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

So, many of you considered Live From The Underground a flop. I disagree. However, let me explain where the issue lies.

Big K.R.I.T., like too many of these artists nowadays, allow their mixtapes to promote their best work. It has happened with Wiz Khalifa. It happens on a regular with Big Sean. Hell, it even happened with Yelawolf. Yet, many of us never it would EVER happen with Big Krizzle. We just KNEW his album would be a glossier form of his mixtapes.

Still, when Live From The Underground dropped, we noticed that his best material was given to us for free. Don’t get me wrong: his major label album was pretty dope. Yet, it wasn’t as fulfilling as his other material. Plus, his album was much more condensed and lacked to balance that his mixtapes mastered at august levels. In the end, Live From The Underground led many to be disappointed.

Now, we have a response to all that was his first major album: another mixtape by the name of King Remembered In Time. With many listens within a time period that equals less than 24 hours, it must be said that Krizzle hasn’t lost a step.

If one expects Big K.R.I.T. to lose his lyrical diversity, do know that he has been pushing his pen over his pad. On “King Without A Crown”, he lets us know that he “makes his own beats, writes his own rhymes, grit his on grind, grip his own grain”. The realness continues on tracks like “REM”, “Meditate”, “Banana Clip Theory”, “Life Is A Gamble”, and the open mic influenced “WTF”. Yet, tracks like “How You Love That”, “My Trunk”, “Good 2getha”, and “Only One” allow him to pop his collar and grip grain through the streets as his trunk rattles the foundation. This mixtape, unlike his major album, demonstrates that balance between the carnal and the spiritual that K.R.I.T. had established.

The production seemed to have done nothing but improved. Although he included 9th Wonder to produce the beautifully sampled “Life is a Gamble”, all the other tracks are produced by K.R.I.T. exclusively. What we are served with is his version of countrified funk with hip hop samples and jazz influences. The live guitar and 808 bass on “My Trunk” was made to be loud. In contrast, “Banana Clip Theory” is pure jazz that harkens to days of Ramsey Lewis. Equally, Big K.R.I.T. made sure his production engulfed his lyrics to bring about different auras and ambiances.

By the time the mixtape ends with “Multi Til the Sun Die”, any listener will rest assured that Justin Scott is still musically on point. He has reclaimed his throne as the southern gentleman that will feed his community while he shines in his old school Cadillac. Never mind the misstep that was considered his first major album. What matters is the “here and now”. Within that “here and now”, listeners need to understand that Big K.R.I.T. will be remembered as a musical king from this era.