Big K.R.I.T. отмечает 40-летие: легенда южного хип-хопа продолжает творить

Today, The Source sends a supreme 40th birthday salute to one of the South’s most talented MCs, producers and torchbearers, Big K.R.I.T. Born Justin Lewis Scott on Aug. 26, 1986, in Meridian, Mississippi, K.R.I.T., an acronym for King Remembered In Time, has spent more than two decades carrying forward the tradition of Southern Hip Hop while creating a sound unmistakably his own. Producer. MC. Musician. Storyteller. K.R.I.T. has always represented the complete package. His breakthrough came with 2010’s K.R.I.T. Wuz Here, the acclaimed mixtape that introduced a much larger audience to his combination of trunk-rattling production, soulful samples, Southern storytelling and introspective rhymes. Records such as “Country Sh*t,” later remixed with Bun B and Ludacris, helped establish K.R.I.T. as the next branch on a Southern family tree that included UGK, OutKast, 8Ball & MJG and fellow Mississippi representative David Banner. And unlike many rappers who depend on somebody else to create their sonic identity, K.R.I.T. could build his own from the ground up. That ability was fully displayed on his 2012 major-label debut, Live from the Underground, which K.R.I.T. produced in its entirety. The album debuted at No. 5 on the Billboard 200 while reaching No. 1 on both the Rap and R&B/Hip-Hop album charts. He followed it with 2014’s Cadillactica, another No. 5 Billboard 200 release. But some of K.R.I.T.’s strongest work came after leaving Def Jam and betting on himself. His independent 2017 double album, 4eva Is a Mighty Long Time, split the artist between Big K.R.I.T. and Justin Scott, allowing listeners to hear both the confident Southern rap star and the considerably more vulnerable man underneath. The project featured everyone from T.I., UGK and CeeLo Green to Jill Scott, Bilal and Robert Glasper. Through projects including Return of 4eva, 4eva N a Day, King Remembered in Time, It’s Better This Way, K.R.I.T. Iz Here and Digital Roses Don’t Die, K.R.I.T. has remained committed to the South without allowing trends to dictate what Southern Hip Hop is supposed to sound like. At 40, that’s a legacy worth celebrating. K.R.I.T. came out of Meridian with a microphone, an MPC and an appreciation for the artists who built Southern Hip Hop before him. He eventually became one of the artists responsible for carrying that tradition forward. Happy 40th birthday to Big K.R.I.T.; the King Remembered In Time. Keep the bass knocking and the Cadillac riding.