KRS-One (album)

KRS One
Studio album by KRS-One
Released	October 10, 1995 (1995-10-10)
Recorded	March–July 1995
Studio	Boogie Down Productions (New York City) D&D (New York City)
Genre	East Coast hip hop boom bap hardcore hip hop
Length	1:05:49
Label	Jive
Producer	Big French Productions Diamond D DJ Premier KRS-One Norty Cotto Showbiz
KRS-One chronology
Return of the Boom Bap (1993) KRS One (1995) I Got Next (1997)
Singles from KRS One
"MC's Act Like They Don't Know" Released: August 28, 1995 "Rappaz R. N. Dainja" Released: November 29, 1995

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
Robert Christgau	[2]
Muzik	[3]
Rolling Stone	[4]
The New Rolling Stone Album Guide	[5]
The Source	[6]
The Sydney Morning Herald	[7]

KRS One is the second solo studio album by American rapper KRS-One. It was released on October 10, 1995, via Jive Records. The album was produced by DJ Premier, Diamond D, Big French Productions, Norty Cotto, Showbiz, and KRS-One. It features guest appearances from Busta Rhymes, Channel Live, Das EFX, Dexter Thibou, Fat Joe, and Mad Lion.

The album made it to number 19 on the Billboard 200 and number 2 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums in the United States. It also debuted at number 95 on the UK Albums Chart and number 13 on the UK R&B Albums Chart. Its lead single, "MC's Act Like They Don't Know", peaked at No. 57 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and No. 84 on the UK Singles Chart. The second single, "Rappaz R. N. Dainja", peaked at No. 47 in the UK.

Track listing

No.	Title	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Rappaz R. N. Dainja"	DJ Premier	5:58
2.	"De Automatic" (featuring Fat Joe)	Big French Productions	4:25
3.	"MC's Act Like They Don't Know"	DJ Premier	4:55
4.	"Ah-Yeah"	KRS-One	3:50
5.	"R.E.A.L.I.T.Y." (featuring Dexter Thibou)	Norty Cotto	4:17
6.	"Free Mumia" (featuring Channel Live)	KRS-One	4:08
7.	"Hold"	KRS-One	5:55
8.	"Wannabemceez" (featuring Mad Lion)	DJ Premier	4:21
9.	"Represent the Real Hip Hop" (featuring Das EFX)	Showbiz	4:38
10.	"The Truth"	KRS-One	3:46
11.	"Build Ya Skillz" (featuring Busta Rhymes)	Diamond D	4:41
12.	"Out for Fame"	KRS-One	4:51
13.	"Squash All Beef"	Diamond D	5:04
14.	"Health, Wealth, Self"	KRS-One	5:00
Total length:			1:05:49

Sample credits

• Track 1 contains a sample from "Time's Up" written by Omar Credle and Anthony Best as recorded by O.C.
• Track 8 contains excerpts from "Pure" written by Ansar Bing, Askia Bing, Dwayne Burns, Keenan Edwards, Sean Nelson and Steven Samuel and performed by the Troubleneck Brothers
• Track 9 contains a sample from "We Run Things (It's Like Dat)" written by Acklins Khaliyl Dillon, Harold Lee, Jamahl Hanna and Ali Shaheed Muhammad as recorded by Da Bush Babees
• Track 13 contains a sample from "Mystique Blues" written by Wayne Henderson as recorded by the Crusaders

Personnel

• Lawrence "KRS-One" Parker – main artist, producer (tracks: 4, 6, 7, 10, 12, 14), engineering (tracks: 7, 10, 14), mixing (tracks: 2, 4–7, 10, 12, 14)

• Joseph "Fat Joe" Cartagena – featured artist (track 2)
• Dexter Thibou – featured artist (track 5)
• Vincent "Tuffy" Morgan – featured artist (track 6)
• Hakim Green – featured artist (track 6)
• Oswald "Mad Lion" Priest – featured artist (track 8)
• Andre "Krazy Drayz" Weston – featured artist (track 9)
• Willie "Skoob" Hines – featured artist (track 9)
• Trevor "Busta Rhymes" Smith – featured artist (track 11)
• Richard "Rich Nice" Jackson – backing vocals (track 10)
• Derek "Sadat X" Murphy – backing vocals (track 13)
• Rodney "DJ Dice" Battle – scratches (track 9)
• Chris "DJ Premier" Martin – producer (tracks: 1, 3, 8), mixing (tracks: 1, 8)
• Frenchie "Big French" Hunt – producer (track 2)
• Norberto "Norty" Cotto – producer & mixing (track 5), engineering (tracks: 2, 3, 5, 12)
• Rodney "Showbiz" LeMay – producer (track 9)
• Joseph "Diamond D" Kirkland – producer & mixing (tracks: 11, 13)
• "Commissioner" Gordon Williams – mixing (track 6), engineering (tracks: 6, 9, 11, 13), editing (tracks: 4, 10)
• Eddie Sancho – engineering (tracks: 1, 8)
• Won Allen – engineering (track 4)
• Luis Tineo – engineering assistant (tracks: 1, 3, 5, 8, 12)
• Roderick Goode – engineering assistant (tracks: 7, 10)
• Tom Brick – mastering
• Miguel Rivera – design
• Daniel Hastings – photography
• Scott "DJ Scott La Rock" Sterling – overseen by

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (1995) Peak position UK Albums (OCC) [8] 95 UK R&B Albums (OCC) [9] 13 US Billboard 200 [10] 19 US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard) [11] 2

Year-end charts Chart (1995) Position US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard) [12] 99

Singles

Year	Song	Chart positions
		US	US HH/R&B	US Rap	US Dance Singles Sales	UK
1995	"MC's Act Like They Don't Know"	57	35	9	1	84
	"Rappaz R. N. Dainja"	—	—	—	—	47

References

1. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "KRS-One - KRS-One | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic". AllMusic . Retrieved March 26, 2021.
2. Christgau, Robert. "KRS-One". Robert Christgau. Retrieved March 26, 2021.
3. Ashon, Will (November 1995). "KRS-1: KRS-1" (PDF). Muzik . No. 6. p. 82. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 2, 2022. Retrieved July 14, 2022.
4. Coker, Cheo H. (November 16, 1995). "KRS-One". Rolling Stone . Retrieved March 26, 2021.
5. Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian David (2004). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide. Simon and Schuster. p. 94. ISBN   978-0-7432-0169-8.
6. Dre, A.L. (1995). "Classic Review : KRS One in The Source (1995)". The Source . Archived from the original on May 5, 2022. Retrieved March 26, 2021– via Press Rewind If I Haven't...
7. Danielsen, Shane (November 20, 1995). "The Sydney Morning Herald Sydney, New South Wales, Australia • Mon, 20 Nov 1995 Page 59". The Sydney Morning Herald . Retrieved March 9, 2025.
8. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved March 26, 2021.
9. "Official R&B Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved March 26, 2021.
10. "KRS-One Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved March 26, 2021.
11. "KRS-One Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved March 26, 2021.
12. "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 1995". Billboard . Retrieved March 26, 2021.

External links

• KRS ONE at Discogs (list of releases)