Unfortunately, rapper Biz Markie passed away in a Baltimore hospital on Friday, July 16, 2021. Biz Markie’s cause of death is confirmed as a series of diabetic complications
According to family sources, his wife, Tara Hall, hold his hand when he died. Marcel Theo Hall, better known as Biz Markie, had fought this illness for over a year.
He was hospitalized last summer related to his type 2 diabetes. At the time, the person in charge said, “He has received the best care from a great team of medical professionals and we continue to be positive about the results.”
Rapper Biz Markie died at 57 after a year of battling illness
His condition remained mysterious until April. Big Daddy Kane revealed that Biz is doing better. Rumors flooded that Biz was in a coma during his hospital stay, but it was confirmed that it wasn’t.
Until word of his recent hospitalization in late July 2020, you could find Markie on social media actively posting toys from his collection or playing 45s while dressed in a onesie, pictures of him and fellow legends, and his behemoth grin and comedic energy sound which was in that aforementioned 1986 Dutch documentary.
Biz Markie’s cause of death at 57.
His manager, Jenni D. Izumi, confirmed his death news and said: “We are grateful for the many calls and prayers of support that we have received during this difficult time. Biz created a legacy of artistry that will forever be celebrated by his industry peers and his beloved fans whose lives he was able to touch through music, spanning over 35 years.
Rapper Biz Markie died of diabetic complications
The rapper made its name for the first time at home and abroad when the single “Just A Friend” became a top 40 hit in multiple countries in 1989 and also won platinum. After that, the rapper’s career began. He produced acting, comedy, DJ’d, music and released five total studio albums.
Biz was an early standout in the Juice Crew, a dazzling collective led by producer Marley Marl, a visionary who gathered a team so adept and rich in character it would only be matched in the modern age by the otherworldliness of Wu-Tang Clan.
It was founded by radio DJ Mr. Magic and finally placed on Tyrone Williams’ record label, Cold Chillin’ Records. Their first release was “Roxanne’s Revenge” in 1984 which was produced by Marley and featured a 15-year-old Roxanne Shante. The charismatic release became a hit and was largely effective for Juice Crew’s first steps.
Biz’s first official solo album, Goin’ Off, arrived in 1988, which was a debut produced by Marley Marl, that remains among his best. Other notable works are:
Clive Campbell (born April 16, 1955), better known by his stage name DJ Kool Herc, is a Jamaican–AmericanDJ who is credited with helping originate hip hop music in The Bronx, New York City, in the 1970s through his "Back to School Jam",
hosted on August 11, 1973 at 1520 Sedgwick Avenue. After his younger
sister, Cindy Campbell, became inspired to earn extra cash for
back-to-school clothes, she decided to have her older brother, then 16
years old, play music for the neighborhood in their apartment building. Known as the "Founder of Hip-Hop" and "Father of Hip-Hop", Campbell began playing hard funk records of the sort typified by James Brown as an alternative both to the violent gang culture of the Bronx and to the nascent popularity of disco in the 1970s.
Campbell began to isolate the instrumental portion of the record which emphasized the drum beat—the "break"—and switch from one break to another. Using the same two-turntable set-up of disco DJs, he used two copies of the same record to elongate the break. This breakbeat
DJing, using funky drum solos, formed the basis of hip hop music.
Campbell's announcements and exhortations to dancers helped lead to the syncopated, rhythmically spoken accompaniment now known as rapping.
He called the dancers "break-boys" and "break-girls", or simply b-boys and b-girls. Campbell's DJ style was quickly taken up by figures such as Afrika Bambaataa and Grandmaster Flash. Unlike them, he never made the move into commercially recorded hip hop in its earliest years.
Early life and education
The front of 1520 Sedgwick Avenue, where Campbell lived with his family and threw his first parties.
Clive Campbell was the first of six children born to Keith and Nettie Campbell in Kingston, Jamaica. While growing up, he saw and heard the sound systems of neighborhood parties called dance halls, and the accompanying speech of their DJs, known as toasting. He emigrated with his family at the age of 12 to The Bronx, New York City in November 1967, where they lived at 1520 Sedgwick Avenue.
Campbell attended the Alfred E. Smith Career and Technical Education High School in the Bronx, where his height, frame, and demeanor on the basketball court prompted the other kids to nickname him "Hercules". He began running with a graffiti crew called the Ex-Vandals, taking the name Kool Herc. Herc recalls persuading his father to buy him a copy of "Sex Machine" by James Brown, a record that not a lot of his friends had, and which they would come to him to hear. He and his sister, Cindy, began hosting back-to-school parties in the recreation room of their building, 1520 Sedgwick Avenue.
