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Noisia, stylized as NOISIΛ ('VISION' rotated 180°), is a Dutch electronic music trio consisting of members Nik Roos, Martijn van Sonderen and Thijs de Vlieger from Groningen, The Netherlands.^[1] They now produce a wide variety of music including drum and bass, dubstep, breakbeat and house music. Noisia perform across the world and own three record labels (Vision, Division and Invisible Recordings).

Biography[link]

After a few fruitful collaborations with Martijn, who had been involved in music (hip hop production/classical piano) for quite a while before he hooked up with Nik and Thijs, Martijn was added to the Noisia team.

After a while the Internet was discovered as a great way to acquire musical knowledge and to get feedback on productions. Also, the first NOISIΛ tune that received interest from a real label (Mayhem's Shadow Law Recordings) was found on a production message board, this interest was a big motivation to improve the sound of NOISIΛ's productions. An investment in studio-equipment and a dedication to sound design, mixdown and arrangement got things moving, and February 2003 saw the birth of the recording that was going to be the first released NOISIΛ tune; "Tomahawk" by NOISIΛ & Mayhem on Paul Reset's Nerve Recordings imprint. The flip of that was Silicon, which was written in the hangover-days after Mayhem's short but productive stay. Silicon/tomahawk was released in August 2003, and after that things gradually started rolling.

For a time between 2005 and 2009, NOISIΛ also released tracks under the name "Drifter", encompassing the lighter side of Drum and Bass known as Liquid Funk, as well as releasing a EP under the name "Hustle Athletics" on Love Break Recordings. They later decided to go back to releasing all their music under the name "NOISIΛ" so as to not confuse the audience and to avoid being "pigeon holed" into different genres with different names.

Releases[link]

NOISIΛ have released music on major Drum & Bass labels such as Teebee's Subtitles, Goldie's Metalheadz, Rob Playford's Moving Shadow, Ram Records, Virus Recordings and Renegade Hardware. They have also collaborated with well-known drum and bass artists Cause 4 Concern, Teebee, Phace, Black Sun Empire, Bad Company UK, Dom & Roland, and The Upbeats. They have remixed Konflict's Messiah, Pendulum and The Freestylers' Painkiller and have been remixed by artists like Teebee and Matrix, in addition to other remixes.

The Dutch collective has also received extensive airplay on BBC Radio 1, a notable example being their House/Breaks track Gutterpump (released on Passenger Records).

Eventually Robbie Williams showed interest in working with NOISIΛ, asking them to remix his cover of Manu Chao's Bongo Bong and Je Ne T'Aime Plus, which they turned into a hard-hitting House track soon to be released on the major record label EMI. A Drum and Bass remix of Moby's 'Alice' has also been released to critical acclaim and to a good reception from Moby himself - "We've had some really good remixes done for 'Alice' one of my favourites is the drum and bass remix done by NOISIΛ."

Early 2007 saw the release of Tasha Baxter's Colour of Me, an album entirely produced by NOISIΛ. They met Baxter and bandmate Andre Scheepers on the internet, and after conjoined efforts on the first demo's, the two-member band was signed to EMI South Africa. It took more than a year to complete the project, the end product being a pop flavoured album carrying many different musical influences, like Reggae, Drum & Bass, or regular Pop.

In June 2008, they released FabricLive.40, a mix CD on the fabric label that includes many of their own tracks. The mix spans several genres and tempos.^[2]

NOISIΛ completed a remix of 'Omen' for The Prodigy to accompany its release in February 2009.

In Summer 2009, NOISIΛ produced Hadouken!'s second album, For the Masses, released in 2010.

In recent times, NOISIΛ have remixed Skrillex's Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites, as well as deadmau5's Raise Your Weapon.

NOISIΛ have also written music for short films as well as various video games, including Midnight Club 3: Dub Edition, Wipeout Pulse, Wipeout HD, and Wipeout HD Fury. They also produced "The Tide", which was featured on Dance Dance Revolution Universe 2 and "Stigma" intro of Gran Turismo PSP. Their song Groundhog was featured twice in DJ Hero, first as a Mashup with Motörhead's Ace of Spades '08) then later as a beat juggle by the Scratch Perverts. A remixed version of Groundhog can also be found in the soundtrack of MotorStorm: Pacific Rift. The group also collaborated With Klaus Badelt, to provide a series of remixes for the MotorStorm: Apocalypse soundtrack. The 16 Bit remix of "Machine Gun" was featured in the "Stranded" Trailer for the upcoming video game Far Cry 3, and "Could This Be" and "Machine Gun" was used on SSX.

On February 27, 2012 Noisia released a special edition of their album Split the Atom on Deadmau5's acclaimed label mau5trap.

Vision/Division/Invisible[link]

NOISIΛ owns three record labels: Vision Recordings is intended for their Drum & Bass work, including collaborations with other producers in the genre, such as Teebee, Mayhem, or MC Verse. The first release on this label contained the popular track The Tide, which instantly gave the label a sturdy foothold in the scene. The fourth release was a collaboration with Mayhem featuring hip-hop legend KRS-One, entitled Exodus. Vision's sister label Division Recordings is an outlet for their output in other genres. The first release featured the Electro/House tune Yellow Brick and the Breaks/House/Electro tune Raar.

