True School hip-hop pioneer KRS-One to headline at Musica

On Saturday night, hip-hop heads who regularly use the phrase “back in the day,” and young’uns interested in the music and the culture’s history will be breaking out the big clunky Timbos and loose-fitting Girbauds for an evening of classic late ’80s and early ’90s hip-hop with a dash of the now when Bronx emcee KRS-One headlines a show with fellow New Yorkers the Jungle Brothers at Musica.

KRS-One, aka Lawrence “Krishna” Parker, was one of the leading lights of the at-times over-romanticized “True School” or “Golden Era” of hip-hop back in the late ’80s. That’s when the music began to stretch out lyrically and touch on more than standard bragging, boasting and emcee party rockin.’

The group Boogie Down Productions, which was KRS-One and the late Scott LaRock, debuted with “Criminal Minded” featuring bona fide classics including the neighborhood shoutout “South Bronx,” and the neighborhood diss “The Bridge Is Over.”

But on BDP’s sophomore album, “By All Means Necessary,” the emcee — now referring to himself as “The Teacha” — brought a level of political and social consciousness that helped raise hip-hop culture beyond the parks and parties.

Tracks included “My Philosophy,” which between boasts questioned the commercial direction of rap, the clarion call to “Stop the Violence” in hip-hop, the dancehall reggae-inflected “Illegal Business,” which takes aim at corrupt neighborhood police, and “Jimmy” which encouraged the hip-hop nation to engage in safe sex practices.

Parker used Boogie Down Productions to promote what he called “edutainment” mixing his views on social and cultural issues with the Boom Bap beats. His 1997 album, “I Got Next,” reached No. 3 on the Billboard 200.

KRS-One has always been outspoken and a proud vegan and activist drawing some controversy over the decades. Today, the 54-year-old emcee is still making records. His most recent was the surprisingly strong and energetic “Street Light,” released in 2019 and available on Bandcamp.

As with BDP, the Jungle Brothers made their debut in the late ’80s with “Straight out the Jungle,” and brought a different flavor to the music.

While the violent and aggressive street tales and fever dreams of groups such as N.W.A. were growing in popularity alongside the socially conscious folks such as BDP, the Jungle Brothers brought a mix of Afrocentrism and bohemian vibes of peace and love.

The trio of Mike Gee, Afrika Baby Ban and DJ Sammy B (on the cut) also brought new sounds to hip-hop, dialing back the musical as well as lyrical aggression and smoothing out beats with jazz, fusion and house music samples.

Their first two albums, “Straight out the Jungle and “Done by the Forces of Nature” are acknowledged classics of the era with songs such as the light-hearted “Jimbrowski” and “I’m Gonna Do You,” the raised fist of “Black Is Black” and the Native Tongues posse cut “Doin’ Our Own Dang.” These were mixtape staples and set the tone for what would become the Native Tongues — the loose collective of pro-black, anti-violence, like-minded groups always name-checked as an alternative to the growing gangsta-isms of the era.

It was Afrika who gave the collective its name as well as dubbing a young rapper then known as MC Love Child, the much more famous name of Q-Tip.

The Jungle Brothers broke up in the late ’90s and returned at the turn of the century. Their last album, “I Got You,” was released in 2006.

What: KRS-One and the Jungle Brothers

When: 9 p.m. Saturday

Where: Musica, 51 E. Market St.

Tickets: $15

Information: ticketweb, Facebook