Herc's first sound system consisted of two turntables connected to two amplifiers and a Shure "Vocal Master" PA system with two speaker columns, on which he played records such as James Brown's "Give It Up or Turnit a Loose", Jimmy Castor's "It's Just Begun" and Booker T. & the M.G.'s' "Melting Pot".
With Bronx clubs struggling with street gangs, uptown DJs catering to
an older disco crowd with different aspirations, and commercial radio
also catering to a demographic distinct from teenagers in the Bronx,
Herc's parties had a ready-made audience.
The "break"
DJ Kool Herc developed the style that was the blueprint for hip hop music. Herc used the record to focus on a short, heavily percussive part in it: the "break".
Since this part of the record was the one the dancers liked best, Herc
isolated the break and prolonged it by changing between two record
players. As one record reached the end of the break, he cued a second
record back to the beginning of the break, which allowed him to extend a
relatively short section of music into "five-minute loop of fury".
This innovation had its roots in what Herc called "The Merry-Go-Round,"
a technique by which the deejay switched from break to break at the
height of the party. This technique is specifically called "The
Merry-Go-Round" because according to Herc, it takes one "back and forth
with no slack."
Herc stated that he first introduced the Merry-Go-Round into his sets in 1972. The earliest known Merry-Go-Round involved playing James Brown's "Give It Up or Turnit a Loose" (with its refrain, "Now clap your hands! Stomp your feet!"), then switching from that record's break into the break from a second record, "Bongo Rock" by The Incredible Bongo Band. From the "Bongo Rock"'s break, Herc used a third record to switch to the break on "The Mexican" by the English rock band Babe Ruth.
Kool Herc also contributed to developing the rhyming style of hip
hop by punctuating the recorded music with slang phrases, announcing:
"Rock on, my mellow!" "B-boys, b-girls, are you ready? keep on rock
steady" "This is the joint! Herc beat on the point" "To the beat,
y'all!" "You don't stop!" For his contributions, Herc is called a "founding father of hip hop,"a "nascent cultural hero," and an integral part of the beginnings of hip hop by Time.
On August 11, 1973, DJ Kool Herc was a disc jockey and emcee at a party in the recreation room at Sedgwick Avenue.[24] Specifically, DJ Kool Herc:
extended an instrumental beat (breaking or scratching) to let people dance longer (break dancing) and began MC'ing (rapping) during the extended breakdancing. ... [This] helped lay the foundation for a cultural revolution.
— History Detectives
Herc in 1999 holding James Brown's Sex Machine album
According to music journalist Steven Ivory, in 1973, Herc placed on the turntables two copies of Brown's 1970 Sex Machine album and ran "an extended cut 'n' mix of the percussion breakdown" from "Give It Up or Turnit Loose", signaling the birth of hip hop.
B-boys and b-girls
The "b-boys" and "b-girls"
were the dancers to Herc's breaks, who were described as "breaking".
Herc has noted that "breaking" was also street slang of the time meaning
"getting excited", "acting energetically," or "causing a disturbance". Herc coined the terms "b-boy", "b-girl," and "breaking" which became
part of the lexicon of what would be eventually called hip hop culture.
Early Kool Herc b-boy and later DJ innovator Grandmixer DXT describes the early evolution as follows:
... [E]verybody would form a circle and the B-boys would
go into the center. At first the dance was simple: touch your toes,
hop, kick out your leg. Then some guy went down, spun around on all
fours. Everybody said wow and went home to try to come up with something
better.[
In the early 1980s, the media began to call this style "breakdance," which in 1991 the New York Times wrote was "an art as demanding and inventive as mainstream dance forms like ballet and jazz."Since this emerging culture was still without a name, participants
often identified as "b-boys," a usage that included and went beyond the
specific connection to dance, a usage that would persist in hip hop
culture.
Move to the streets
With
the mystique of his graffiti name, his physical stature, and the
reputation of his small parties, Herc became a folk hero in the Bronx.
