Last week (February 22), KRS-One released his 24th solo album, I M A M C R U 1 2. The 14-track collection is self-released and features Da Blastmasta’s wife and partner, G Simone, as well as Connecticut Hip-Hop artist SUN-One. Several songs previously appeared in a 2021 short film, Save The Studio. That work was a fundraising effort designed to help an engineer evicted from a Georgia studio. One of the tracks is “Krazy,” which finds a 35-plus-year Hip-Hop veteran trying his hand at a trap beat style.

“This is the pharaoh / The bow and the arrow / We double the barrel / Guerilla apparel,” begins KRS in a triplet style. A few bars later, he summarizes, “Your mind I am reaching with all that I am teaching / That love and that peace, and it will never weaken / The truth I’m speaking is crazy.” No matter the aesthetic, KRS-One remains committed to positive messaging. Later, he touts, “I speak for a reason / So they can believe in the truth of MCing.” Since the late 1980s, Kris Parker has shown the power of words transmitting over a microphone.

First Method Man Rapped To A Trap Beat, Now It’s Redman’s Turn (Video)

In the video, released the same week as Kris’ 2021 Verzuz battle against Big Daddy Kane, he raps to the Pascal-One-produced beat in the lab.

I M A M C R U 1 2 features production by Pascal-One, SUN-One, and DJ Static—who has previously laced tracks for Busta Rhymes, Jean Grae & Talib Kweli, and Peedi Crakk.

DJ Scratch Explains The Tension At The Big Daddy Kane & KRS-One Verzuz

Ambrosia For Heads currently has selections from KRS-One’s I M A M C R U 1 2, as well as new music by Nas, Dr. Dre, Kxng Crooked, and Planet Asia on our official playlist.

#BonusBeat: AFH‘s What’s The Headline podcast offers a round-by-round breakdown and analysis of KRS-One and Big Daddy Kane’s epic 2021 Verzuz match-up: