KRS-One Apologizes for Naming the Wrong Beastie Boys Member on “Hip Hop Speaks From Heaven”

KRS-One has become the focus of headlines for naming the wrong Beastie Boy on his new ode to late rappers “Hip Hop Speaks From Heaven,” which resides on his recently released solo LP, The World Is Mind. Now, he is issuing an apology for his snafu.

The MC had good intentions. Instead shouting out MCA, who passed away from cancer in 2012, the South Bronx OG mistakenly named King Ad-Rock, who is still alive and kicking. “Like a late fog in the mist/I see King Ad-Rock and rest in peace Nate Dogg/Their names and their natures will last, like Chris Lighty and my man Bill Blass/When it comes to hip-hop, here’s the lesson/Start praising your own people, hip-hop speaks from heaven,” KRS spits on the track. Somehow, no one caught the mistake, and it made it to the final version.

The Teacha is fessing up to his blunder and has issued a statement on Twitter writing, "I am sending my sincerest apologies to King Ad-Rock of the Beastie Boys on a performance error I made on a song entitled “Hip Hop Speaks From Heaven,” from my new album The World Is Mind. I mistakenly paid respect and condolences to the wrong Beastie Boy member King Ad-Rock when it should have been MCA. In light of this, I am redoing this song “Hip Hop Speaks From Heaven” and I am pulling the original version off my digital release. Historical accuracy is extremely important to me, so I accept full responsibility for this error."

Read KRS' apology in full below.

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