He began to play at nearby clubs including the Twilight Zone Hevalo, Executive Playhouse, the PAL on 183rd Street, as well as at high schools such as Dodge and Taft. Rapping duties were delegated to Coke La Rock and Theodore Puccio. Herc's collective, known as The Herculoids, was augmented by Clark Kent and dancers The Nigga Twins.Herc took his soundsystem (the herculords) —still legendary for its sheer volume[32]—to the streets and parks of the Bronx. Nelson George recalls a schoolyard party:
The sun hadn't gone down yet, and kids were just hanging
out, waiting for something to happen. Van pulls up, a bunch of guys come
out with a table, crates of records. They unscrew the base of the light
pole, take their equipment, attach it to that, get the electricity –
Boom! We got a concert right here in the schoolyard and it's this guy
Kool Herc. And he's just standing with the turntable, and the guys were
studying his hands. There are people dancing, but there's as many people
standing, just watching what he's doing. That was my first introduction
to in-the-street, hip hop DJing.
Influence on artists
In 1975, the young Grandmaster Flash, to whom Kool Herc was, in his words, "a hero", began DJing in Herc's style. By 1976, Flash and his MCsThe Furious Five played to a packed Audubon Ballroom in Manhattan.
Venue owners were often nervous of unruly young crowds, however, and
soon sent hip hop back to the clubs, community centres and high school
gymnasiums of the Bronx.[34]
Afrika Bambaataa
first heard Kool Herc in 1973. Bambaataa, at that time a general in the
notorious Black Spades gang of the Bronx, obtained his own soundsystem
in 1975 and began to DJ in Herc's style, converting his followers to the
non-violent Zulu Nation in the process. Kool Herc began using The Incredible Bongo Band's "Apache" as a break in 1975. It became a firm b-boy favourite—"the Bronx national anthem"[17]—and is still in use in hip hop today.Steven Hager wrote of this period:
For over five years the Bronx had lived in constant
terror of street gangs. Suddenly, in 1975, they disappeared almost as
quickly as they had arrived. This happened because something better came
along to replace the gangs. That something was eventually called
hip-hop.[17]
In 1979, the record company executive Sylvia Robinson assembled a group she called The Sugarhill Gang and recorded "Rapper's Delight". The hit song ushered in the era of commercially released hip hop. By that year's end, Grandmaster Flash was recording for Enjoy Records. In 1980, Afrika Bambaataa began recording for Winley. By this time, DJ Kool Herc's star had faded.
Grandmaster Flash suggests that Herc may not have kept pace with
developments in techniques of cueing (lining up a record to play at a
certain place on it).
Developments changed techniques of cutting (switching from one record
to another) and scratching (moving the record by hand to and fro under
the stylus for percussive effect) in the late 1970s. Herc said he
retreated from the scene after being stabbed at the Executive Playhouse
while trying to intercede in a fight, and the burning down of one of his
venues. In 1980, Herc had stopped DJing and was working in a record
shop in South Bronx.
Later years
Herc spins records in the Hunts Point section of the Bronx at a February 28, 2009 event addressing the "West Indian Roots of Hip-Hop."
Kool Herc appeared in Hollywood's motion picture take on hip hop, Beat Street (Orion, 1984), as himself. In the mid-1980s, his father died, and he became addicted to crack cocaine. "I couldn't cope, so I started medicating", he says of this period.
In 1994, Herc performed on Terminator X & the Godfathers of Threatt's album, Super Bad. In 2005, he wrote the foreword to Jeff Chang's book on hip hop, Can't Stop Won't Stop. In 2005 he appeared in the music video of "Top 5 (Dead or Alive)" by Jin from the album The Emcee's Properganda. In 2006, he became involved in getting Hip Hop commemorated at the Smithsonian Institution museums.[37] He participated in the 2007 Dance parade.
Since 2007, Herc has worked on a campaign to prevent 1520
Sedgwick Avenue from being sold to developers and withdrawn from its
status as an Mitchell-Lama affordable housing property.
In the summer of 2007, New York state officials declared 1520 Sedgwick
Avenue the "birthplace of hip-hop", and nominated it to national and
state historic registers.The city's Department of Housing Preservation and Development ruled
against the proposed sale in February 2008, on the grounds that "the
proposed purchase price is inconsistent with the use of property as a
Mitchell-Lama affordable housing development". It is the first time they
have so ruled in such a case.[
Serious illness
According to a DJ Premier fan blog The Source's website and other sites, DJ Kool Herc fell gravely ill in early 2011 and was said to lack health insurance. He had surgery for kidney stones, with a stent placed to relieve the pressure. He needed follow-up surgery but St. Barnabas Hospital in the Bronx,
the site that performed the previous surgery, has requested that he
make a deposit toward the next surgery, because he has missed several
follow-up visits. The hospital said it would not turn away uninsured
patients in the emergency room.
