6. KRS-ONE, “Attendance” (2001)
Who was the first to produce gangster shit? Put out gangster hits with a gangster click? Not no prankster shit/ Steady B, Mad Lion, Just-Ice, Shabba Ranks and shit.
KRS-One has never been one to let his due credit slip by unnoticed. Sensing that his role as a pioneer and innovator was being slept on in 2001, the Boogie Down MC decided to remind everyone of his influence and accomplishments with the Sneak Attack track “Attendance.” Among other rhetorical questions voiced on the song, KRS asks: “Who was the first to hit that hip-hop reggae on the nail?” Have to agree with him on that one, as his patois delivery and dancehall inspired tracks on BDP’s Criminal Minded really was the first example of rap borrowing from reggae without sounding corny. Just as importantly, KRS was the first rapper to collaborate with and produce a song for Shabba, on “The Jam,” playing a key role in introducing the deejay to American audiences.