Big K.R.I.T.'s new double-disc album 4eva Is A Mighty Long Time is the Meridian, Mississippi rapper's first proper studio album in 3 years, and its his most ambitious yet. Like most of K.R.I.T's work, much of the album is self-produced, but there are also a number of notable co-producers on the LP. Mannie Fresh, Supah Mario, Organized Noize and DJ Khalil make appearances, but the most active of the rapper's collaborators is WLPWR. The Columbia, South Carolina producer is well-known for his work across Yelawolf's projects, but is also highly complementary to KRIT's unapologetically Southern compositions. He co-produces "Big Bank" with KRIT, a driving record that layers vocal samples and darting string samples on top of frenetic drums, putting an incredible amount of forward momentum on the track, and that's before the vocals even come in. KRIT and and T.I. are both known for their double-time, with the KRIT taking a more confrontational approach, while Tip generally sticks deep in the pocket. It comes early in the project and sets the tone for the maximal arrangements that are yet to come.
KRIT has previously expressed frustration with falling into the underrated category of rap, but on 4eva Is A Mighty Long Time he sounds happy to own his lane. "You shouldn't gauge your success off another person's success. Me, I can say I'm happy," he told Sway last year, adding that his main goal at this point in time is to "put out music that helped people or at least inspired them at the end of the day."
Other guest appearances on the project include Lloyd, CeeLo Green, Jill Scott, Sleepy Brown, Bilal, Robert Glasper, Joi, Keyon Harrold, Kenneth Whalum, and Burness Earl Travis II. Stream the project in full here.
Quotable Lyrics:
Ain't tripped up, never hiccup from the drank
Pick up where I left off on the dank
Flexed out, never stressed out over chains
Stretched out, get pressed out on the grain
Woof! You hear that there
I make and wait
These motherfuckers wanna feel that there
When the wheel too big and the road ain't shit
It make it hard to steer that there
But it's big bank, big bank, big bank, big bank, one time
I wake up, cake up, cake up, then press, rewind