtually indistinguishable from entry into the mental vortex that leads to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-david-lewis-williams/i-now-argue-that-entry-into-upper-palaeolithic-caves-was-probably/) [James David Lewis-Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-david-lewis-williams/) > [How wonderful it would be to scatter words as they rise to consciousness, to let them lie where they fall.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-scott/how-wonderful-it-would-be-to-scatter-words-as-they-rise-to/) [Joanna Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-scott/) > [“People and situations always show us what we need to see and learn about ourselves, and when we take responsibility for our own feelings,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eliza-mada-dalian/people-and-situations-always-show-us-what-we-need-to-see-and-learn/) [Eliza Mada Dalian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eliza-mada-dalian/) > [With the realization of God comes all power. If the little wave knew that behind it is the great ocean, it could say, "I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paramahansa-yogananda/with-the-realization-of-god-comes-all-power-if-the-little-wave-knew/) [Paramahansa Yogananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paramahansa-yogananda/) > [We do not want to be reminded that it is we, the indigenous people, who are poor and exploited in the land of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-biko/we-do-not-want-to-be-reminded-that-it-is-we-the-indigenous-people-who/) [Steven Biko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-biko/) > [It is proposed that a form of free dialogue may well be one of the most effective ways of investigating the crisis which faces…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bohm/it-is-proposed-that-a-form-of-free-dialogue-may-well-be-one-of-the/) [David Bohm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bohm/) > [“Entropy is the normal state of consciousness—a condition that is neither useful nor enjoyable. 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Hodge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-f-hodge/) > [Human freedom involves our capacity to pause between the stimulus and response and, in that pause, to choose the one response toward which we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rollo-may/human-freedom-involves-our-capacity-to-pause-between-the-stimulus-and/) [Rollo May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rollo-may/) [Browse all 6,062 Consciousness quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consciousness/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "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. 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