KRS-One Quotes

By erasing barriers of races, colors, continents, genres, or languages, we can achieve the whole world moving their head to the same beat.

I've performed in China, France, New Delhi, and Indianapolis, and everybody just allows themselves to go at it and have a good time. I think that's what I'm doing through music. It's not about 'I'm from here and you're from there.' It's about unity.

Bob Marley performed the 'One Love Peace' concert in Jamaica with the two different warring political sides. There's always been that in black music and culture in general. It's no surprise because black music is such a reflection of what's going on in black life. It's not unusual for hip-hop.

I want to be known for what I am, black and white, because I'm proud of both.

There's always some difference between your Latino and African-American communities. But we definitely have more similarities than differences.

In Harlem, I got all my black friends. But when I go downtown, I got black, white, Asian, Indian friends. There's no borders, no barriers.

When we decided to go to Cuba to perform, we did it because we just wanted to build a bridge, you know, between Cuba and the rest of the community. And we just wanted to prove that music and art need to be over all ideology or way to think life, and we just wanted to go in there and play just because of love.

Do you know what integration really means? It means intermarriage. That's the real point behind it. You can't have it without intermarriage. And that would result in disintegration of both races.

I never had that thing about being black. If the whole world was like that, maybe there would be more harmony and love.

Citizens of India, Pakistan, and Kashmir need to come together and make music.

White people couldn't do black music back in the day because they weren't funky or bad enough. They weren't from the ghettoes, but hip-hop and R&B changed all of that because white kids want to be down with it. They wanted to learn it so they studied the culture. It's kind of a cool thing because we shouldn't be so separate.

Hip-hop has globalized a conception of blackness that has had a political impact, whether or not it had a political intent.

My first Grammy wasn't even in a jazz category, but of course I was really excited. 'Rockit' was the beginning of kind of a new era for the whole hip-hop movement.

I think America concedes that true American music has sprung from the Negro.

People called rock & roll 'African music.' They called it 'voodoo music.' They said that it would drive the kids insane. They said that it was just a flash in the pan - the same thing that they always used to say about hip-hop.

I think people respond to truth. 'Straight Outta Compton' made $60 million over the weekend, right? That's not just a black audience. 'Empire' grew every single week. That's not just a black audience. Black culture is American culture, you know what I mean? They're becoming more and more one in the same.

These young people have to know that Dr. King and others made it possible for them to do their Hip Hopping.

The tan Everyman will be a multi-ethnic being, who will carry genes from all races of man and who, as a result of these different genes, feel no loyalty to any race. The birth of the Tan Everyman is the death of white people. The Tan Everyman beings the genocide of white people.

In music, the Specials brought a city, Coventry, bombed out for a second time and riven with racism, to a celebration between black and white musicians and their music.

As footballers, you just grow up with people from different backgrounds and different colors of skin.

I didn't mind being in a school with a small African-American population. The African-American-community was very tight, and that was great. But I also wanted to interact with other types of folks.

I was part of a hip-hop group called Fly Style. I was one of two white girls, and I was part of the younger company, which was called Touch of Style. And it was amazing. It gave me a different perception of dance and beauty because the other girls were mostly African-American and Latina.

Does racism exist in this country? Sure. But I think the overwhelming majority of Americans who care about this country do not care about skin color.

I'm not in that state of mind that I was back in '86 - hip-hop is not in that state of mind that it was back in '86. Times change. I change.