Author Archives: Derek Postlewaite

KRS-ONE and Repetition

To listen to the Feel the Void podcast “Episode 5: KRS-ONE and the Literary Device of Repetition”, press play below or click here to check out all episodes.

KRS-ONE is a household name in the world of hip hop, a larger than life pioneer from hip-hop’s Golden Era dating back to the 1980s, and there are plenty of articles centered around his most influential and important songs, both as a solo artist and as the emcee for BDP, some of which include “MCs Act Like They Don’t Know” (1995), “My Philosophy” (1988), “Step Into a World” (1997) and, of course, the breakout track “The Bridge is Over” (1987).

This article focuses on another aspect of KRS ONE’s music and lyricism. As an educator myself, I think his lyrics should be studied in English courses in American schools. In his nearly 40-year career as “The Teacher”, KRS-ONE has released several tracks that utilize repetition, a writing strategy or literary device that students already learn about, but with KRS’ street and universal knowledge, his artistic contributions make repetition in writing and poetry all the more relevant and likely much more interesting and attractive to the youth of America. While I’m in no way saying dump the classics, I am suggesting teachers bring the work of a modern poet into the classroom and I guarantee it will allow students to see classic literature and centuries-old poetry in a new light.

“Hold”

I’m thinkin’ real hard about some money I can hold
But everybody I know is deep in the hole
A steady payin’ job is too hard for me to hold
I call around for work but they puttin’ me on hold
But in my hand a shiny .45 is what I hold
I make a mayonnaise sandwich out of some whole-
Wheat, I’m feelin’ weak, I can’t hold
I gotta rob somebody tonight and take the whole
Bank roll, some cash I gotta hold
At the bottom of my shoe is a little bitty hole
That’s it, my mental sanity I can’t hold
I’m walkin’ to the store with this pistol that I hold…

Above is the first verse from the track “Hold” which appeared on the eponymous album, KRS-ONE (1995), and for those who know the album well, more specifically the cassette tape, it was the last track on Side A. Obviously, repetition is found at the end of each line which alternates between “hold” and “hole”, and the poet emphasizes the similarity in the words as he raps. As the song goes on, the listener gets the sense that the character in the story is desperate and as KRS put it, “your addiction to your needs and your wants is what causes problems in your life. Make sure you got what you need. Put at a safe distance all the things that you want. It’s wants that get you into trouble.”

Among the most inspiring KRS-ONE songs from the viewpoint of this emcee is none other than, well, “The MC,” from his certified gold album, I Got Next (1997). In much the same way that legendary drum solos like John Bonham’s (Led Zeppelin) on “Moby Dick” have inspired scores of teenagers to take up drumming, if you heard “The MC” in the late 90s and it didn’t make you want to be an emcee, nothing would. At a time when commercialization of hip hop had grown to the point that it was the prevailing approach in the mainstream, the artist reminded listeners of the role of a real emcee:

When the jam is slow and you need a proceeder
Who am I? THE MC
When you need a lyrical leader wit’ oratorical triple features
Who am I? THE MC
When you need to rock your 3000-seat arena, best believe, uh
Who am I? THE MC
When you need to get the word on the street wit’ demeanor
Who am I? THE MC

When I was in college, KRS dropped The Mix Tape (2002) to hold people over until the release of the Kristyles album. The short album opens with “Ova Here,” the track he put out amidst his brief feud with the popular rapper Nelly, but on “The Message 2002,” KRS offers his usual positive encouragement to live a life of wisdom and righteousness.

Right from the hook, KRS begins with…

Crack – don’t mess with that
Speed – don’t mess with that
It’s whack – don’t mess with that
Greed – don’t mess with that
Knowledge – yeah, mess with that
God – yeah, mess with that
College – yeah, mess with that
A job – yeah, mess with that

Then on to his first verse….

I rhyme for respect y’all, intellect y’all
Not sex y’all, move that neck y’all, correct y’all
Checks y’all, cash y’all, don’t last y’all
With cops y’all to blast y’all, harass y’all

On “What Else Happened” from Kristyles (2003), KRS tells a story that’s both humorous, as well as a warning to impressionable females to watch out for players and to not play themselves.

There once was a dreamer named Peter (what else happened?)
Peter was also known as Skeeter (what else happened?)
Peter had sex with Anita (what else happened?)
Anita got pregnant from Peter (what else happened?)
Peter wasn’t just with Anita (what else happened?)
Peter knew this girl named Rita (what else happened?)
Peter had sex with Rita (what else happened?)
Rita got pregnant from Peter (what else happened?)
Now TWO girls are pregnant by Peter (what else happened?)
But Rita doesn’t know of Anita (what else happened?)
And Anita, doesn’t know Rita (what else happened?)
The two of them, only know Peter (what else happened?)
Now Peter’s at the mall with Anita (what else happened?)
You know, he runs into Rita (what else happened?)
Well Rita takes a look at Anita (what else happened?)
And Anita takes a good look at Rita (what else happened?)
Well Rita starts to pull out the heater (what else happened?)
The heater now is pointed at Peter (what else happened?)
Anita jumps right on Rita (what else happened?)
Rita busts shots at Anita (what else happened?)
Rita missed Anita by meters (what else happened?)
But Rita’s bustin’ shots at Peter! (What else happened?)
Just then somebody shook Peter (what else happened?)
Yo how many spoons of the dairy creamer? (What else happened?)
It’s Keisha sayin’ WAKE UP PETER (what else happened?)
That’s why they call you the dreamer (Now that’s happenin’!)

