Lawrence Parker AKA ‘KRS-One’ is a man known by many names. Prior to this performance I had never had the chance to whitness if he really is ‘The Blastmaster’ or it he has the wisdom you would expect of ‘The Teacha’. It is the belief of many that the name KRS-One is short for Chris, however, in typical KRS-One style it is an acronym with a far deeper meaning: Knowledge Reigns Supreme Over Nearly Everything.

 

The application of the acronym was clear from the beginning as the infamous sirens of the ‘Sound Of Da Police’ was just what Concorde2 needed to get this Saturday night started. The densely packed crowd responded to the stripped back yet, dynamic beats with explosive energy as KRS-One dominated the stage with a commanding presence.

 

There is nothing worse than seeing an artist perform only to find that you cannot hear the lyrics through the overbearing backing track and ‘The Blastmaster’ clearly agree. Throughout the performance, he would halve the volume of the beat allowing the vocals to shine through with crystalline clarity before dropping the beat back, full volume for the chorus. He had the crowd in the palm of his hand and proving that his name is well earned.

 

It made for a welcome variation hearing the fluid offbeat rhythm of one of his soon to be released reggae songs. Filled with anti-establishment vocals, I was left awestruck by the passion of ‘The Teacha’ as he preached wisdom on the frivolousness of violence, humbling the captivated Brighton audience.

 

Not afraid to dig through his discography, KRS-One played ‘9mm Goes Bang’, a classic from his first album Criminally Minded under the Boogie Down Productions label with the likes of Scott La Rock and D-Nice. This raw, gritty and minimalistic song showed us all that at 49 years old, Lawrence Parker still has the energy to carry the crowd away on a tale from the rough streets of The Bronx, New York.

 

Although this was one of the shortest gigs I have seen at forty-five minutes, it was a truly inspirational performance. KRS-One showed incredible showmanship and lyrical genius whilst simultaneously proving that Knowledge really does Reign Supreme Over Nearly Everything.

 

Elliot Write