They have announced the launch of a 3rd record label in March 2010, called Invisible Recordings. Invisible Recordings will focus on the deeper and more experimental side of drum and bass (think their output for Metalheadz - "Strange Owl Experiment" for starters). The label's debut EP features producers such as Engage, Subterra & Dekko, Icicle and Phace with the second EP featuring Noisia collaborating with Joe Seven and Alix Perez, a solo track by Alix Perez, and a track by newcomer Stray, and the third EP being the debut release of newcomer Hybris.

Split the Atom[link]

NOISIΛ's debut album, Split the Atom, was released on 5 April 2010; the first single from this album, "Machine Gun", was released on 8 March 2010.^[3] The second single from the album, "Split the Atom", was released on 25 July 2010.

Performances[link]

Every week, NOISIΛ DJ in several major European cities, such as Manchester, Bristol, Amsterdam, London, Moscow, Belgrade, Novi Sad, Budapest, Vienna, Oslo, Athens, Berlin, Madrid, Paris, St. Petersburg, Kraków, Zürich, Lisbon, Belfast, Rome, Ljubljana, Prague, Brussels, Marseille, Edinburgh, Bucharest, Cluj-Napoca, Helsinki, Berne, Groningen. They have done 15 North America tours, ten Australia & New Zealand tours and have visited Israel, Japan and South Africa for single performances.

Discography[link]

Singles[link]

• VSN 001 The Tide / Concussion
• VSN 002 Lost Cause (with Mayhem) / Choke (ft. MC Verse)
• VSN 003 Bad Dreams / Omissions
• VSN 004 Exodus (with Mayhem) (ft. KRS One)
• VSN 005 Collision EP
• VSN 006 Alice remix
• VSN 007 Stigma / Crank
• VSN 008 Split the Atom - Vision EP
• VSN 009 Brain Bucket (with Ed Rush & Optical) / Falling Through (with Spor)
• VSN 010 Friendly Intentions / Displaced
• VSN 011 Program (with Phace) / Regurgitate
• SYNDROME 003 Outsource remix / New Deal
• SUBTITLES 037 Hub Cap / Backdraft
• SUBTITLES 042 Monster EP
• SUBTITLES 056 Shower for an Hour / Moon Palace
• SKINT 138 Gutterpunk
• SHA 005 Brainstitch / Deeper Love
• SHA 017 Brainstitch / Back To Your Roots
• RAM 059 Facade / Moonway Renegade
• RAM 067 Facade VIP / Skanka
• RAMM81D Deception
• QRNUK 006 Splash Step / Diplodocus
• PASA 028 Gutterpump
• NSGNL 003 Mammoth / Sore Point
• NSGNL 004 CCTV / Factory 5
• NONVOGUE 002 Creep Out / The Bends
• NERVELTD 001 Silicon / Crisis
• NERVE 009 Silicon / Tomahawk
• MSXEP 036 Block Control
• MET 079 The Bells / Last Look
• LOVEBRKZ 002 Lekker EP
• LOVE 006 Fade to Grey
• FOKUZLTD 002 Cloudshine / Dry tears
• ENM 002 Afternoon Delight / Angel Eyes
• DNT 039LTD Contact Noisia Remix
• DVSN 001 Yellow Brick / Raar
• DVSN 002 Seven Stitches / Groundhog
• DVSN 003 Mordez Moi / B.R.U.L.
• DVSN 004 Split the Atom - Division EP
• DVSN 005 Machine Gun EP
• DVSN 006 Split the Atom EP
• DVSN 007 Alpha Centauri / Excision & Datsik Remix
• CITRUSPACK 001 Citrus Sales Pack part 1
• CITRUSLP 002CD No Escape remix / The Vulture
• CITRUS 015 Massada / Lifeless
• CITRUS 017 Lockjaw / Absolom
• CITRUS 020 Homeworld / Outsource
• ATG 019R Painkiller The Remixes
• INVSB 001 Floating Zero
• INVSB 002 Underprint
• INVSB 003 Hybris EP
• MAU5 038 Tommy's Theme
• MAU5 043 Could This Be

Albums[link]

• VSNCD Split the Atom
• FABRIC 080 FabricLive.40
• MAU5 049 Split the Atom Special Edition

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official Noisia website
• Noisia Soundcloud
• Noisia Facebook
• Noisia Twitter
• Noisia on Beatport
• Noisia on iTunes
• Noisia on Triple Vision Record Distribution
• Noisia on Trackitdown
• Noisia at rolldabeats

