“…Changing the vision and image of one of hip-hop’s most prolific voices was like changing the voice of urban America. KRS-ONE’s politics sadly became defined and marketed by the recording industry and by the new hip-hop audience. He was even paired with such groups as alternative rockers R.E.M.!

“The relevance of his music was buried under multiple layers of bad marketing and pandering to a widening hip-hop audience. Unfortunately, themes of such songs as ‘Black Cop,’ ‘My Philosophy,’ ‘Love’s Gonna Get You,’ were replaced by bright and shiny raps of danceable tunes with blatantly ripped off, radio-friendly songs – a lá P. Diddy—like ‘Step Into a World,’ biting one of the lamest rap songs in history: Blondie’s ‘Rapture.’ As a self-described ‘teacher,’ the lessons were still the same, except they were now being taught in the well-scrubbed, hallowed halls of ivy-covered private schools, instead of over-crowded, urban American classrooms…” (page 50)

Word: Rap, Politics and Feminism is available through Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble.com and iUniverse.com.