KRS-One took issue with the way hip-hop legends are celebrated.
In a new interview published by Houston radio station 97.9 The Box on Tuesday (September 3), The Teacher was asked to share his thoughts on the shocking death of Fatman Scoop.
While paying tribute to the legendary New York City DJ, KRS-One also took the opportunity to call out the hip-hop community for not celebrating its heroes while they are still alive and benefiting from the praise.
“This energy should be on the radio,” the Bronx legend began. “It’s a shame that now that he’s passed away, we’re talking about him this way. Hip-hop has got to stop doing that. Like, only when men die do they get honors and stuff like that. When Fatman Scoop’s We should pay attention to him when his career is booming. He has never been played on any radio or anything like that. Only DJs who know it will play his music.
When asked to compare the way hip-hop celebrates its pioneers and legends to the way other genres do, KRS-One made it clear he wasn’t trying to have that conversation.
“Other genres suck and we don’t care about them,” he declared. “Hip-hop sucks, so fuck every other genre really. Hip-hop dominates the entire music industry. So what if we can’t get hip-hop right? I’m sorry for reggae, I’m sorry for jazz, I’m sorry for gospel, I’m sorry Sorry to rock and roll: We won’t get away with it all.
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He continued, “People always put hip-hop down, other genres put down hip-hop, but we rise! That’s what I’m saying: These other genres can do that to their artists if they want; we don’t give a shit about them.
“We can’t do this to our artists, okay? Fat Spoon? This is what a hip-hop DJ sounds like. So the guys on the radio are talking about it, and they don’t. 1 For hip-hop, you should listen to the real guys.
In addition to Fatman Scoop, who collapsed and died on stage on August 31, just this summer the Hip Hop community has mourned the deaths of legends DJ Polo and Chino XL; young bona fide stars BeatKing and Rich Homie Quan; and up-and-coming Artists Enchanting and Foolio.
