“Well, … after speaking with Nelly's management, and after consulting with a few other un-named associates, in addition to some hard contemplation of my own, as well as after reading many of the e-mail responses and hearing some of the radio responses to Nelly's performance on the re-mix of “Rock the Mic”,“ I've come to the conclusion that a battle (or rather a response) to Nelly's comments may just be good for Hiphop after all. The last thing I wanted to do was look like I was using a battle with Nelly to somehow boost my career. However, my personal wants may be unimportant in the larger scheme of separating real Hiphop from fake hip-hop for future Hiphop historians.”

I had put forth an ”olive branch" statement which Nelly, and his management, ignored! I had kept as quiet as I could. Even though I am well prepared for any threat, I chose to practice restraint… Now I am wondering what makes Nelly think he can call me out like this?…As I listen to Nelly's weak dis, and as I read some of these ignorant e-mail responses, I constantly hear a repeated reference to KRS-ONE being old and trying to make a come-back .Many of these ill advised comments miss the whole point that I make when I suggest that we, as Hiphoppas, have an important responsibility to the future preservation of what we call Hiphop.

How long are we (Hiphoppas) going to sit quietly and allow these major recording institutions to validate what success is for our culture and way of life? How long are we going to allow rap music performers to participate in our cultural degradation and international humiliation? I'm not talking about what a rapper's video looks like, or the content of a rapper's song. I'm talking about the idea of an industry of rappers, deejays, music editors, radio programmers and television producers allowing cultural elders to be disrespected by new-comers when such disrespect breaks Hiphop's cultural continuity! Even if my critique of Nelly'simage is debatable, where is the respect for my cultural seniority and acquired wisdom. Do I not know what I am talking about? Or are we at a point in hip-hop where cultural contribution takes a back seat to record sales?”