In 2004, KRS engendered a controversy when he was quoted in a panel discussion hosted by The New Yorker magazine as saying that "we cheered when 9/11 happened". The comment drew criticism from many sources, including a pointed barb by the New York Daily News that called Parker an "anarchist" and said that "If Osama bin Laden ever buys a rap album, he'll probably start with a CD by KRS-One."[8]
KRS-One performing in 2007.
Parker responded to the commotion surrounding his comments with an editorial written for AllHipHop.com, stating:
I was asked about why hiphop has not engaged the current situation more (meaning 9/11), my response was "because it does not affect us, or at least we dont perceive that it affects us, 9/11 happened to them". I went on to say that "I am speaking for the culture now; I am not speaking my personal opinion." I continued to say; "9/11 affected them down the block; the rich, the powerful those that are oppressing us as a culture. Sony, RCA or BMG, Universal, the radio stations, Clear Channel, Viacom with BET and MTV, those are our oppressors, those are the people that we're trying to overcome in hiphop everyday, this is a daily thing. We cheered when 9/11 happened in New York and say that proudly here. Because when we were down at the trade center we were getting hit over the head by cops, told that we cant come in this building, hustled down to the train station because of the way we dressed and talked, and so on, we were racially profiled. So, when the planes hit the building we were like, "mmmm, justice." And just as I began to say "now of course a lot of our friends and family were lost there as well" I was interrupted...
In late 2005, KRS was featured alongside Public Enemy's Chuck D on the remix of the song "Bin Laden" by Immortal Technique and DJ Green Lantern, which blames American neo-conservatives, the Reagan Doctrine and U.S. President George W. Bush for the World Trade Center attacks, and indicates a parallel to the devaluation, destruction, and violence of urban housing project communities.
On April 29, 2007, KRS-One again defended his statements on the September 11 attacks when asked about them during an appearance on Hannity's America on the Fox News network stating that he meant that people cheered that the establishment had taken a hit, not that people were dying or had died.[9] He also discussed amongst other things, the Don Imus scandal and the use of profanity in Hip-Hop.
In 2011, controversy over KRS-One and terrorism re-surfaced for the 10th anniversary of September 11, when a video for his song "Real Terrorism" (featuring an upstart rapper named "Greenie") was banned from YouTube for "unwatchable" and "graphic" content. The video contained actual news images of American atrocities throughout history while the song featured Krs-One co-arguing that the United States is just as guilty of terrorism as are those who the country accuses of terrorism. The song & video caused much online controversy late in 2011 and a number of supporters of free speech went ahead and re-posted the banned video to YouTube anyway. Sites like Vimeo saw it get over 50,000 hits in just a few days and YouTube refused to comment on the banning.
racist blacks are no better than racist whites.