Tinie Tempah
Tempah at the 2010 Way Out West Festival.
Background information
Birth name	Patrick Junior Chukwuemeka Okogwu
Born	(1988-11-07) 7 November 1988 (age 23) Plumstead, London, England
Genres	Grime, Hip hop, drum and bass
Occupations	Rapper, songwriter
Years active	2005–present
Labels	Parlophone, Disturbing London
Associated acts	Labrinth, Ellie Goulding, Swedish House Mafia, Chase & Status, Usher, Kelly Rowland, Eric Turner, Range, Emeli Sandé, Wiz Khalifa, Bei Maejor, Snoop Dogg, Ester Dean, Taio Cruz, Wretch 32, J. Cole, Lupe Fiasco, Rita Ora, Taylor ThePALACE
Website	tinietempah.com

Patrick Chukwuemeka Okogwu^[1] (born 7 November 1988),^[2] better known by his stage name Tinie Tempah, is an English rapper. He made his first mixtape in 2007; his first album, Disc-Overy, debuted at number one in October 2010 and was preceded by two number-one singles.

Early life[link]

Patrick Chukwuemeka Okogwu, was born in London, England on 7 November 1988, and is of Ibusa, Delta State, Nigerian origin. ^[3] He lived on the Aylesbury Estate in South East London until he was 12 with his parents and three younger siblings.^[3] He attended St. Paul's Catholic School in Abbey Wood, London SE2, (now known as St. Paul's Academy). He went on to study A Levels at St Francis Xavier Sixth Form College, SW12. Of his London upbringing, Tempah states: “London is one of the only places in the world where you can live in a council block and see a beautiful semi-detached house across the street. Growing up around that was inspirational, it kept me motivated".^[1]

Career history[link]

Early career[link]

In 2006, Tempah gained a great deal of airplay on British music TV channel, Channel AKA, for his song "Tears" He made his first mixtape in 2007 with 28 songs, freestyles and remixes, featuring Mz Bratt, Chipmunk and G-Unit.^{[citation needed]} His first album, Disc-Overy, debuted at number one in October 2010 and was preceded by the number-one singles "Pass Out" and "Written in the Stars" and the UK Top 5 hits "Frisky" and "Miami 2 Ibiza". In late 2007, he collaborated on a track ("Perfect GCD Hood Economics Room 147") with grime artist Ultra and producers/songwriters Agent X.

Tempah toured with Chipmunk in February 2010. His first break as a musician came when Sony launched its PlayStation Portable (PSP) and used a track entitled "Listen To The Vibe" featuring Yasmin and DJ Ironik, and "Atlantic/Warner" for the futuristic racing game, Wipeout Pure. This resulted in a promotional European tour alongside the likes of Sway and Dizzee Rascal.

Tempah, his manager and cousin Dumi Oburota founded the independent label Disturbing London primarily as an official outlet for Tempah's music, but with the idea of also signing other young artists. According to Dumi: "We wanted to have a platform to put out our music and there wasn't any Def Jam or Roc-A-Fella label equivalent in England. [Also] I wanted to create a major independent label with quality artists. I felt like the major labels had lost the passion for music."^[4] The activities of the label were initially largely funded by student loans and the proceeds from buying and selling cars.^[4]

When scout and music consultant Jade Richardson saw Tempah performing at the 2009 Wireless Festival she called Parlophone Records president Miles Leonard saying: “You’ve got to check out this guy Tinie Tempah. He came on at lunchtime and there’s about 1,000 kids screaming for him. He’s only put out one independent release and he’s got this huge audience.”^[5] Leonard and A&R Nathan Thompson visited Tempah and his manager Dumi at their studio a few weeks later and were hugely impressed to hear about the work they had already done in developing Tempah's career and by the ambitious plans they had for his future.^[5] Leonard told HitQuarters: "I thought it was incredible that an artist and manager were doing so much so soon with so little ... That impressed as much as the music."^[5]

Tempah announced his signing to Parlophone in October 2009 by running a competition on his blog, with the winner invited to High Tea at Claridges to celebrate the deal.^[6]

[edit] 2010–2011: Success and Disc-Overy

Tempah released his debut single "Pass Out" with Parlophone on 28 February 2010, with it entering the UK Singles Chart at number 1. Selling just over 92,000 copies, making this his first number 1 which it remained for two consecutive weeks. Tempah would later perform "Pass Out" on 25 June 2010 at Glastonbury on the Pyramid stage with Snoop Dogg. Tempah then announced his second single, "Frisky", which was released on 6 June 2010 entering the UK Singles Chart at number 2. Tempah supported Rihanna for four dates in May on her 10-date UK tour with Tinchy Stryder and Pixie Lott.^[8] Tempah performed at many summer balls at various universities around the United Kingdom.^{[citation needed]} Tempah performed at Radio 1 Big Weekend in Bangor on 22 May 2010 on the In New Music We Trust stage. He also toured with Mr Hudson in May 2010. Tinie Tempah played the Summertime Ball at Wembley Stadium on 6 June 2010, at Wakestock in Abersoch on 3 July 2010, both T4 on the Beach and the Wireless Festival in London's Hyde Park on 4 July, and V Festival on 21 and 22 August 2010. Tempah released his third single "Written in the Stars" on 19 September 2010. This again charted at number 1 in the UK Singles Chart selling over 115,000 copies in its first week, making it his biggest-selling single to date. The song also went on to chart in a number of other countries. Tempah went on to team up with Swedish House Mafia for his fourth single "Miami 2 Ibiza" which was released on 1 October 2010. This went on to reach a peak of number 4 in the UK Singles Chart and his first number 1 in the Netherlands Mega Single Top 100 chart. He released his long-awaited debut album, Disc-Overy on 4 October 2010 which featured all his previous charted singles.

