The beef is over

When exactly did KRS One lose his goddamn mind? Or was he always crazy? Personally I thought it happened when he declared himself the embodiment of hip-hop. But now he has decided to dead the BDP-Juice Crew conflict, almost two decades since the battle was live, and is releasing an album with perhaps the only producer he can afford these days, Marley Marl.

At the linked release, you will see Kris banging on about how his album, called Hip Hop Lives is not a response to Nas' Hip Hop is Dead, because of something he calls "upper case" hip-hop.

"This album is about KRS ONE saying thanks to Marley Marl, MC Shan, Mister Magic, Roxanne Shante, Fly Tye, DJ Red Alert, DJ Chuck Chill Out, the Awesome Two and everyone who had something to do with the legendary "battle" between Boogie Down Productions and the Juice Crew. This album is about refocusing Hip Hop and preserving "that original sound" that got everything started in the 1980s."

It can be hard to reconcile this kind of nonsense with the fact that KRS-One really did reign supreme over nearly everybody, something I've been re-discovering recently by listening to Criminal Minded. But that was released 21 years ago. Anyway, you can check out two tracks from Hip Hop Lives: Kill a Rapper, and Hip-Hop Lives (I Come Back) if you really must.

On a side note, this might explain why the Beat King has been keeping a low profile lately. I know the BDP-Juice Crew conflict affected him quite deeply, particularly when it came down to KRS-One vs something like 20 rappers from Queensbridge.