KRS-ONE

Slow boat to a new philosophy
Rebecca Puddy From:The Australian, March 09, 201212:00AM

KRS-One checks out graffiti painted in his honour in the inner-Melbourne suburb of Fitzroy. Picture: David Geraghty Source: The Australian.

HE may be one of the founding fathers of hip-hop, but KRS-One also describes himself as a philosopher, anthropologist and teacher of one of the world's most advanced cultures.

Hailing from Brooklyn in New York, the rapper says he gained his education as a homeless young man, sleeping in libraries and under bridges. It is his experience of homelessness that has prevented him visiting Australia during his 20-year career.

"It was a privacy issue at the beginning, and I said to myself when I was homeless, if I ever make it, I will travel and live as privately as I possibly can, and that was the mark on my success," KRS-One says.

"I flew everywhere for the first 10 years of my career and I started to not like commercial transport. I just don't feel safe."

But after turning down countless offers to tour, promoters finally wooed him to Australia. He sailed for 24 days aboard the Queen Elizabeth cruise liner from San Francisco and will tour the country by car, from the east coast to Perth and back again.

He says travelling at his own pace is important. The art of touring, he says, is more than performing on a stage; it is about the people he meets along the way.

"For me, as a philosopher, my life can't go that fast. I can't just get a flight from New York and then 16 hours later (be) in Australia," he says. "I don't learn anything that (way).

"We stopped off in Hawaii, Fiji, New Zealand along the way and I saw every museum, every art gallery, library. I spoke to every native I could possibly get my hands on. By the time I got to Sydney, I was well educated."

Born Lawrence Krisna Parker, KRS-One left home at 14 to pursue a career in hip-hop, joining with a social worker at his homeless shelter, DJ Scott La Rock, to release his debut album, Criminal Minds, in 1987. La Rock was shot dead that year while intervening in a dispute between a friend and a local street gang, prompting KRS-One to form the Stop the Violence Movement, aiming to restore hip-hop's original principles to the music industry.

He says the view that hip-hop promotes violence is prejudiced and shows ignorance; he invites critics of all ages to come to his shows and learn about the genre in its pure form.

"You've got to look at prejudice: the Italian culture is The Sopranos show; they're not mafia, they are some of the greatest artists and astronomers on the planet," he says. "How can you call yourself a cosmopolitan modern person if you don't know what hip-hop is?

"Hip-hop is a worldwide culture. We have permeated every urban environment. We are an international world culture. If you don't know the truth about it, that means you're ignorant -- not us."

He has dedicated his life to preserving hip-hop, writing the Gospel of Hip Hop, a history of the emergence of the culture, and creating the Temple of Hip Hop, a school and ministry to maintain and promote the art form internationally. To KRS-One, hip-hop is more than music: it is a genuine political movement and the name of a culture.

"My theory is that hip-hop is the most advanced version of civilisation on earth and we are here to usher the rest of humanity into the Age of Aquarius," he says.

While it has taken him 20 years to reach our shores, KRS-One says it is only the start of his relationship with the country.

"I am here to teach hip-hop, not only am I here as a humble student," he says. "Sometimes I'll be here teaching and there will be no concerts whatsoever."

He says he is interested in meeting indigenous hip-hop fans. "The youth here are more interested in mimicking Europe or America than playing the didgeridoo themselves," he says. "The best thing I can do is tell them that if they are really hip-hop, go work for your father, go and respect your grandmother and make sure you know your culture.

"I want the young people to understand, hip-hop is not greater than your father's culture. I'm here to kneel at their father's knee and let the young kids see the KRS they are lauding is nobody compared to their fathers."