On 11 October 2010, he kicked off his first UK tour which was supported by Chiddy Bang. He went on to win his first 2 MOBO Awards in October. Tempah also featured on the Tinchy Stryder single "Game Over" which was released on 15 November 2010. This reached number 22 on the UK Singles Chart. On 25 December, Tempah released his fifth single "Invincible" featuring Kelly Rowland, which peaked at number 11 on the UK Singles Chart. "Wonderman", featuring Ellie Goulding, was released and was the fifth official single. Tempah joined Usher on the European leg of his OMG Tour in January 2011. Tempah was also nominated for 4 Brit Awards making him the most nominated artist at the awards. His single "Written in the Stars" was used for a WrestleMania XXVII countdown promo during the WWE PPV Royal Rumble on 30 January 2011. It was later confirmed by WWE that it will be the official theme for Wrestlemania XXVII. It's also the theme song for the 2011 MLB Post Season. On 15 February 2011, he won his first ever Brit Award, for Best British Breakthrough Act. He also won a Brit for Best British Single.^[9] On 7 March 2011, Tempah expressed his desire for his next album to go triple platinum. "I reckon in 2011, towards the end of it, I'm going to do an arena tour – and sell it out – then I reckon I'm going to release another album, and fingers crossed it can go platinum again, and double platinum, and triple. Let's just sell a million."^[10] In early 2011, Tinie Tempah announced a UK Arena tour. Support acts included Nero, Labrinth and Chase and Status (After Party DJ Set).^{[citation needed]} In 2011, Labrinth revealed that Tempah will be releasing "Pass Out" in the United States, featuring a well recognised artist in the American rap game.^[11] On 28 November 2011, Tinie Tempah hosted an episode of the TV show, Never Mind the Buzzcocks.^[12] Also in November, Tinie Tempah released two tracks, "Like It or Love It" which featured both Wretch 32 & J. Cole, and "Lucky Cunt" which featured Big Sean. On 16 December, Tempah released a 9-track mixtape/EP titled Happy Birthday. In early 2012 Tempah featured with Eric Turner and Lupe Fiasco on a track called "Angels and Stars". Tempah's song "Written in the Stars" was used as the entrance song for the New York Giants before Super Bowl XLVI.

[edit] 2012–present: Demonstration

By December 2010 Tempah was writing a second album,^[13] saying there will be a more electronic and live feel to it. It was originally intended for a late 2011 release.^[7][14] but is now scheduled for October 2012.^[15] During an interview, Tempah commented on his second album: "I always like to work with different people on each project I do, just so you get a different sound and angle. I will be working with some of the same people I did for the first album, you know what they say ‘if it ain't broke then don’t try and fix it’."^[16] Tempah hoped to collaborate with other artists; "I really want to collaborate with Toronto's very own Drake. I think he's amazing at what he does. I'd also like to collaborate with Adele, Sleigh Bells, Lykke Li, Dev, James Blake ― those are the few that I'd really like to work with."^[17] Tempah announced in an interview with Rolling Stone that his next single is to be called "Till I'm Gone" which will feature Wiz Khalifa and is produced by Stargate.^[18][19] The single and the video song were released at the end of June 2011.^[20] Tinie Tempah, world renowned drummer Travis Barker and Irish boxing champion Katie Taylor, joined forces to launch Lucozade’s new Yes Campaign, which signals a repositioning of its sports and energy drink brand. Featuring a performance of Tempah's "Simply Unstoppable" with Travis Barker on drums, remixed especially for Lucozade Sport,^{[citation needed]} the campaign was released in Summer 2011.

Tinie Tempah has asked a number of artists to appear on his upcoming second album, including Gary Barlow, Chris Martin, Dizzee Rascal, and The Script.^[21]

At the Brit Awards in 2012, he announced his second album would be called 'Demonstration'.^[22]

Discography[link]

• Disc-Overy (2010)
• Demonstration (2012)

Awards and nominations[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website

The Upbeats are a drum and bass production duo consisting of Jeremy Glenn and Dylan Jones from Wellington, New Zealand. They have also produced various other genres of music including dubstep (as Crushington) and breaks.^[1] They also produce Dubstep under the alias Crushington.

Biography[link]

Jeremy Glenn and Dylan Jones, also known as Terror Snake and Downie Wolf, have been writing drum and bass together since 2001.

