KRS-One

Hip-hop pioneer KRS-One reads tonight from his new book, The Gospel of Hip Hop: First Instrument. We expect it to be more than the usual hip-hop rooster walk—Parker grew up interesting. Born in Flatbush, Brooklyn, in the summer of '65, he left home at 14 to become an MC, and lived at a homeless shelter in the South Bronx, where he was dubbed Krishna by residents because of his interest in Hare Krishna spirituality. By the time he met a youth counselor named Scott Sterling, he was also writing graffiti as KRS-ONE (Knowledge Reigns Supreme Over Nearly Everyone). Together, he and Sterling (aka DJ Scott La Rock) created Boogie Down Productions and released Criminal Minded in 1987, an album that exploded across the nation's dance scene. Respect.