KRS-One Explains Why He No Longer Performs The Last Verse To “The Bridge Is Over” (Audio)

KRS-One and DJ Scott La Rock made one of Hip-Hop’s most iconic diss records in Boogie Down Productions’ “The Bridge Is Over.” In the eyes of many, the song was a second-round knockout punch against the Juice Crew’s MC Shan, DJ Mr. Magic, Marley Marl, and Roxanne Shanté—four artists that Kris Parker called out by name in his combative lyrics. While all the opponents maintained careers in Rap, production, and radio, respectively, the fresh-faced artists representing the Bronx, New York had served their Queens, New York counterparts. That was more than 30 years ago.

Kris was the guest on the most recent episode of the Take It Personal Radio podcast, and he spent a full hour chatting with the show’s DJ and three co-hosts (DJ 360, Jason Gloss, Kevlar, A-Aron and Roger The Announcer). The sometimes-controversial MC was an open book and freely shared stories from the past. After covering the Stop The Violence movement, discussing the possibility Ced Gee stole Marley Marl’s beat reels for Criminal Minded, and recording with R.E.M., he talks about his infamous beef with MC Shan and the Juice Crew.


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It becomes clear that KRS-One has made an effort to resolve this fabled beef. As he says around the 36:36 mark: “I wanted to bury the hatchet, especially with Marley [Marl] and with Mr. Magic before we depart, before we leave the earth. [Hip Hop Lives] was the project to do it on. Marley felt good about it. If you’ll remember, around that time, Marley had a heart attack during that time. He was almost outta here. You start getting epiphanies from experiences like that. Mr. Magic actually died maybe a year after the album [released]. I was so happy to have said to Mr. Magic that we were friends and that the past is the past. We were young; we knew what it was. We’re MCs, we’re DJs. Because this goes deep. We all said things to each other that were immature and shouldn’t have been said, even outside of battles. Because, back then, it did get serious a few times between us. We had to cool ourselves off and get back in place out here. So here we are now as grown men. It’s one of the reasons why I don’t do the full ‘Bridge Is Over’ anymore. I do ‘The Bridge Is Over,’ but I don’t do the full ‘Bridge Is Over’ because the second half [of the song] is brutal on the Juice Crew, Magic, and [Roxanne] Shanté.” KRS continues, “Magic has full family and stuff. So I don’t run around dissin’ him in that record. I only do half of it, ’cause [the first half] is the warm-up.”

Mr. Magic, born John Rivas, died of a heart attack on October 2, 2009. In June of 2007, just weeks after Hip Hop Lives released with KRS-One, Marley Marl suffered a heart attack. The legendary producer survived, and has since made more music with LL Cool J, Craig G, Kool G Rap, and M-Dot.

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#BonusBeat: Take It Personal Radio’s KRS-One five-hour tribute mix episode:

Other T.I.P.R episodes.