KRS ONE Gets Into Book Game

By Felicia Pride

MC, activist, and teacha KRS ONE is getting into the book game. He's already authored two books on hip hop, but now he'll be playing the role of curator through a new venture with Brooklyn-based powerHouse Books. Spring 2009, in partnership with powerHouse, KRS ONE will launch a new imprint called "I Am Hip Hop" which will "serve as a home for cutting-edge, positive material related to the true culture and philosophies of Hip Hop."

The imprint will focus on "publishing high-quality books ranging from serious philosophical treatises to urban photography projects or engaging novels." All the book projects will be personally chosen and overseen by the MC. "The I Am Hip Hop imprint will serve as a home for real and true expressions of Hip Hop," says KRS ONE.

The first book from the imprint is The Gospel of Hip Hop, which is set in the format of the Christian Bible, and is a 600+ page manual that combines classic philosophy, religious faith and practical knowledge for those interested in following hip hop as a life path. The book also provides a primer on the origins and development of hip hop culture.
KRS ONE, the founder of The Temple of Hip Hop, definitely has a lot to say about the culture and you may not always agree with him. But he's definitely a perfect hiphoppa to launch one of the first (if not the first) book publishing imprints dedicated solely to documenting hip hop at its finest.

Which we definitely need.

Here's why: Yesterday, I conducted a hip hop workshop for a group of kids at a Baltimore recreation center. I mentioned KRS ONE and asked the 9-12 year olds if they knew who he was. None of the fifteen children did. I was a little saddened but not surprised. It reminded me that we need to continue to document the full face of hip hop so that future generations can fully understand what it's all about.

With that said, it's a good thing that KRS ONE continues to record. In the midst of gearing up for his new imprint, he's currently producing a 20-Year Anniversary Stop the Violence Album to be released in September. The single, released on radio last month, is "Self Construction" and features Ne-Yo, Nelly, KRS One, Styles P, Redman, Method Man, Busta Rhymes, Wise Intelligent, Talib Kweli, Rah Digga, and The Game.

Hip hop can't stop won't stop.

Photo: KRS ONE and Craig Cohen, president and executive publisher of powerHouse Books