Full-time DJs and producers since early 2004, the duo perform on a regular basis across the globe , run their own recording imprint Non Vogue, and have released records on Virus Recordings, Bad Taste Recordings, and Soul Recordings. They have released three full-length albums so far: The Upbeats, Nobody’s Out There, and Big Skeleton.

In 2010, they toured and scheduled some releases, in particular remixes for New Zealand electronica live acts Shapeshifter and Minuit. Other plans for 2010 included new original singles for worldwide release on Virus Recordings and Lifted Music.^[2]

Performances[link]

In 2009 they toured along side Dieselboy, Evol Intent, Ewun, Demo, Infiltrata, Mayhem, SPKTRM, MC Messinian, MC Dino and MC Steez as part of the Monsters of Jungle Tour which headlined festivals all over the world.^[3]

Discography[link]

12" Vinyl Records[link]

• BCP003 Slit / Fill Me In
• HBT006 Late Night Frite / The Gospel
• HOST008 Monsta Mash / View From Inside
• TRON008 Vodka Bender / Seduction
• BCP006 Werewolf / My Dues
• HBT010 Whitetail / Oiled Up
• P51UK09 Ghobi Ghost / Stick Together
• HUMA8021 Le Mammoth / Piss Fiend
• VRS016 Lost Once / Lick-A-Demon
• RL008 Universe / Rapture
• SOULR030 Archive / Four
• CYAN023 Camouflage Re-Lick / Antisocial
• VIO021 Nothing's Sacred / Dresden
• P51UK11 Poison / Take Away Soul
• NV001 Smash / Planet Earth
• NV002 Creep Out / The Bends
• GTEK009 Masked Warrior / Tear Down
• SUB067 Panic / Troglodyte
• RISE015 Tin God / Deviants
• NZ008 True Stories (Upbeats Remix) / The Weka
• LFTD007 Binge Drinker / Screw Up (Upbeats Remix)
• P51UKLP02 Chatter / Flamethrower (Bulletproof & Teknik Remix)
• NV003 Ghost Radio / 1968
• BT004S2 Tor / Requiem
• SUICIDE053 Shatter / Ionized

Albums[link]

• LP018 The Upbeats (album)
• BT002CD Nobody's Out There
• NVCD2 Big Skeleton

^[4]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official site
• The Upbeats on Myspace
• The Upbeats on Triple Vision Record Distribution
• The Upbeats on SoundCloud
• The Upbeats on Trackitdown Mp3 Store

KRS-One
Background information
Birth name	Lawrence Krisna Parker
Also known as	KRS, Teacha, The Blastmaster, Big Joe Krash
Born	(1965-08-20) August 20, 1965 (age 46) Flatbush, Brooklyn, New York
Origin	South Bronx, New York, U.S.
Genres	Hip hop
Occupations	Rapper, record producer, actor, author, activist
Instruments	Vocals, turntables
Years active	1977–present
Labels	Jive, RCA, Duck Down
Associated acts	Boogie Down Productions, Fat Joe, Geologic of the Blue Scholars Scott La Rock, Marley Marl, Diamond D, LL Cool J, Public Enemy, Buckshot, Talib Kweli, Immortal Technique, EPMD, Buckshot (rapper)
Website	krs-one.com

Lawrence Krisna Parker (born August 20, 1965), better known by his stage names KRS-One (an acronym for Knowledge Reigns Supreme Over Nearly Everyone), and Teacha, is an American rapper. At the 2008 BET Awards, KRS-One was the recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award for all his work and effort towards the Stop the Violence Movement as well as the overall pioneering of hip hop music and culture.

Biography[link]

Lawrence Parker was born in Flatbush, Brooklyn, New York during the summer of 1965. Parker left home at 16 to become an MC, coming to live at a homeless shelter in the South Bronx where he was dubbed Krishna by residents because of his interest in the Hare Krishna spirituality of some of the antipoverty workers. By the time he met youth counselor Scott Sterling, he was also writing graffiti as KRS-One (Knowledge Reigns Supreme Over Nearly Everyone). Together he and Sterling, a.k.a. DJ Scott La Rock eventually created Boogie Down Productions, releasing their debut album, Criminal Minded, in 1987. KRS-One has been a vegetarian since his youth.^[1]

Boogie Down Productions[link]

KRS-One began his recording career as one third of the hip hop group Boogie Down Productions, or BDP, alongside DJ Scott La Rock and Derrick "D-Nice" Jones. They met during a stay KRS-One had at the Bronx Franklin Avenue Armory Shelter. La Rock (real name Scott Sterling) worked as a social worker there. The duo would begin to create music. After being rejected by radio DJs Mr. Magic and Marley Marl, KRS-One would go on to diss the two and those associated with them, sparking what would later be known as The Bridge Wars. Additionally, KRS had taken offense to "The Bridge", a song by Marley Marl's protege, MC Shan (later on, KRS One produced an album with Marley Marl in 2007); the song could be interpreted as a claim that Queensbridge was the monument of Hiphop, though MC Shan has repeatedly denied this claim. Still, KRS "dissed" the song with the BDP record "South Bronx"; next, a second round of volleys would ensue with Shan's "Kill That Noise" and BDP's "The Bridge Is Over". KRS-One, demonstrating his nickname "The Blastmaster", gave a live performance that devastated MC Shan, and many conceded he had won the battle. Many believe this live performance to be the first MC battle where rappers attack each other, instead of a battle between who can get the crowd more hyped.^[2]

Parker and Sterling decided to form a rap group together, initially calling themselves "Scott La Rock and the Celebrity Three". That was short-lived, however, as the two peripheral members quit, leaving Parker (now calling himself KRS-One) and Sterling. They then decided to call themselves "Boogie Down Productions", "Success is the Word", a 12-inch single produced by David Kenneth Eng and Kenny Beck was released on indie Fresh/Sleeping Bag Records (under the group name "12:41") but did not enjoy commercial success. Boogie Down Productions released their debut album Criminal Minded in 1987. The album, whose cover pictured BDP draped in ammunition and brandishing guns, is often credited with setting the template for the burgeoning genres of hardcore and gangsta rap. Scott La Rock was killed in a shooting later that year, after attempting to mediate a dispute between teenager and BDP member Derrick "D-Nice" Jones and local hoodlums.

During this time KRS-One also gained acclaim as one of the first MCs to incorporate Jamaican style into hip-hop. Using the Zung gu zung melody, originally made famous by Yellowman in Jamaican dance halls earlier in the decade.^[3] While KRS-One used Zunguzung styles in a more powerful and controversial manner, especially in his song titled "Remix for P is Free", he can still be credited as one of the more influential figures to bridge the gap between Jamaican music and American hip-hop.

Following the fatal shooting of Scott La Rock in 1987, KRS was determined to continue Boogie Down Productions through the tragedy, releasing the album By All Means Necessary in 1988. He was joined by beatboxer D-Nice, rapper Ramona "Ms. Melodie" Parker (whose marriage to Kris would last from 1988 to 1992), and Kris's younger brother DJ Kenny Parker, among others. However Boogie Down Productions would remain Kris's show, and their content would become increasingly political through their subsequent releases Ghetto Music: The Blueprint of Hip Hop, Edutainment, Live Hardcore Worldwide and Sex and Violence.

KRS-One was the primary initiator behind the H.E.A.L. compilation and the Stop the Violence Movement; for the latter he would attract many prominent MCs to appear on the 12-inch single "Self Destruction". As Parker adopted this "humanist", less defensive approach, he turned away from his "Blastmaster" persona and towards that of "The Teacha", although he has constantly used "Blastmaster" throughout his career.

Solo career[link]

KRS-One performing in Belgium in May 2006.

After five largely solo albums under the name "Boogie Down Productions," KRS-One decided to set out on his own. On his first solo album, 1993's Return of the Boom Bap, Parker worked together with producers DJ Premier, Kid Capri and Showbiz, the latter providing the catchy-yet-hardcore track "Sound of da Police". His second album, 1995's KRS-One, featured Channel Live on "Free Mumia", a song in which they criticize Black Civil Rights Activist C. Delores Tucker among others. Other prominent guest stars on KRS One included Mad Lion,Rimo, Busta Rhymes, Das EFX and Fat Joe.

In 1991, KRS-One appeared on the alternative rock group R.E.M.'s single "Radio Song", which appeared on the band's album Out of Time, released the same year.

In 1992, Bradley Nowell from Sublime featured an acoustic song named "KRS-One" with his voice and DJ's samplers.

In 1995, KRS organized a group called Channel Live, whose album Station Identification he produced most of, along with Rheji Burrell and Salaam Remi.

In 1997, Parker surprised many with his release of the album I Got Next. The album's lead single "Step into a World (Rapture's Delight)", containing a sample of punk and New Wave group Blondie, was accompanied by a remix featuring commercial rap icon Puff Daddy; another track was essentially a rock song. While the record would be his best-selling solo album (reaching #3 on the Billboard 200), such collaborations with notably mainstream artists and prominent, easily recognizable samples took many fans and observers of the vehemently anti-mainstream KRS-One by surprise. However, in August 1997, Parker appeared on Tim Westwood's BBC Radio 1 show and vociferously denounced the DJ and the radio station more generally, accusing them of ignoring his style of hip hop in favor of commercial artists such as Puff Daddy. Although having not been in the UK since 1991, due to the fact he does not fly, he claimed "to be in touch with the people", and said that "they weren't feeling Westwood, he's a sell out and has sold his soul to the dark side." This sparked controversy in the UK since Radio One was one of the main supporters of the single "Step Into My World" and caused the album to be his best selling. Parker has since visited the UK, most notably in May 2007, in a performance at the Royal Albert Hall where he once again dissed Tim Westwood in a freestyle.