DJ Kool Herc and his family set up an official website on which he
describes his medical issue and the larger goal of establishing the DJ
Kool Herc Fund to pioneer long-term health care solutions. In April 2013, Campbell recovered from surgery and moved into post-medical care.
First vinyl record
In
May 2019 Kool Herc released his first vinyl record ever with
Dj/Producer Mr. Green. “Last of the Classic Beats” was critically
acclaimed.
Bronx, NY – DJ Kool Herc changed the course of music forever on August 11, 1973 when he threw a Back To School Jam at 1520 Sedgwick Avenue in the Bronx.
At the time, admission to the event cost ¢.25 for the ladies and ¢.50
for the fellas, but little did they know what they were witnessing was
the birth of Hip Hop.
Although there’s been some debate over who actually coined the term “Hip Hop,” in a February 2018 interview with HipHopDX,
legendary New York promoter Van Silk credited Grandmaster Flash &
The Furious 5’s Keith Cowboy for naming it and the late Lovebug Starski
for making it popular.
“The term Hip Hop was coined by Keith Cowboy from Grandmaster Flash
& The Furious 5 and Lovebug Starski popularized it,” Silk explains
to HipHopDX. “Now, both of our brothers are gone and can’t dispute it.
But I guess they discussing it now together. I’ve just seen many
articles written by what I call fake industry news giving Lovebug credit
for the term. I want to tell the truth to those who were not there.”
On Hip Hop’s 46th birthday, a slew of Hip Hop artists have taken to social media to show their appreciation for the genre.
Kool DJ Red Alert,
who was instrumental in blasting Hip Hop to the masses through his WRKS
98.7 Kiss FM radio show, Bahamadia, DJ Premier, Snoop Dogg and
Run-DMC’s Rev Run are just a few of those celebrating the monumental
day.
Check out their reactions below.
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As We Embrace This Important Day To Us, I Respect To Everyone That Love And Support This Culture To The Fullest
Angie Martinez aka “The Voice of New York” will be hosting a new
show titled Untold Stories Of Hip Hop will premiere this fall on the WE tv
network. According to reports, Martinez is set to sit down with Cardi B, Snoop
Dogg, Queen Latifah, Ice Cube, Nelly, A$AP Rocky, DJ Khaled, Wyclef Jean, Ja
Rule, Fat Joe, and many more for a new the show.
“Hip Hop music and culture is at the foundation of the WE tv
brand, and as the genre’s influence only continues to grow and impact the world
around us, it’s incredibly important to preserve these untold stories for the
culture,” says Marc Juris, President of WE tv.
Juris continues, “From our series that spotlight Hip Hop royalty
to documentaries that share the true stories of artists throughout the
industry, Hip Hop has formed who we are and we’re excited to take a closer look
at the artists who’ve left their mark and at those who continue the legacy.”
Untold Stories of Hip Hop will feature
hour-long episodes. Martinez’s new show joins a WE tv line-up that now
includes Growing Up Hip Hop, Growing Up Hip Hop: Atlanta, Growing Up
Hip Hop: New York, and Marriage Boot Camp: Hip Hop Edition.
Entertainment One and Creature Films are the production companies
behind the upcoming series. In addition to her hosting duties, Martinez is also
serving as one of the show’s executive producers.
UK based Nigerian Hip-Hop legend Modenine teams up with producer beat maker Extraordinaire/Sound Engineer/APC DJ, Member of Str8 Buttah Crew, London , Lagos/D Teck-Zilla for a new 14 track collaborative project “Esoteric Mellow”. The project came out of unreleased sessions Modenine had some years ago and had been sitting idle until he linked up with Teck in London and they started putting things in place. The body of work also includes remixes of previously released songs such as “Mystery Girl” and the Canibus assisted “Super Human”.
Monday, April 14th 2019—Most people don’t realize they are in history until it is too late, said KRS-One in an interview after performing Saturday night for a packed Cervantes night-club in Denver Colorado. Hip Hop is a global culture, and we are its cultural architects. What we do and say today is going to be the actual history of those studying us in the future! What we believe of ourselves today is what our children are going to believe of themselves tomorrow. Our actions today are going to inform our children as to what they are capable of and what they can become in their present! It’s time to approach Hip Hop as the global culture that it really is.
Many people confess to be life-long fans of KRS-One’s music, but more and more people these days, are becoming students and apprentices of KRS-One’s teachings and his vision for Hip Hop. KRS-One has played Cervantes many times in the last 10 years, but last night he and is audience seemed extra thirsty for what KRS-One repeatedly referred to as “Hiphoppia”—Hip Hop’s new city. Those that study with the Temple of Hip Hop have heard the Teacha speak on this subject before, but after an amazing high-energy performance, some of us got a chance to sit down with the Teacha to discuss his upcoming music projects, his six new books, his new “Free Style” tutorial DVD for emcees, the Temple of Hip Hop and his ideas for Hip Hop’s new city—“Hiphoppia”.
Students—Thanks for taking this time to speak with us.
Teacha—The honor is mine; thanks for listening all these years.
Students—On stage you talked about people not realizing that they are in history until it is too late. Can you elaborate on this?
Teacha—The statement speaks for itself. Most people don’t realize that their own actions and words are the actual ingredients of the history they, and their children, shall live out in the future. The idea is to live a life that you can be proud of. Give yourself good memories by living a good life in your present. Feelings of jealousy, anger, sadness and worry, and then the actions that follow, nurtures a guilty life in one’s future. But, feelings of peace, love, unity and joy, and the actions that follow these, nurture an empowering life in one’s future. It’s really that simple. This is why it is important to live a righteous life. It is because the righteous life gives you beautiful memories. It gives you confidence in who you are and what you are capable of.
Students—You’ve been posting photos of yourself in the studio with Dr. Dre, is he producing your next album?
Teacha—Not yet. And I say that cautiously because Dre is looking to further mix some of what I did in his studio, and he may add to my production or change the music altogether. I’m open for whatever! Right now though, Dre’s involvement in this new project is more of an executive producer, than that of a music producer. He’s just helping a brother out. But we’ll see. Dre, and his team, big-up to Ty and to Victor the engineer, they came to my aid when Simone reached-out to them. She made one phone call, and the next thing I knew I was in Dre’s studio recording. I really appreciate Dre, Ty and Victor for this, and Simone. My new project is called “Street Light” and there’s a variety of producers on this project. DJ Static who plays for Immortal Technique, Sun-One of the Temple of Hip Hop, Kid Capri, Mlody from Poland, my son DJ K-Prime, and myself are the actual music producers of this project so far.
Students—Any collaborations with other artists?
Teacha—Only G Simone, Freddy Foxxx and Sun One so far, but earlier in the project, sometime last year 2018, I did reach-out to Red Man, EPMD, Papoose, Rah Digga, M.O.P., and others, but I gotta follow-up. I’ve been touring and lecturing since then, now may be the time to reach-out to them again. Yo, Red Man what’s up! Yo, Papoose what up!
Students—When do you see this project coming out?
Teacha—Some time in August, possibly on my birthday (August 20th 2019). But a film company named Pure Brilliance, the ones that directed and edited my “Free Style” DVD, happened to also be with me at the time when I was recording at a variety of studios in L.A. including Dre’s studio, and they made a kind of visual journal of me working in the studio. You can go to krs-one.com to see some of this. Some of it is also on my Instagram.
Students—Why did you name this project “Street Light?”
Teacha—Well, I am always trying to find references to either philosophy and metaphysics, or original Hip Hop from its cultural perspective when titling my albums. The street light, the light post that we see shining light at night onto the street, is symbolic of Hip Hop. Hip Hop is like a tall light post shining light onto the darkness of the streets. In fact, it was at the base of the city light posts that the very first Hip Hop DJs would go into and rearrange the wiring at the base of the light post to get their electricity to power their sound-systems, even their apartments. I am calling this music project “Street Light” because in addition to bringing attention to Hip Hop’s original emcee styles, I am also bringing certain necessary messages to younger people regarding the uses of their minds and the reality of the spiritual life. This project is a balance between hardcore “street” lyrics and philosophical “light” lyrics. Thus, Street Light.
Students—On your song South Bronx, you stated I am a teacher and others are kings. If that’s the title they’ve earned, well it’s well deserved, but without a crown see I still burn. From the time you emerged on to the rap scene in 1986 you’ve been known as “The Teacha”, Hip Hop’s first and official teacher. What then is your basic teaching, and what is it that you want Hiphoppas to know?
