Ever resilient and defiant, Big K.R.I.T. drops K.R.I.T. (King Remembered in Time) for hip-hop heads to feast on. Placing a stake in Mississippi, K.R.I.T. presents a project to deliver his message that he’s a force to be reckoned with in the rap game. The Southern rapper's latest mixtape delivers quality lyrics and content along with showcasing his musicality, by producing the majority of the tracks on the project. King Remembered in Time is a strong piece of work that displays K.R.I.T.'s diverse sounds and its influences. Being from the South, there are many sounds and artists to draw inspiration from, and its evident through tracks like “Shine On” that he uses the inspiration from these artists and puts his own flavor into the tracks.
“Shine On” has a “funkadelic” feel to it along with “Good 2getha,” which sounds like André 3000 can jump on it at any moment. Up- beat tempos, back up female vocals, and groovy baselines make these two tracks feel like a step back into the 70s. Plus, Ashton Jones, featured on “Good 2getha” delivers a stellar performance.
The Cinematic Music Group artist also brings it to the streets with grain gripping tracks like “My Trunk” featuring the over-the-top Trinidad Jame$. Sure enough those old school Chevys with the systems will be bumping this track up and down the streets. It feels like an up beat “All Gold Everything,” and the guitar riff is a nice addition.
His southern sound and style takes a back seat to some of the tracks on the tape. In “REM,” Krizzle samples James Blake’s “Wilhelms Scream” and adds a dark melodic piano delivering a stand out track. The outro, “Multi Til the Sun Die,” contains a sample of M83’s “Wait,” and with its beautifully laid violin by The Mad Violinist, it’s an epic send off to the tape. The only track not produced by the rapper himself, is “Life is a Gamble” featuring the smooth voice of BJ the Chicago Kid produced by Southern veteran 9th Wonder– another stand out track.
The South is cluttered with many sounds coming from all directions, and it’s hard to find quality throughout the vast quantity of artists, but K.R.I.T. is a leading hip-hop artist in the South. Although talented, he’s many times over looked. K.R.I.T. knows this and addresses it in the his song “Meditate” where he says “I paint pictures of hieroglyphics compared to most these rap niggas, But I be over looked, so I just let it slide, let it die.” The setbacks and lack of love doesn’t slow down K.R.I.T. though, on “Multi Til the Sun Die” he says “A lot of motherfuckers out here hated this, to see a king from the bottom,” and continues with “This for them fans everywhere for me, thank God that they were there for me.” Confident and humble, he sounds ready for his take over.
With this new mixtape that’s sonically different than Big K.R.I.T.'s previous offerings, the rapper/producer gives fans and listeners a more mature feeling effort. It’s hard to believe that an artist of this quality doesn’t get the recognition he deserves, but that can and should change after this mixtape, that only leads to his upcoming album. King Remembered in Time is a fitting title to the mixtape. Given time, Big K.R.I.T. will be remembered as one of the best the South has to offer.
If you haven't already, listen to and download the mixtape below.