KRS-One Clears Up Controversial 9/11 Comments

KRS-One opens up about comments he made soon after 9/11 to The New Yorker magazine, when he was asked "Is there anything hip-hop can do to help fight the war on terror?" He reveals that while the magazine quoted him as saying "We cheered when 9/11 happened," his words were taken out of context.

Krs-One was angered at the way the New York Daily News took his words out of context and acted as if the black community was happy that thousands of people had died. The rapper clarified that what he meant by the comment was that it's very hard living in New York City if you're not wealthy. KRS-One himself was once homeless, and actually lived in the World Trade Center as did many other New Yorkers. At the time, the rapper represented the people who had gotten kicked out of or were ripped off by the World Trade Center, who had no education or healthcare. Nobody was cheering for the death of people, but rather for the change that the fall of the towers could represent for America. To be homeless and penniless and see the wealthiest and most powerful fall felt good, but the only people who truly 'cheered' he deaths of all those people "were the people who did the work," the rapper said.

KRS-One also talks about today's hip-hop, battle rapping and paying homage to the rap greats.