Big K.R.I.T. – K.R.I.T. Wuz Here

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STREET DATE: 07.13.10 | EMUSIC | ITUNES

RATE K.R.I.T Wuz Here:
[STARRATER]

Big K.R.I.T., ladies and gentlemen, is the prototype for modern hip hop prodigies. He’s the new model, the future of the genre. Not musically, per se – there are other up-and-coming rappers that are probably safer bets – but construction-wise. Big K.R.I.T. is a southern rap everyman who does, well, everything. He wrote and produced his debut mixtape, K.R.I.T. Wuz Here, on his own, strutting his stuff over his own beats without anyone else ponying up first. No label contract, no DJ sponsor. Just Krit, showing that he doesn’t need any help. “Labels scared to take a fall,” he points out on “See Me On Top.” It’s a statement laced with fact in today’s era of hesitant-to-sign, quick-to-drop imprints; on K.R.I.T. Wuz Here it’s laced with irony too – the mixtape landed Big K.R.I.T. a Def Jam contract within a month of dropping.

Krit knows he’s something special – a young Mississippi multi-talent with an ear for historic Southern-style rap. “I’m countrier than a motherfucker, but my lyrical content is crazy,” he boasts on “Viktorious.” “I’m making my own beats, what the fuck?” It’s a good track to make that pronouncement on – the piano-based beat spun around an Army of the Pharoahs sample is one of the tape’s strongest.  He keeps signifying throughout the mix’s sprawling nineteen tracks; “Yeah I really do it all,” he says on the aforementioned “See Me On Top.” “Produce and mix my own shit, out-rap all of y’all.”

He’s not alone in his talents – fellow young guns Curren$y and Wiz Khalifa show up on a few solid tracks, Devin The Dude lends some verses to “Moon & Stars,” and the ghost of Pimp C haunts the entirety of K.R.I.T. Wuz Here. Standout track “Country Shit” would fit in on most UGK releases, and shows the 23 year old K.R.I.T. synthesizing rap tendencies nearly as old as he is. He’s not simply following a predetermined path, though. The a cappella outro of “Children of the World” shows that Big K.R.I.T. can stand up all by himself. This first offering from Big K.R.I.T. is a mouthful that’s a little too chunky, but taken in smaller bites it’s tasty home cooking. Let’s hope it’s just an appetizer for what’s to come.

76 — [Rating Scale]

Download: Full mixtape

by Chris Barth on July 27, 2010 ‡ 1 reaction