The last KRS record I heard before this was "Criminal Minded", that was almost a decade ago. With so much space in between hearing a KRS record, I was glad that I perked my ears up to this. The stories were top notch, the melding of myth and reality all on full display over the instrumentals provided by Preem, Diamond D, and others that kept "KRS" to the roots of what make hip-hop the beautiful, informative, culture that it is. KRS' voice carries the most sporadic energy, whether in a reserved tone or verbose as he took this listener on an adventure from Side A through D, lamenting over the pillars of hip-hop and the pillars of existence in general. KRS comes in true professor form, yet dropping the knowledge that would never be surfaced in any public school curriculum as evident in a track like "REALITY". The best story on "KRS" though, comes in the form of "Hold", as KRS spits the classic tale of inner-city struggle, and why one growing up with "holes in the zapatos" would put a hole in the head of an asshole that could be you or me, on both sides, depending on your background. "Out For Fame" , rounds out my particular standouts on this self-titled record as KRS raps about the art of graph and why it is still criminalized as opposed to other pillars in hip-hop that have been pimped and tricked out for profit. "KRS-One" is a history book that plays like a compilation record with various DJs and artists inspired by The God dropping shoutouts here and there as the record spins. "KRS-One" is just another example in KRS' catalogue that his work is worth the time for your mind.

My sealed copy only came with side 1&2 LOL missing the other LP

New, sealed ... and warped. :(Sure, vinyl is coming back !

UK version is much better then US, i dont know why but the track listing is different, very strange, some lines are different aswell. very lame and i really dont understand why KRS would do this especially on the US release. dope album none the less 4/5

The Side D has some classics from Boogie Down Productions.

Is the UK version all the same tracks as the CD??It is quite confusing init?

Great album! Came out just around my junior year. MCs Act Like They Don't Know is classic. Solid production and always dope rhymes from the blast-master.

This applies to the cd.. I don't know if there are any differences between the vinyl pressings... The UK pressing (with cat# CHIP165) is different from the US pressing (with cat# 01241-41570-2). Track no. 6 (Free Mumia) is censored on the US pressing. And not just censored, it's VERY different. LOTS of the lyrics has been re-written to offend less people. I own both cd's and I just listened to these two tracks back-to-back and it's basically two completely different tracks. The raw version on the UK edition is like a blow to the nose and way more powerful than the friendlier version on the US edition. And it's not just the fact that these two versions have different lyrics, it's obvious that they didn't record these on the same day. Everything, and I mean EVERYTHING is so much sharper and on point on the CHIP165 track. The US version comes across as lame (like KRS-One and Channel Live recorded this when they were feeling tired or something) Why didn't Jive release the dirty version on the US pressing?? So if you own both copies, listen to these two tracks and judge for yourself :) Peace

KRS-One is the only hip hop artist I listen to because he only raps about real subjects and real things instead of all the other materialism mainstream hip hop/rap focuses on. I give this album a high rating and I recommend you hear some of Kris's stuff if you are in the least bit into hip hop, for instance I know this guy who is into nothing but country music yet has THIS album on cd sitting on his shelf. This self titled album is one of his best.