In 1999, there were tentative plans to release Maximum Strength; a lead single, "5 Boroughs", was released on The Corruptor movie soundtrack. However, Parker apparently decided to abort the album's planned release, just as he had secured a position as a Vice-President of A&R at Reprise Records. The shelved album was again scheduled to be released in 2008, but ultimately an unrelated album entitled "Maximum Strength 2008" was released in its place. He moved to southern California, and stayed there for two years, ending his relationship with Jive Records with A Retrospective in 2000.

Parker resigned from his A&R position at Reprise in 2001, and returned to recording with a string of albums, beginning with 2001's The Sneak Attack on Koch Records. In 2002, he released a gospel-rap album, Spiritual Minded, surprising many longtime fans; Parker had once denounced Christianity as a "slavemaster religion" which African-Americans should not follow. During this period, KRS founded the Temple of Hiphop, an organization to preserve and promote "Hiphop Kulture". Other releases have since included 2003's Kristyles and D.I.G.I.T.A.L., 2004's Keep Right, and 2006's Life.

The only latter-day KRS-One album to gain any significant attention has been Hip-Hop Lives, his 2007 collaboration with fellow hip hop veteran Marley Marl, due in large part to the pair's legendary beef, but also the title's apparent response to Nas' 2006 release Hip-Hop Is Dead. While many critics have commented they would have been a lot more excited had this collaboration occurred twenty years earlier, the album has been met with positive reviews. KRS One has appeared on several songs with other artists, due to this he has received 9 Gold and 7 Platinum plaques.

KRS One has collaborated with several artists including Canadian Rap group Hellafactz, Jay-Roc N' Jakebeatz and New York producer Domingo among other. He and Domingo publicly squashed their beef that started over financial issues and released a digital single to iTunes on November 25. The single titled "Radio" will also feature Utah up and comer Eneeone and is dedicated to underground MC's that don't get the radio airplay they deserve.^[4] In 2009 KRS One guest starred on several albums including Arts & Entertainmen on the song "Pass the Mic" by fellow Hip Hop veterans Masta Ace & Ed O.G and featured on the posse cut "Mega Fresh X" by Cormega (alongside with DJ Red Alert, Parrish Smith, Grand Puba, & Big Daddy Kane) on his album Born and Raised.

KRS One and Buckshot announced that they would be collaborating on an album set to be released in 2009. The first single, ROBOT, was released on May 5, 2009. The music video was directed by Todd Angkasuwan and debuted as the New Joint of the Day on 106 & Park on September 4, 2009. The album leaked on the Internet on September 9, 2009 and released album was released on September 15, 2009. It debuted at #62, making it on The Billboard 200 selling around 8,500 copies its first week and was met with generally positive reviews. Steve Juon of RapReviews.com gave the album a flawless 10 out of 10, claiming "Buckshot and KRS have achieved something rather remarkable here – an album I can't find a single fault with. There's not a bad beat, there's not a whack rhyme, there's not a collaborator on a track that missed the mark, and the disc itself is neither too short nor too long." ^[5]

In 2010 KRS One was honored along with Buckshot by artists Ruste Juxx, Torae & Skyzoo, Sha Stimuli, Promise, J.A.M.E.S. Watts and Team Facelift to name a few on their mixtape 'Survival Kit' which is an ode to the 2009 album Survival Skills by KRS One and Buckshot. The mixtape was released for free download on DuckDown.com. The album features new version of KRS classics 'South Bronx', 'Sound Of Da Police' and 'MC's Act Like They Don't Know' as well as new versions of well known Buckshot songs and 'Past Present Future' from the Survival Skills album. The MC Fashawn stated in his verse on MC's Act Like They Don't Know that 'I did it to make Kris smile I figured he'd appreciate it' ^[6]

Most recently, KRS One was featured as the voice of Chris Cringle in the new Nike Most Valuable Puppets commercials. KRS One performed in May 2010 at SUNY New Paltz for their annual "Rock Against Racism" concert. KRS One also narrated the 2011 film Rhyme and Punishment, a documentary about Hip-Hop artists who have done jail time.

Stop the Violence Movement[link]

The Stop the Violence Movement was formed by KRS-One in 1988/1989 in response to violence in the hip hop and black communities.

During a concert by Boogie Down Productions and Public Enemy a young fan was killed in a fight. Coming soon after the shooting death of his friend and fellow BDP member Scott La Rock, KRS-One was galvanized into action and formed the Stop the Violence Movement. Composed of some of the biggest stars in contemporary East Coast hip hop, the movement released a single, "Self Destruction", in 1989, with all proceeds going to the National Urban League.^[7] A music video was created, and a VHS cassette entitled Overcoming Self-Destruction – The Making of the Self-Destruction Video was also released.

"Self-Destruction" was produced by KRS-One and D-Nice of Boogie Down Productions (Hank Shocklee of The Bomb Squad is credited as an associate producer).

