Lecture 6.docx - KRIS STYLE THE PHILOSOPHY OF KRS-ONE 2003...

KRIS STYLE: THE PHILOSOPHY OF KRS-ONE, 2003
- An unreleased interview with KRS-One filmed in 2003 at Wu Tang Clan’s 36 Chambers
recording studio in NY.
- Music from the album Medical Cures For The Chromatic Commands of the Inner City serves as
the soundtrack.
- Co-produced by Ron Westray.
KRIS STYLE: THE PHILOSOPHY OF KRS-ONE, 2003
- Kris style: The Philosophy of KRS-One, 2003 .
KRS- ONE QUOTES (on quiz)
- Hip Hop: An acronym for “His/Her Infinite Power Helping Oppressed People,” A Reflection of
the Reality of the Inner City.
- Other justification of the use of the “N” word:
o That the past is the past.
o Culturally offensive words are commonly used in jest within the said culture.
o Valid within the use of the entire hip hop language.
o Certain words are part of the lexicon of Hip Hop culture: The “N,” the “B,” and the
“MF.”
THE GOLDEN AGE OF HIP HOP
Earlier styles vs. Later Styles:
- Break beats vs. No Break beats.
- Drum Machines vs. Sampled Drum line.
- Tape Loops vs. Sampler.
AKAI- S900 SAMPLER
- Replaced tape.
AKAI-S900 SAMPLER (on quiz)
- The AKAI-S900 Sampler was both a technical innovation as well as a process innovation that
emerged in the late 1980s.
- With the emergence of a new generation of samplers such as the AKAI S900 producers were at
last free of the need for tape.
AKAI-S900 SAMPLER (on quiz)
This machine became such an important part of Hip Hop during its Golden Age that virtually all of the
music being created through the use of this machine, and just like the Roland TR-808, the AKAI-S900
brought about a drastic change in the overall “sound” of the music while presenting a new way of making
music. In short this is one of those technological improvements that changed everything in the field.
BREAKDOWN OF SONG TO SAMPLE
Sampling Techniques:
- Diminishing/Augmentation of original sample.
- Tempo increase/decrease (BPM).
- Addition of beats, instruments, solos or vocals.
- Metaphorical Manipulation.
o Substitution and/or alteration of original philosophical theme.
BREAKDOWN OF SONG TO SAMPLE (LISTEN TO SONGS)

Metaphorical Manipulation:
- Ghostface Killah sampled Little Milton’s “Packed Up and Took My Mind” but flipped the
metaphor from being about a broken heart, to about being in a panic after murdering someone in a
grocery store robbery.
- Little Milton Campbell, “Packed Up And Took My Mind,” Tin Pan Alley, 1975.
- Ghostface Killah, “Walk Around,” The Big Doe Rehab, 2007.
THE GOLDEN AGE OF HIP HOP
Transitioning from the formative years of Hip Hop to the “Golden Age” we see a new cohort of MCs and
DJs build on the foundation established by the early artists and achieve previous unheard of commercial
success while at the same time gaining critical and cultural acceptance along while also reaching new
audiences.