KRS-One

Lawrence "Kris" Parker (born August 20, 1965), better known by his stage names KRS-One (ˌkeɪ_ɑr_ɛs_ˈwʌn; an abbreviation of "Knowledge Reigns Supreme Over Nearly Everyone") and Teacha, is an American rapper from the South Bronx. He rose to prominence as part of the hip hop group Boogie Down Productions, which he formed with DJ Scott La Rock in the mid-1980s. KRS-One is known for his songs "Sound of da Police", "Love's Gonna Get'cha (Material Love)", and "My Philosophy". Boogie Down Productions received numerous awards and critical acclaim in their early years. Following the release of the group's debut album, Criminal Minded, fellow artist Scott La Rock was shot and killed, but KRS-One continued the group, effectively as a solo project. He began releasing records under his own name in 1993. He is politically active, having started the Stop the Violence Movement after La Rock's death. He is also a vegan activist, expressed in songs such as "Beef". He is widely considered an influence on many hip-hop artists. Lawrence Parker was born in the New York City borough of Brooklyn in 1965 to an American mother. His biological father, who was not involved in his upbringing, was from the Caribbean island of Barbados. He had a troubled childhood, suffering severe beatings from his American stepfather John Parker when the family lived in Harlem, New York. When his mother left the marriage both he and his younger brother Kenny moved with her to the Bronx, before again moving a year later to Brooklyn. Home life continued to be difficult, including further physical abuse at the hands of his mother's new Jamaican partner, and he ran away from home several times. At age 16 he left home permanently, and spent a time living homeless in New York, before eventually signing himself into a group home in the Bronx. Growing up, Parker had developed a deep love of the emerging hip hop culture in New York, and by that time he was honing his craft as an MC, as well as being an active graffiti writer.