Starting in the 2000s, KRS-One began to cling tighter to an antiquated set of hip-hop tenets, but 2001’s The Sneak Attack proved he still kept one ear tuned to the innovations of a younger generation. The album’s centerpiece is “HipHop Knowledge,” which nods to the swirling tempos of Timbaland, while “Hot,” “Crush Them,” and “Get Your Self Up” are rejoinders to the pugnacious attitude of then-current hitmakers like DMX and MOP. While its messages may have been socially conscious, The Sneak Attack convinces its listeners with some of the most brilliantly hostile flows of KRS-One’s career.