In a time where southern hip-hop is in dire need of refreshment, a bright light shines through and accompanying it, the soulful sound of Mississippi, the voice belonging to it, Big K.R.I.T. K.R.I.T., (an acronym for “King Remembered In Time”) has released the follow up to his highly acclaimed mixtape, K.R.I.T Wuz Here, a mixalbum appropriately titled, Return Of 4Eva, a testament to the longevity that the southern MC intends on having and undoubtedly has the capability of achieving.
Return Of 4Eva is reminiscent of an early OutKast album, inclusive of themes of dirty southern love, oppression, opulence and poverty that stream through each self produced track seamlessly. From the very beginning, K.R.I.T demonstrates his unseemingly flawless art of narration, with the boisterous and assuring “R4 Theme Song”, a track on which K.R.I.T warns that you need to “refrain from being lame”, and “say it like you mean it”. Immediately from there, Big takes us on a journey through life as he knows it via standout tracks such as the honest “Rise and Shine”, the aspiriational “Dreamin”, the hopeful “Rotatin”, and the nostalgic “Time Machine” featuring Texas MC, Chamillionaire. K.R.I.T also lets us know that he will never let go of that dirty south bounce on the vibrant “Sookie Now”, a defiant track featuring David Banner, on which he proudly boasts “this that Diamond in the back flow, b*tch.”
The art of storytelling continues as we descend deeper into the mind of Big K.R.I.T., with “American Rapstar” on which he vocalizes his worry about being an entertainer and its contradictions. On “Highs and Lows”, K.R.I.T, shows all of his feathers through confident accounts of “ridin’ on chrome” and escapades with women. “Shake It” featuring Joi (known for her collaborations with The Dungeon Family), allows us to take a trip to a strip club with Big and on a completely different level comes “Players Ballad” featuring neo-soul crooner, Raheem Devaughn, the one and ONLY love song on Return, and well worth the wait.
Well put together and a solid effort to say the least, is my description of this epic mixalbum by Big K.R.I.T. It is more than comforting to see that being signed to Def Jam has in no way affected the quality or sincerity of his music. As I tweeted earlier this week, please do yourselves a favor and listen to Return Of Eva. Hip-hop is not dead, but if it were on life support one of the things in it’s IV would be the words and sounds of Big K.R.I.T.
Cant get enough of:
“R4 Theme”
“Highs and Lows”
“Sookie Now” feat. David Banner
“Shake It” feat. Joi
“Players Ballad” feat. Raheem Devaughn
“Country Sh*t [REMIX]” feat. Ludacris & Bun B
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