Teacha—Well, as you all know, my basic teachings can be found in the Gospel of Hip Hop. However, the main point is to relieve human suffering through awareness, through knowledge, through a concept I call “edutainment”, education through entertainment. Most people suffer not just because of injustice or corruption, but more because of ignorance. Their own ignorance. Not knowing what you are capable of, or who you really are outside of your name, your age and your employment is the number one cause of self-doubt, worry and depression, thus failure. You know, driving a car is a dangerous. But you don’t get in your car worried about driving it because you KNOW how to drive. You have a knowledge, an awareness, of driving, and that awareness, that knowledge, is what wipes away all fears and overrides all potential dangers. Someone else, without a knowledge of how to drive a car, is expected to feel some anxiety if they had to drive a car. The same can be applied to life itself. Most times people become stressed, depressed, anxious, angry and all the rest simply because they don’t really KNOW life. Life is not something they study. It is something to possess or take away, it is not an event to be studied unto itself.
This is how most people live their lives. But as far as life itself is concerned, knowledge is what is on top, and it is knowledge that puts one on top! On top of life. Not money, not fame, not even resources. Knowledge reigns supreme, and for our people to truly reign supreme, we need knowledge. All of us! This is why I exist. When it comes to our people, Hip Hop’s people, Hip Hop’s actual culture, there are certain things that we need to know for the sake of our own survival and growth, and this is what I teach. But what we Hiphoppas really need to know is that we are a Holy Integrated People Having Omnipresent Power! We are not simply a music genre, we are a new civilization upon the earth, and we need to start acting like one.
Students—For a short time, about a month last year (2018), you made excerpts of seven of your new books available. First of all, where do you find the time to write seven books, and tour, and lecture, and record a new album among everything else that you are doing? And when are these books coming out?
Teacha—Wow, that does sound like a lot. But it’s not as difficult for me as it would appear. As you know, I don’t fly, I don’t use airplanes. I use cars, vans, busses, RVs and ships to get around the world and the United States. This gives me all the time I need to study, to write, to think, to record and to be a husband and a father all at the same time. The difference is that I don’t plan tours; I plan life. Rap is something I do, but Hip Hop is something I live, and it is the living of Hip Hop that shapes my life is such ways. If I focused upon one thing like doing a rap tour, it might interfere with my family life, or the time needing to read and study. But at the very beginning of my family existence with my children, wifey and myself, I groomed my family to be in harmony with me and I with them. Wifey, heads our business affairs. My youngest son and only daughter handle the albums, the DVDs, the T-shirts and the books, while my oldest son handles our tech, and is also my DJ. And all of us are artistic in some way. With this set-up, I have all the time I need to do whatever I want. You know, it’s funny, the slower you move in life the longer you live, and the more time you have to live, the better you live! You would think that such would be the opposite, that you have to move fast in order to achieve goals or get something done. But my life experience has taught me something different. It seems that the fastest speed in the universe is stillness. It’s not about chasing opportunity, it’s all about learning how to be still enough to receive directly from life itself, this is what I am experiencing even right now!
Students—Does any of your books go into concepts like these?
Teacha—Some of them, the Gospel of Hip Hop touches on these themes, but this is more about living than reading.
Students—Can you give us a little on what your upcoming books are about? Teacha—Well, I am only responsible for six of these seven books. Simone wrote one of the books entitled Identifying Your Faith which an excellent look at the principles of faith and how to correctly apply them to life. Among other things, Simone is an acronologists, she makes powerful affirmations out of everyday words by transforming such words into powerfully affirming acronyms. The other six titles are Real Niggaz—A Look At Institutional Racism Through An Intellectual Analysis Of The N-Words. An Introduction To Hip Hop which is a teacher’s guide to the proper teaching of Hip Hop. There’s God’s Son, a study on the deeper levels of the Christ, or the concept of the Christ. There’s Kush, a short study on the ancient civilization of Kush, or Nubia, and its relation to African Americans historically. There’s also a study I did on Queen Nefertiti and Pharaoh Akhenaten which produced a book called The Images Of Nefertiti. And finally, there’s Black Oustory—A Philosophical Look At “Black” and “History”.
Students—Is that part of the same course that you were teaching at U.C.L.A. this past February?
