In the years following the legendary battle between The Juice Crew and Boogie Down Productions, the prospect of hearing KRS-One and Marley Marl together on a track seemed like a pipe dream. But here we are some 20 years later and we discover that dreams really do come true. This dream is not just realized in the form of a single -- we get an entire album full of the collaborative efforts of these two legends. To say this is big would be akin to saying Michael Jordan was good at basketball, or Warren Buffet has some money; it's a gross understatement to say the least.

Hip Hop Lives sends several messages just by putting Kris and Marley together on an album. One important message/idea is professed loud and clear on “Rising to the Top” where KRS tells the story of how he tried to get on back in ‘84/’85, over some of Marley’s best work. KRS acknowledges and credits Marley and the Juice Crew for the birth of his career, in that they allowed the now legendary battle to happen, and simply respond on wax because as both say at the end of the track “they were on some real Hip-Hop”. The true meaning in the album is in this song, which shows that the battle has and always will be a part of Hip-Hop, but a battle on wax about how much more skills my crew has than yours, but at the end of the day its all love and Hip-Hop. The other and more obvious message/idea is in the title; Hip Hop Lives is a direct response to the notion that Hip-Hop is dead, which has been a topic of conversation for many years now.

Hip Hop Lives is about the culture of Hip-Hop being eternal, as Kris clearly states in the title track. As eternal as hop culture is, KRS still takes the time to acknowledge that the emcees of today are not advancing the game and are indeed doing “Nothing New”, a song spit in the tone of a frustrated father or teacher, when a child continues to do the wrong thing after they have told them time and time again not to. “The Teacha’s Back” follows the same theme with Kris questioning the skill of the new school emcee.

Hip Hop Lives is not only all about the message; “The Victory” is just dope music. Marley has a great drum track with a bass sample, with DJ Premier mixing it up. Kris dumbs out on the mic with two verses that are separated by an equally hot verse from Blaq Poet of Screwball. The hook is chopped and mixed up in classic Primo fashion, it’s full of greatness.

Hip-Hop Lives is highlighted by the production of Marley Marl who, on more than one occasion, outshines KRS's lyrical performance. On "I Was There" Marley laces KRS with the perfect backdrop but, Kris doesn't exactly show up lyrically. "I Was There" could possibly be one of the most powerful and compelling tracks on the album, based strictly on content – with KRS calling out the "experts and historians", letting them all know that he not only witnessed hip hop, he is hip hop.  Yet, a song can't be carried on the message alone – especially not coming from KRS.  We all know that when he wants to say something important that he can do so on the highest level of emceeing (see "Aw Yeah"). True, there is definitely a skill and subtlety in the conversational way he delivered his verse more as a sermon than rhyme; but there are times when it sounds more like a man that didn't take the time to articulate what he is trying to say as well as we've come to expect from The Teacher.  At the end of the day, I want my KRS sermons rhyming and compounding.  "Kill a Rapper" covers the same topic that Chris Rock turned into a morbid pop-culture joke in his Never Scared comedy special ("More people saw Tupac get shot than watched the last episode of Seinfeld."). Kris says "if you wanna get away with murder kill a rapper" while asking in verse why the murders of numerous hip-hop icons (Big-L, Jam Master Jay, etc.) have gone unsolved.  Another important topic that KRS addresses, but he didn't really take me any deeper than Chris Rock took us on a comedy stage, which made it sound like old news.  Again, after 20-plus years of greatness, teaching and calls to action, we've come to expect a certain level of excellence from KRS and I can't help but feel like these two important songs represent missed opportunities.

The legendary stature of these two is being sold throughout the album, as it almost serves as a history lesson in Hip-Hop and where KRS and Marley stand in that history. As opposed to the thought provoking teacher we got the blast-master, which is equally as good and at times easier to swallow. Marley’s production keeps the album moving and keeps you interested during the few times that KRS is focused on the message as opposed to the rhyme. It is difficult in any arena for vets who have been in the game for over 20 years to come out and be able to compete, but KRS and Marley compete and win more often than not.

--Gerald L. Lowery Jr.