Temple of Hip Hop[link]

The Temple of Hip Hop is a ministry, archive, School, and Society (M.A.S.S.) founded by KRS-One. Its goal is to maintain and promote Hiphop Culture. The Temple of Hip Hop maintains that Hip Hop is a genuine political movement and culture, as it has been accepted by the United Nations as a culture. The Temple of Hiphop calls on all Hip Hop fans to celebrate Hip Hop Appreciation Week, occurring in the third week of May. It encourages DJs and MCs to teach people about the culture of Hiphop, to write more socially conscious songs, and radio stations to play more socially conscious hip hop. Hip Hop Appreciation Week is celebrated on the third week of May each year. Hip Hop History Month (November), founded by the Universal Zulu Nation, is also recognized.

September 11 comments[link]

In 2004, KRS engendered a controversy when he was quoted in a panel discussion hosted by The New Yorker magazine as saying that "we cheered when 9/11 happened". The comment drew criticism from many sources, including a pointed barb by the New York Daily News that called Parker an "anarchist" and said that "If Osama bin Laden ever buys a rap album, he'll probably start with a CD by KRS-One."^[8]

KRS-One performing in 2007.

Parker responded to the commotion surrounding his comments with an editorial written for AllHipHop.com, stating:

I was asked about why hiphop has not engaged the current situation more (meaning 9/11), my response was "because it does not affect us, or at least we don’t perceive that it affects us, 9/11 happened to them". I went on to say that "I am speaking for the culture now; I am not speaking my personal opinion." I continued to say; "9/11 affected them down the block; the rich, the powerful those that are oppressing us as a culture. Sony, RCA or BMG, Universal, the radio stations, Clear Channel, Viacom with BET and MTV, those are our oppressors, those are the people that we're trying to overcome in hiphop everyday, this is a daily thing. We cheered when 9/11 happened in New York and say that proudly here. Because when we were down at the trade center we were getting hit over the head by cops, told that we can’t come in this building, hustled down to the train station because of the way we dressed and talked, and so on, we were racially profiled. So, when the planes hit the building we were like, "mmmm, justice." And just as I began to say "now of course a lot of our friends and family were lost there as well" I was interrupted...

In late 2005, KRS was featured alongside Public Enemy's Chuck D on the remix of the song "Bin Laden" by Immortal Technique and DJ Green Lantern, which blames American neo-conservatives, the Reagan Doctrine and U.S. President George W. Bush for the World Trade Center attacks, and indicates a parallel to the devaluation, destruction, and violence of urban housing project communities.

On April 29, 2007, KRS-One again defended his statements on the September 11 attacks when asked about them during an appearance on Hannity's America on the Fox News network stating that he meant that people cheered that the establishment had taken a hit, not that people were dying or had died.^[9] He also discussed amongst other things, the Don Imus scandal and the use of profanity in Hip-Hop.

Gospel of Hip Hop comments[link]

In an interview with AllHipHop about his book "The Gospel of Hip Hop", KRS-One said:

"I’m suggesting that in 100 years, this book will be a new religion on the earth... I think I have the authority to approach God directly, I don’t have to go through any religion [or] train of thought. I can approach God directly myself and so I wrote a book called The Gospel of Hip Hop to free from all this nonsense garbage right now. I respect the Christianity, the Islam, the Judaism but their time is up. ...In a hundred years, everything that I’m saying to you will be common knowledge and people will be like, 'Why did he have to explain this? Wasn’t it obvious?'"^[10]

These comments have been referred to by numerous media outlets^[11][12][13] such as the AV Club who comment that "KRS-One writes 600-page hip-hop bible; blueprint for rap religion"^[14] and "KRS-One has never been afraid to court controversy and provoke strong reactions. Now the Boogie Down Productions legend has topped himself by writing The Gospel of Hip Hop: The First Instrument, a mammoth treatise on the spirituality of hip-hop he hopes will some day become a sacred text of a new hip-hop religion".^[14]

Stepson's death[link]

Randy Hubbard Parker, stepson of KRS-One, was found dead in his Atlanta, Georgia apartment on July 6, 2007 in an apparent suicide; he was 23. Simone Parker, KRS-One's wife and Randy's mother, released a statement on July 10 that stated her son's death was related to his continuous battle with "severe depression". The Fulton County Medical Examiner's office stated that Parker died of a gunshot wound to the head, and listed the cause of death as suicide.^[15] Parker was a graphic designer and fashion entrepreneur. A private memorial service was held on July 18, which would have been his 24th birthday.^[16]

Benefit for First Responders[link]

KRS-One spoke at a hip hop benefit concert on September 12, 2009 to benefit the first responders of 9/11 he spoke of non violence to take back the country. The event was presented by the 9/11 group We Are Change based in New York City and SMT Studios.

Politics[link]

He has endorsed Congressman Ron Paul for President in 2012.^[17]

Awards[link]

VH1

• 2004, VH1 Hip Hop Honors

BET Hip Hop Awards

• 2007, I am Hip Hop
• 2007, Lifetime Achievement

Urban Music Awards

• 2009, Living Legend Award

Discography[link]

Filmography[link]

Books[link]

See also[link]

• Suicide, it's a suicide

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: KRS-One

• KRS-One on Myspace
• KRS-One at RollingStone
• KRS-One talks to North Minneapolis citizens about tornado recovery