Teacha—Yes. But of course, in the book, Black Oustory as a concept is a lot more flushed-out. What I did at U.C.L.A. was more of a live professor version of Black Oustory with a power-point presentation.
Students—What was the overall theme to the professor version of Black Oustory? Was it completely different from the book or just shorter?
Teacha—Just shorter, and with more direct etymological evidence regarding Black history in the world and in the United States. With my power-point presentation, I was able to actually show students the images that backed-up what I was teaching. One of which is the fact that history is not a good source for history.
Students—Elaborate?
Teacha—Well, history is more of a cultural agreement than an accurate record of the past, and all history is ultimately the opinion of the historian. In addition to the fact that the English language of the past reflects a past English culture which in and of itself was the colonial enemy of our indigenous ancestors, we must ask, as we did at U.C.L.A., is “history” even possible in a colonial society when an accurate depiction of the past only reveals colonial crimes against our ancestors? Crimes that such criminals would rather keep covered-up? The answer is no. It is impossible to have an accurate depiction of the past in a colonial society. Just like it is impossible to have real justice in a colonial society, such is the same with history in a colonial society. So, what exactly is what we are calling “history” and how does this thing called “history” affect us as a people? This is mainly what we got into.
Students—When are these book coming out?
Teacha—Soon, I hope. I’m finishing them all now. These books are really for those that are serious about life and living. Hopefully this is what we are going teach in the schools in Hiphoppia.
Students—I heard you speak this term tonight, for those that don’t know what is Hiphoppia?
Teacha—Well, the real question is where is Hiphoppia?
Students—Where is Hiphoppia? Teacha—We are in it right now. Whenever two or more real Hiphoppas are together in peace, love, unity and joy, they have arrived at Hiphoppia. Hiphoppia is both a state of mind as well as an actual place. It’s the name of our city, our future city. But such a city must be brought into manifestation not through bricks and paint, but through a higher understanding as to what it means to be Hip Hop. This, I believe, is our next step. Not only does America need a new city, but we Hiphoppas need our own space in this country. Our children need this. In addition, the construction and establishment of an authentic Hip Hop city brings real employment, security and education to our People—Hip Hop’s People. I think this can be done.
Students—I can see it. What a great idea. Where and when does such a city get established?
Teacha—The real question is, can Hip Hop, which includes all people, can Hip Hop actually have a city, a city for the arts that’s not going to be invaded and burnt down, or schemed against or you know this kind of thing. It’s a level of consciousness that we have to rise to. You know, we don’t want a police patrol in our city or on our highways, and on our streets. But that means that the citizens have to rise to a higher level of mind where we know we not robbing each other, we know we not going to harm each other, we reached that level of civilization. so I think, you know, this not only what Hiphoppia is all about, but this is what real knowledge is all about. It’s all about maturing a person, not necessarily knowing facts, or dates, or numbers, or if you can quote another philosopher. It’s really about your maturity, it’s really about maturity, and if you can withstand the truth yourself when it hits you in the face. Can you withstand it, that’s Hiphoppia.
He is
popularly known as the Blast Master, Tha Teacha, The Philosopher, Knowledge
Reign Supreme Over Nearly Every One (KRS ONE).
When two
elephants are fighting it is the grass that suffers the most.
Krs One had
proved himself time without number consistently working like 1,2,3,4. Having
released “HEAR THIS” it seems like he’s going to take a break then Boom the
album “THE WORLD IS MIND” came out last now he is currently working on his outstanding
album with Dre. Dre.
Though it’s
not the first time Tha Teacha and Dr. Dre have worked together. In 1996 on
Aftermath compilation Mix tape Krs One alongside RBX, Group Therapy, B. Real,
Nas, Scarface and Dr. Dre appeared one same track titled “East Coast/West Coast
Killas” Now this year Krs One is set to work with Dr. Dre again on his up
coming album and the titled of the album will soon be announced by the Teacha himself.
Although KRS ONE is also a producer himself, he has made
a career of spitting’ bars over a list of legendary producers like Showbiz, DJ
Premier, Marley Marl etc. and now Dr. Dre. The two living Legends could
have a powerful impact on their careers.
After 30 years BDP “Criminal Minded” is still
standing strong, unmovable, unstoppable now a 15th Track album The
World is Mind” was released on his R.A.M.P Enter10ment. Krs One in recent years
worked with Pee Doe, Mad Lion, DJ Premier, Buck Shot and his collaboration with
his old rival MC Shan.
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