One track later on Kristyles, KRS-ONE takes listeners on a journey through the opposite roles that people play in the world through the song “Somebody”. In a way it feels like a message to play the cards you’re dealt, even though it’s coming from a man whose main motivation appears to be to inspire others to improve their station in life.

Somebody gotta be lost
Somebody gotta be found
Somebody gotta be in the economy making the money go round
Somebody gotta be the president
Somebody gotta get down
Somebody gotta be hesitant
Somebody gotta be relevant
Somebody gotta be celibate
Somebody gotta be having their sex in a lex for the hell of it
Somebody gotta be intelligent
Somebody gotta be illiterate
Somebody gotta go all the way
Somebody gotta go a little bit
Somebody got to be an idiot
Somebody gotta be belligerent
Somebody gotta be hip hop
Cause somebody else is living it
Somebody gotta be spitting it
Somebody gotta be ignorant
Somebody gotta be holy
But somebody gotta have sin in it
Somebody gotta be losing it
Somebody gotta be winning it
Somebody gotta be flippin’ the style I’m kicking just a little bit

On “Me Man” from Keep Right (2004), KRS raps like he’s having an honest and intimate conversation with a lost soul about his role and place in a changing industry. He follows his own path, and he’s still got something to teach.

You told me man, you need me man
Who the teacher me man, who gon’ lead you me man
Who gon’ free you me man, well not mostly me man
But come up close to me man, make a toast with me man
I’m not starvin’ me man, I be feedin’ me man
You won’t be seein’ me man, cause I be bookin’ me man
Them lights be cookin’ me man, while people look at me man
They sing the hooks with me man, yo read this book with me man
How these rappers slash actors wanna fuck with me man
When we be up inside the spot they be duckin’ me man
I be movin’ me man, showin’ and provin’ me man
My wife is soothin’ me man, yo’ life is new to me man

Fast forward 16 years and the man born Lawrence Parker has not lost a step. Remarkably, on his 22nd album, Between Da Protests (2020), Kris hits us with the track “Black, Black, Black.”

The real Underground Railroad
The first subway for Black, Black, Black!
The freedom train begins with your brain
Get it on track, track, track!
Whether justice or injustice
How do you react-act-act?
Can you stand there laughing
While they shoot us in the back, back, back?
This is what some rappers sound like
Every time they rap, rap, rap!
I’m raising up the red and the green
And the black, black, black!
Even with no cops in the hood
We still hear “click-click, clack-clack-clack”!
I cannot forget my ancestors
Just because I rap, rap, rap!
Look at me from top to bottom,
KRS is Black, Black, Black!

KRS-ONE is the quintessential artist, poet and for me, inarguably the purest emcee. In the past, he’s been criticized for what some would label contradictory and controversial messages, but he’s been in the public light for nearly four decades, and what I get from his presence is honesty, growth, evolution and a positive spirit. He’s walked with the torch of hip hop the entire time, and spread an inclusive message throughout the world without shutting the door on anyone. That’s just one more reason to add to the list of a host of others as to why English classes throughout the nation should open the door to the poetry of KRS-ONE.

Surface Level Records

In Tribute to Gift of Gab, a Blazing Arrow

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To listen to the Feel the Void podcast “Episode 3: In Tribute to Gift of Gab, a Blazing Arrow”, press play below or click here to check out all episodes.

Yesterday, June 25, 2021, it was revealed that Timothy Jerome Parker, known worldwide as Gift of Gab, the emcee from the hip hop group Blackalicious, had passed away at the age of 50. Several years ago the man had suffered kidney failure, and reports say that he had to undergo dialysis multiple times a week. Amazingly, he still continued to write songs, record and do shows. The press release stated that there are more than 100 unreleased Blackalicious tracks that we may be blessed with in the future.

I’m actually not quite sure of when I first heard of Blackalicious, the duo comprised of Gift of Gab and Chief Xcel, the producer and DJ. I remember when “Make You Feel That Way” was released in 2002 and my older brother and I watched the video, refreshed by everything from the sounds, lyrics to the direction. It was a brief but important reminder that hip hop could be more than what it had become in mainstream culture, a conduit for commercialization and the cult of the self.

I recall my brother buying the album Blazing Arrow and listening to it in his car in the heat of summer. Highlights for me at the time were the collaborations with Zach de la Rocha (of Rage Against the Machine) on “Release, Pt 1”, as well as Rakaa Iriscience from Dilated Peoples, a group that I was damn near obsessed with in high school, on “Passion”.

Around that time, I read about Blackalicious when they were on the cover of the now defunct but extremely significant underground hip hop magazine, Elemental. The cover story talked about their earlier releases in the 1990s, and that’s when I scooped up Nia from probably UndergroundHipHop.com or SandboxAutomatic.com, the former of which, sadly, is no more, while the latter is impressively still around.

