![]() The most stunning moment: One dancer put the other on his head and, through the miracle of centrifugal force and whole lot of spinning, whirled the guy like the propeller on a beanie cap. He came with a DJ and a handful of backup rapper-dancers who shouted for emphasis, chimed in when KRS-One was catching his breath and, during a couple of tunes, tumbled like circus acrobats who'd been trained in the Bronx. ("Rap is something you do, hip-hop is something you live," he explained, over and over.) Though vastly outsold and overshadowed these days by the Eminems and Jay-Zs of the world, at the age of 38 KRS-One has a small but dedicated flock, and at the less-than-packed 9:30 club he whipped them into a revivalist tizzy. When KRS-One wasn't underscoring his own greatness, or telling his life story, he was lecturing. Rap" he called Shakespeare a "punk" and challenged him to a verbal duel. On Monday night he referred to himself a few times as God. Kris, as he's known to fans, doesn't just rap - he instructs, warns, encourages and condemns, all with an ego so large he seems at times delusional. KRS-One is one of rap's great and charismatic survivors, a pioneer of socially conscious rap, a teacher-preacher who's been pushing black pride, nonviolence and a quasi-religious take on hip-hop since he first began recording as part of Boogie Down Productions in the late '80s. "This might be the last time you see me!" he shouted, from his perch on the counter. For a good 20 minutes, an ever-dwindling crowd pressed around him, handing over cash for his new book, "Ruminations," and copies of his newest CD, "Kristyles." The guy was standing atop the concession booth at the rear of the room, rhyming into the mike with one hand, signing merchandise with the other and sweating in every direction. Even after most fans had left the 9:30 club on Monday, the rapper born Laurence Krisna Parker remained hard at work, though not on stage. At the end of a concert, by long-standing tradition, the artist leaves the stage and then the crowd exits the building. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |