''Knowledge Is King'' is the third solo studio album by American rapper

Kool Moe Dee Mohandas Dewese (born August 8, 1962), better known by his stage name Kool Moe Dee, is an American rapper, writer and actor. Considered one of the forerunners of the new jack swing sound in hip hop, he gained fame in the 1980s as a member of one ...

, released on May 30, 1989, via Jive Records.

Background

The album was recorded at Soundtrack Studios in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

, New York. Production for the album was handled by

Teddy Riley Edward Theodore Riley (born October 8, 1967) is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer credited with the creation of the New Jack Swing genre. Riley credits Barry Michael Cooper with giving the genre its name.Hogan, Paul. "Tedd ...

, LaVaba Mallison, Pete Q. Harris, and Kool Moe Dee himself. The record peaked at number 25 on the ''Billboard'' 200 and number 2 on the

Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums is a music chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine that ranks R&B and hip hop albums based on sales in the United States and is compiled by Nielsen SoundScan. The chart debuted as Hot R&B LPs in the issue dated ...

. It is his second best-selling album, achieving

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile me ...

certification by the RIAA on August 22, 1989 (his previous album ''

How Ya Like Me Now How may refer to: * How (greeting), a word used in some misrepresentations of Native American/First Nations speech * How, an interrogative word in English grammar Art and entertainment Literature * ''How'' (book), a 2007 book by Dov Seid ...

'' was certified platinum). The album spawned four charted singles: "Let's Go", "All Night Long", "I Go to Work", and "They Want Money". "They Want Money" went the most successful single of the effort, peaking at #3 on the

Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by '' Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 ...

, #2 on the

Hot Rap Songs Hot Rap Songs (formerly known as Hot Rap Tracks and Hot Rap Singles) is a chart released weekly by ''Billboard'' in the United States. It lists the 25 most popular hip-hop/rap songs, calculated weekly by airplay on rhythmic and urban radio stati ...

and #91 on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

. "I Go to Work" peaked at #13 on the

and #5 on the

. "All Night Long" peaked at #70 on the

, and "Let's Go", a

diss track A diss track, diss record or diss song (diss – abbr. from ''disrespect'') is a song whose primary purpose is to verbally attack someone else, usually another artist. Diss tracks are often the result of an existing, escalating feud between the ...

towards Kool Moe Dee's foe LL Cool J, peaked at #11 on the

Track listing

Notes *Track 11 is a hidden

towards LL Cool J. Sample credits *"They Want Money" contains elements from "

Get on the Good Foot "Get on the Good Foot" is a funk song performed by James Brown. It was released in 1972 as a two-part single that charted #1 R&B and #18 Pop. It also appeared on an album of the same name released that year. Partly due to the unwillingness of ...

" by James Brown and "It's Just Begun" by

Jimmy Castor James Walter Castor (January 23, 1940 – January 16, 2012) was an American funk, R&B, and soul musician. He is credited with vocals, saxophone and composition. He is best known for songs such as "It's Just Begun", " The Bertha Butt Boogie", an ...

*"The Avenue" contains elements from "

White Lines (Don't Don't Do It) "White Lines (Don't Don't Do It)" is a song by American hip hop recording artist Melle Mel, released as a 12" in 1983 on Sugar Hill Records. The song, which warns against the dangers of cocaine, addiction, and drug smuggling, is one of Mel's ...

" by

Grandmaster Melle Mel Melvin Glover (born May 15, 1961 in The Bronx), better known by his stage name Grandmaster Melle Mel (or simply Melle Mel) () is an American hip hop recording artist who was the lead vocalist and songwriter of Grandmaster Flash and the Furio ...

and "Down on the Avenue" by

Fat Larry's Band Fat Larry's Band was an American R&B and funk band from Philadelphia, which enjoyed some commercial success in the late 1970s and early 1980s, particularly in the United Kingdom. Career Formed by drummer and vocalist "Fat" Larry James (August ...

*"I Go to Work" contains elements from " Super Bad" by James Brown and "

Think (About It) "Think (About It)" is a funk song recorded by Lyn Collins and released as a single on James Brown's People Records in 1972. The recording was produced by Brown (who also wrote the song) and features instrumental backing from his band The J.B.'s ...

" by

Lyn Collins Gloria Lavern Collins (June 12, 1948 – March 13, 2005), better known as Lyn Collins, was an American soul singer best known for working with James Brown in the 1970s and for the influential 1972 funk single, " Think (About It)". A favorite ...

*"All Night Long" contains elements from " Groove Me" by

King Floyd King Floyd (February 13, 1945 – March 6, 2006) was a New Orleans soul singer and songwriter, best known for his top 10 hit from 1970, "Groove Me". Early career King Floyd III was born in New Orleans in 1945. His musical career started as a s ...

*"Knowledge is King" contains elements from "

Funky Drummer "Funky Drummer" is a single released by James Brown in 1970. Its drum break, improvised by Clyde Stubblefield, is one of the most frequently sampled music recordings. Recording and composition "Funky Drummer" was recorded on November 20, 196 ...

" by James Brown and "

I Get Lifted "I Get Lifted" is a song recorded by American singer Barbara Tucker, who co-wrote it with producer Little Louie Vega. The song was released in 1994 and became Tucker's second of seven number-one singles on the US ''Billboard'' Hot Dance Club Pla ...

" by KC & the Sunshine Band *"I'm Hittin' Hard" contains elements from "Brother Green (The Disco King)" by

Roy Ayers Roy Ayers (born September 10, 1940) is an American funk, soul, and jazz composer, vibraphone player, and music producer. Ayers began his career as a post-bop jazz artist, releasing several albums with Atlantic Records, before his tenure at Po ...

and "The Wildstyle" by

Time Zone A time zone is an area which observes a uniform standard time for legal, commercial and social purposes. Time zones tend to follow the boundaries between countries and their subdivisions instead of strictly following longitude, because it ...

*"Get the Picture" contains elements from "Gotta Be Funky" by

Monk Higgins Milton Bland (October 3, 1930 – July 3, 1986) better known as Monk Higgins, was an American musician and saxophonist who was born in Menifee, Arkansas. Biography Higgins's biggest hits were the instrumental tracks "Who Dun It" (which reached ...

& The Specialties *"I'm Blowin' Up" contains elements from "UFO" by ESG and "

" by James Brown *"The Don" contains elements from "Gimme Some More" by The J.B.'s, "

The Mexican ''The Mexican'' is a 2001 American dark comedy adventure crime film directed by Gore Verbinski and stars Julia Roberts and Brad Pitt in lead roles. Its plot is a mixture of different genres. Plot In Los Angeles, a traffic light changes to r ...

" by

Babe Ruth George Herman "Babe" Ruth Jr. (February 6, 1895 – August 16, 1948) was an American professional baseball player whose career in Major League Baseball (MLB) spanned 22 seasons, from 1914 through 1935. Nicknamed "the Bambino" and "the Su ...

, "It's Just Begun" by

and "Gangster Boogie" by Chicago Gangsters *"Pump Your Fist" contains elements from "

Soul Makossa In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...

" by Manu Dibango *"Let's Go" contains elements from "

" by

, " Thriller" by

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...

, "

Jack the Ripper Jack the Ripper was an unidentified serial killer active in and around the impoverished Whitechapel district of London, England, in the autumn of 1888. In both criminal case files and the contemporaneous journalistic accounts, the killer w ...

" and "I Can't Live Without My Radio" by LL Cool J

Personnel

* Mohandes Dewese - vocals, producer *LaVaba Mallison - mixing, producer * Edward Theodore Riley - producer *Peter Brian Harris - producer *Chris Trevett - engineering *Josh Chervokas - engineering *George Karras - mixing *Kafi Tuda - grooming *Pietro Alfieri - artwork *Doug Rowell - photography *Ralph Wernli - photography

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Singles

Certifications

References

External links

1989 albums Jive Records albums Kool Moe Dee albums Albums produced by Teddy Riley {{1980s-hiphop-album-stub