KRS-One has always been considered one of the most intelligent, poetic, and passionate rappers in the history of the game. Since his days with Boogie Down Production, he has been promoting peace in the world, as well as in hip-hop music. KRS-One has fought his career to keep hip-hop as a credible artform, whether it be from emceeing, break dancing, scratching, graffiti, or anything having to do with the hip-hop art form as a whole. After splitting with BDP, he went solo and released two solo albums Return of the Boom Bap and KRS-One. It wasn't until 1997 when he released I Got Next, his third solo full length album.
Track List & Rating
1. 1st Quarter: the commentary (NOT RATED) 2. 2nd Quarter: Free Throws (***) 3. The MC (****) 4. I Got Next / Neva Hadda Gun (****) 5. Heartbeat f/ Redman & Angie Martinez (***) 6. Step into a World (****) 7. A Friend (*****) 8. H.I.P.H.O.P. f/ Thor-El (*****) 9. Halftime (NOT RATED) 10. 3rd Quarter: The Commentary (NOT RATED) 11. Klassicks (NOT RATED) 12. Blowe f/ Redman (****) 13. Real Hip Hop (*****) 14. Come to da Party (***) 15. Can't stop, Won't stop (****) 16. Over ya Head (***) 17. Just to Prove a Point (***)
After two very interesting intros, we get to "The MC", the first real track. KRS-One promotes real hip-hop, separating the difference between an emcee and a regular rapper. KRS talks about the weakness about whack emcees and their money. He has a tight choice of words and lyrics for this track. After a short intro, we get into "I Got Next", which is another tight track. The beat features a very old school fast double clap and drum loop mix, with some silent bass, making it as simplistic as possible. KRS-One once again raps about materialism in hip-hop music. The track changes over to "Neva Hadda Gun", which is slightly better as we get to stopping the violence in the world, showing the great social conscious eye that KRS-One possesses.
"Heartbeat" is a track aimed at commercial success, but fails. KRS and Redman drop tight, but Angie Martinez' ghost-written, monosyllabalistic rhymes suck. Easily skippable to "Step into a World", where KRS-One refies his status as being one of the greatest rappers ever. The track was wonderful lyrics, but the chorus is somewhat draggy and the beat is somewhat weak, so it loses points, but its still a good song. "A Friend" is KRS-One's dedication to his friends and fans. KRS gets sort of simplistic when it comes to subject matter, but then again, its rare to hear this sort of thing from hip-hop. The beat is pretty catchy, featuring some melancholy piano loops and creepy violin. KRS's lyrics are top-notch, giving us the first major highlight of the album here.
"H.I.P.H.O.P." is the teacher KRS-One at his best. Joined by Thor-El, both tight emcees rap about the misjustices of hip-hop music, and how the record industry rips individuals apart, not to mention they both diss materialistic, commercialist rappers. KRS uses a tight rhyme scheme, with awesome delivery and well-written rhymes. KRS feels very passionate about his hip-hop life, and shows it on here. This is a perfect lead in to "Klassicks", which is a most bizarre, sample driven track, which chronicles classic BDP tracks, mixing them together. However, i choose not to grade it because it isn't an actual song. After hearing this, it gets a bit irritating, so skip ahead to "Blowe", which is excellent. KRS takes it to those emcees who like to talk a lot of noise about pushing weight and violence, sort of challenging them. KRS mocks commercial rap and gangsta rap with his intelligent lyricism, and hard hitting braggadiocio, complete with a multi-syllable flow and punchlines galore. "Real Hip-Hop" is another KRS-One classic, as once again, he tells us what is real hip-hop, separating commercial rap from true, underground hip-hop.
KRS-One hits us with introspective storytelling on "Cant Stop, Wont Stop". KRS raps about a shootout that occured in his house, putting himself in the story as the main character. He gets socially conscious as he raps about street violence and the street life. The Legendary DJ Muggs provides the beat, giving us a simple drum / clap look, some piano snares, and background screech violins, adding to the texture. KRS has always been an excellent storyteller and inspired many other emcees to follow this style.
"Over Ya Head", though containing relatively good lyrics, suffers from a pathetically boring beat. I usually skip it to go to "Just to Prove a Point". Featuring a unique arrangement of guitars, this song begins sounding sort of death metal-ish, but KRS-One arrives with his lyrics to change it. KRS's lyrics are awesome, but the production here is sort of whack once it kicks in, making it very difficult to hear KRS rap. It sounds way too much like death metal, but its a much better listen than the last track.
KRS-One is a legend no matter what you think. However, this album was lacking a lot of cohesiveness, as its boring skits and sometimes whack production prevented it from being that great. "I got Next" is an average album from a WAY above average performer and deserves a few spins in you're cd player. Check it out...
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