The fact that I went back is an often overlooked aspect of the importance of hip hop and the messages it sends and the lessons it lends. Hip hop taught me to look back and to appreciate that which came before. In high school, I was always listening to classics from the past. If it was the year 2000, I was probably listening to EPMD’s album from 1990, Business as Usual, or Gang Starr’s third album, Daily Operation, released in 1992.

Nia, released in Europe in 1999, then re-released by Quannum Projects in 2000, blew me away. As much as I was impressed by Blazing Arrow, Nia was and remains Blackalicious’ absolute masterpiece to my ears. From the opening track I was hooked. “Searching,” with its spacey guitar strings, soulful piano chords and airy woodwinds, has Gift of Gab accompanied by actress, singer and writer Erinn Anova, as they recite a poem that embodies the cycle of life and the beauty in the struggle that is universal. I recommend you read the lyrics and recite them with Gift and Erinn, just as I have:

Blackalicious “Searching” featuring Erinn Anova

Searching…

For everything already there.

For every thought already known.

For everything that ever was, is and will be.

Struggling. Oh, how we struggle.

And the more we avoid it, the greater the struggle becomes,

until we realize, the struggle is the blessing.

Progressing.

Changing.

Evolving.

Growing.

From a seed to a tree.

From a child to a man [From a child to a woman].

From a man to a spirit to a god fulfilling his plan [From a woman to a spirit to a god fulfilling his plan].

Purpose.

No words can describe the unnameable.

No beginning, no end, just always now.

Marveling at the miracle and all of a sudden it all seemed to make sense somehow.

Searching, for everything already there.

For every thought already known.

For everything that ever was, is and will be.

[Niiiiaa, Niiiiaaaa….]

Gift of Gab would have been in his late 20s when those words were written and expressed. He was wise beyond his years, and the wisdom contained within “Searching”, though often overshadowed and overlooked due to the sheer volume of musical releases and countless other distractions vying for our time and attention, will remain cherished and appreciated for years to come by all walks of life, from hip hop purists to vinyl collectors who don’t usually go to hip hop first; to casual listeners and to anyone who just happens upon it. I think he would have faith in that idea, just like as evidenced by his music and poetry, he had faith in people.

I’ve taken the death of the artist, musician and poet Timothy Jerome Parker pretty hard, and there’s no question that a lot of fans and fellow musicians are feeling the same way. I went through a similar period of mourning after the deaths of Guru and Eyedea, and more recently, DMX and Double K of People Under the Stairs. A part of that emotional experience with the loss of our musical influences is a result of our collective awareness of their monumental contribution to music and art itself. As Chief Xcel expressed about his longtime friend and musical comrade,

“He’s the most prolific person I’ve ever known. He was all about pushing the boundaries of his art form in the most authentic way possible. He truly believed in the healing power of music. He viewed himself as a vessel used by a higher power whose purpose was to give positive contributions to humanity through Rhyme.”

Reading that quote reminds me of the eponymous title track off of the duo’s third full-length album, The Craft, released in 2005.

This Craft, this beat, this rhyme, this vibe
This style, they say music gives new life
From a source inside that is forever flowin’
This stage, this mic, this crowd, this show
This life, I’ve been given a gift tonight
And for that, I vow to be a vessel

When I put my 7-year-old daughter into bed last night, just a handful of hours removed from learning about the loss of Gab, I played the song “Sleep,” a true original from Nia. Oddly, it’s the first time I played the track for her. I can remember listening to it through headphones as it spun around in my CD Walkman years ago when I was home from college. I’d lie awake, listening to the words, hoping that I’d be as good a poet and emcee as Gift of Gab one day, and maybe, if I had a child, this is how I’d put her to bed to sleep.

The shining lights of stages, after the show are faded
The crowd is gone away, and now the dawning day
Gives way to creatures lurking, can hear the crickets chirping
Only the owls can see for this is when they start their prey
The homeless ask for quarters, for shelter and some water
Say “sorry not today” and turn and walk away
The busy street is empty, whistling winds are blowing gently
Listening intently to all of the things they have to say
A day of work completed, a night of rest is needed
Almost done with a book but eyelids to heavy to read it
The fireplace is kindling, snug with your queen and building
About the victories tomorrow’s gonna bring your way…

“Sleep” by Blackalicious

Sleep, Mr. Parker. You found your purpose and it all made sense somehow. You were, and always will remain, a vessel.

Sincerely,

Derek “Proseed” Postlewaite

http://proseed.bandcamp.com

Works Cited:

Blackalicious – Nia. Discogs. (1999, January 1). https://www.discogs.com/master/32311.

Kreps, D. (2021, June 25). Blackalicious Rapper Gift of Gab Dead at 50. Rolling Stone. https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/blackalicious-rapper-gift-of-gab-dead- 1189400/.

Strauss, M. (2021, June 25). Gift of Gab, Blackalicious Rapper, Dies at 50. Pitchfork. https://pitchfork.com/news/gift-of-gab-blackalicious-rapper-dies-at-50/.