KRS-1 In Prospect Park - 8/3/07

Photo by Special Correspondent Steve

It was reigning so much knowledge in Prospect Park last Friday, honeyz was drenched in epistemology and wrestling in transcendental idealism.

In one of the last shows of the 2007 Celebrate Brooklyn season, KRS-1 reminded everyone why he is one of the greatest rappers of all time. And to ensure this message was not lost in the poetry of his lyrics, he brought a few of his friends to state it directly every five minutes.

But for a rapper who's been doing this since the 80s, it is impressive that the man still has the energy to move a crowd for an hour and come back for two encores (unlike Wu-Tang, who really don't rap so much as they loiter). Throughout the entire set, he had the crowd shouting his lyrics and cheering for, y'know... no police... and... stuff. Just all around "representing," as they call it.

At one point in the show, he told a story about how he and a few other guys used to sleep in that bandshell, dreaming of the day he would return to rock the place. I wonder if he could have dreamed how many white people would be there. I fear that one day, I'll be watching PBS and see KRS-1 rapping to a crowd of 70-year old white folks, sitting in their seats and clapping their hands to what they perceive to be the beat. Actually, I just fear that one day I'll be watching PBS.

Of course, there's no way to avoid the fact that, yes, ok, fine, I'm white too. So to distinguish ourselves from the rest of our popped-collar-polo-shirt-wearing brethren hippie dancing with each other, this is how we set up:

• Alison fingered her bottle of water.
• Special Correspondent Steve checked e-mail on his phone.
• I stood there with my arms folded, even when instructed to put them in the air.
• Sara did a hippie dance, but with a Jamaican.

In conclusion, coming off the total disappointment that was Rock the Bells last weekend, KRS-1 renewed my faith in open venue hip-hop performances. Of course, having clear skies, costing $3 and being only two blocks from my apartment helped.