There is a legendary story about an emcee named KRS-One kicking another rap group off the stage at their own concert and rocking the show himself. For those who are recent immigrants to hip-hop, KRS-One is an acronym for Knowledge Reigns Supreme Over Nearly Everything. From his name and throughout his career, KRS-One has represented “knowledge” as a foundational element in hip-hop culture.
Imagine. The year is 1992. The Jersey City rap duo, PM Dawn’s song, “Set Adrift on Memory Bliss” is a major hit. You know the one. “Baby you send me. Ha. Ha. Ha. Haaa.” Yeah, that song. One of the group members mused to a reporter from one of hip-hop’s countless, transient magazines, “KRS-One wants to be a teacher, but a teacher of what?” A couple weeks later, he learned.
PM Dawn was performing at Manhattan’s Sound Factory nightclub. In the middle of their set, KRS-One and his crew bum rushed the stage, shoved Prince Be off of it, and instructed the DJ to drop the beat for “The Bridge Is Over.” The bridge is over, biddy-bye-bye! The bridge is over, the bridge is over, hey, hey, hey! KRS performed a full set of already classic hip-hop tracks dropping knowledge in between songs.
The audience ate it up. Even though these folks paid for tickets to see PM Dawn, they could not resist the power and force of a real hip-hop performance. This is what Hip-Hop Educators must do! We must kick these marshmallow-soft, wick-wick-wack teachers off of the stage and rock these classrooms ourselves.
Imagine. The year is 1992. The Jersey City rap duo, PM Dawn’s song, “Set Adrift on Memory Bliss” is a major hit. You know the one. “Baby you send me. Ha. Ha. Ha. Haaa.” Yeah, that song. One of the group members mused to a reporter from one of hip-hop’s countless, transient magazines, “KRS-One wants to be a teacher, but a teacher of what?” A couple weeks later, he learned.
PM Dawn was performing at Manhattan’s Sound Factory nightclub. In the middle of their set, KRS-One and his crew bum rushed the stage, shoved Prince Be off of it, and instructed the DJ to drop the beat for “The Bridge Is Over.” The bridge is over, biddy-bye-bye! The bridge is over, the bridge is over, hey, hey, hey! KRS performed a full set of already classic hip-hop tracks dropping knowledge in between songs.
The audience ate it up. Even though these folks paid for tickets to see PM Dawn, they could not resist the power and force of a real hip-hop performance. This is what Hip-Hop Educators must do! We must kick these marshmallow-soft, wick-wick-wack teachers off of the stage and rock these classrooms ourselves.
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