RapReviews | Review: Big K.R.I.T. – King Remembered In Time

Chamillionaire once said “My fanbase is a cult” and there was evidence of that all around the internet. Message boards were dominated by stickied threads, people had Color Changin Click lizard-shaped haircuts and some even dared to get tattoos. It’s been a good eight or nine years since then and now there are plenty more rappers with cult-like followings, Meridian, Mississippi’s Big K.R.I.T. is among them. Over the past decade or so, the route to stardom has been to build a buzz through mixtapes, secure a deal, drop more tapes and then release a major label debut. Big K.R.I.T. did that starting with his “See Me On Top” mixtape series. In 2010, he made noise with his K.R.I.T. Wuz Here” project which earned him his Def Jam deal. The debut album was delay several times, but in the interim K.R.I.T. managed to bless his fans with “Returnof4eva” and “4evaNaDay” before the official release of “Live From The Underground.” “LFU,” as K.R.I.T. affectionately calls it, was met with relatively positive reviews and debuted at number five on the charts, but some still felt it paled in comparison to the projects K.R.I.T. had released for free. After laying low for awhile, K.R.I.T. re-emerged with an endorsement from his favorite libation, Crown Royal and a new track entitled “Shine On.” Just last week Krizzle held a Ustream chat with his fans answering questions and playing songs from the latest project, “King Remembered In Time.” It wasn’t until the end of the chat when he announced the project would be available for download in less than a week. As par for the course, the mixtape is produced entirely by K.R.I.T. himself, save for one track produced by 9th Wonder. Guest appearances include the likes of Bun B, Ashton Jones, Future, Trinidad James, Wiz Khalifa, Smoke DZA, BJ the Chicago Kid and Big Sant.

An electric guitar wails and a baby is born as time starts ticking with “Purpose,” a testament to K.R.I.T.’s dedication to accomplishing the goals he has set for himself and in the process declaring what he has done so far is not a fluke. Bun B appears on the aforementioned “Shine On” with Young Krizzle looking “cleaner than a Baptist preacher…that used to pimp,” making the arguement that if God didn’t want him to shine he would never let him chop on blades. Fair assessment. “Talkin Bout Nothing” is stripped down to the bare essentials of a hypnotic loop, hand claps and occasional 808 kicks, with a slightly quicker flow to put any and all perpetrators in their place. Reminiscent of his past cuts like “Just Touched Down” and “I Got This,” the mixtape’s first high energy moment comes in the form of “King Without a Crown,” as K.R.I.T. raps:

“Sometimes all I need is bass and a little liquor to ease my mind a bit
Cause even when you polished, niggas won’t let you shine for shit
That pot to piss in turns into a house on a hill
I’m talkin’ two stories, no fabrication, that’s a true story for real
And ain’t no ghostwriter, my flow tighter than gorilla fists
Keep it poppin’ like hot grease, fry it up with yo catfish
[…]
Hoe what’s up, I got more to tell ya
Dreams are cheap, I got more to sell ya
Crush linen
Grain grippin’
Don’t touch my buttons, I hate it when a bitch get overzealous
So chill hoe, I got a point to prove, that’s the reason I rhyme for
Third coast, I put it down for
What’s a king without a crown hoe?”

As in the case with most Big K.R.I.T. releases, the subject matter tends to get heavier and deeper as the album progresses. “R.E.M.” and “Meditate” are just two examples of that. “R.E.M.” finds K.R.I.T. questioning his efforts on “Live From The Underground” and whether or not he should’ve taken the approach of writing about his own life, even going as far to say that he believes he failed his fans. Not by a long shot. “Meditate” begins with K.R.I.T. being introduced to a group that has all the makings of an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting. Moving further into the song, the bells resemble empty glasses and every so often you can hear a sound that vaguely resembles the pouring of the last few drops from a bottle of liquor.

Read the rest of the review over at RapReviews