Big K.R.I.T. - ReturnOf4Eva Album Review

Artist: Big K.R.I.T.
Album: ReturnOf4Eva
Label: Cinematic Music Group
Executive Producer: Big K.R.I.T.

Over the past couple of years Meridian, Mississippi native, Big K.R.I.T. (King Remembered In Time), has created an ever growing fan base built around his brand of “country rap tunes” mixing together a sound that resembles that of the Dungeon Family combined with UGK’s Pimp-C.  In 2010 K.R.I.T. took southern Hip Hop fans by surprise when he released the free album “K.R.I.T. Wuz Here” which was universally praised and led to him signing a record deal with Def Jam. Fast forward to a year later and K.R.I.T. is a part of the 2011 XXL Freshman class and has unleashed yet another free album with “ReturnOf4Eva” to hold fans over until his Def Jam debut. Entirely produced by K.R.I.T. himself he entirely crafts his own dirty south sound.

“ReturnOf4Eva” opens up with “R4 Intro” where K.R.I.T. spits rhymes describing the excitement during a show and he grows in intensity and loudness as the track continues, but then it cuts right into the sound of an alarm buzzing. Was it just a dream? K.R.I.T. then wakes up to “Rise & Shine” and KRIT emphasizes getting up and doing something with the day over the countrified, thumping beat. KRIT provides the insight he’s known for as well as witty punch lines:

“nothing ever comes to those that just wait/
don’t ever lose sight of your goals, just keep straight/
the early bird gets the worm/
you live and you learn/
“I been waitin on my chance”, well you gotta wait ya turn/
to whom it may concern…/
aint much time left, gotta fight to the death/
for my family, MJ baseline they cant handle me/
slam dunk, hang time like a canopy/
tired of sitting on the cough/
watching celebrities pout about the troubles of a million dollar house/
so tell em im out/
on my grizzly, put ya lighters in the air if ya feel me/
I aint lying/
it’s the time/
to wake up…wipe ya eyes…Rise & Shine/”

KRIT next takes us to the “R4 Theme Song” where KRIT thanks God and promises to never change over a thumping sample-driven beat. Following “R4 Theme Song” we move into the lead single off of the album, the unbelievably uplifting “Dreaming” which should live as the anthem and inspiration for any aspiring young person chasing a dream, KRIT proclaims “just know that I was once considered just a dreamer, but I paid my dues and turned so many doubters to believers.” KRIT’s soft tone and delivery flows exceptionally well over the beautiful strings in KRIT’s epic production. On “Rotation” provides a catchy dirty south classic dedicated to his ride. KRIT takes a cliché southern song and flips into not just “another song about cars” as it sounds so natural and a song that any hip hop fan would love to ride to in the Summer with the windows down. KRIT follows that up with “My Sub”, a song which easily feels like it could crossover with the catchy hook and “Bumpin’ My Music” sounding beat and KRIT once again shines over the perfect beat. Cars a huge part of southern culture and KRIT doesn’t take these topics and make it just another record about his car or his stereo, he brings outsiders into his world with these records and tells you to ride along with him:

“usually I don’t disturb the peace/
but imma wake you if you sleep/
with that quake, that bass, that beat/
2 miles an hour on creep/
the smoke make it hard to see/
when im swanging down I mean bangin around/
I don’t play around with these freaks/”

On “Sookie Now” KRIT teams up with fellow Mississippian and southern legend David Banner over the snare and horns driven beat as they turn the old school sounding record into a Dirty South Anthem. David Banner’s energetic rhymes stand out and he sounds as hungry as ever. The only other song released off of “ReturnOf4Eva” before it’s release was “American Rapstar” where KRIT brings the listener into the negatives of what can happen when gaining success in Hip Hop. KRIT’s chorus sounds almost Kanye West like as he shines over the laidback beat. On “Highs & Lows” KRIT croons an unbelievably laid back chorus along with his matching laid back flow and beat turning this song into another fresh song for the whip. One thing I’ve heard critics of KRIT in the past say is that KRIT ignores the ladies a tad too much so KRIT targets the females in the audience with “Shake It” featuring singer Joi on the hook, but it doesn’t sound forced like I expected it be as KRIT flips his own misogynistic anthem.

“Made A lot” featuring KRIT’s buddy Big Sant is up next and Sant proves that he’s not just KRIT’s buddy and is an accomplished rhymer himself as he stands toe-to-toe with KRIT as the two spit about making it in hip hop and how people hate and change after you make it and then accuse you of changing. On “Lions & Lambs” KRIT almost talks the chorus to the listener and it works unbelievably well over the slow tempo beat and KRIT declares that “time waits for no man.” Following “Lions & Lambs” KRIT takes us through “King’s Blues” where KRIT asks “what’s a king without a crown” and “what’s a car without some size.” KRIT talks about getting some money and obtaining the material things you won’t be then failing to be able to maintain it without having the knowledge to do so.

On “Time Machine” KRIT and Chamillionaire come together to describe to us how a car isn’t just a car but it’s a “Time Machine” as it can take you back in time with the music in your deck. “Get Right” sounds old school but KRIT keeps it up to date turning it into what could very well be a club anthem for 2011. Next up KRIT combines actual train sounds (and sounds of workers working on a train track) with the “chug chug chug” sound on “Amtrak” as he compares his rise to that of a train coming straight at you. The amazing voice of Raheem DeVaughn provides the chorus to KRIT’s version of a love song on “Players Ballad” as KRIT once again tends to the ladies. This would most definitely be “baby making music” Big K.R.I.T. style. KRIT switches it back up on the amazing “Another Naïve Individual Glorying Greed and Encouraging Racism.” If you take every capital letter in that title it spells out A N ! G G E R which is exactly what KRIT declares he will never be a “n*gger” to the government or to white and black folks. KRIT’s amazing lyrics and uplifting message plays so perfectly over the keys, drums, and horns over this incredible record:

“I don’t wanna be another n*gger waiting with my hands out/
broke in the hood, they give a damn bout/
braggin’ to my homie bout the hoes I f*ck/
drinking bottles after bottles plus I smoke too much/
I never had a job that would pay me well/
I took what I could cause they gave me hell/
spend what I stole on some clothes and kicks/
my ex girl say I won’t amount to sh!t/
but she suck and f*ck when my car roll up/
try to f*ck her sister but she talk too much/
her mama shake her head whenever I come ‘round/
whatever high I had, when I saw her might come down/
I barely go to church but say I will/
I bow my head right before I eat my meal/
the worlds f*cked up and they claiming I’m to blame/
it’s a d*mn shame, because I don’t wanna be another n*gger/”

KRIT’s amazing message rings out as he plays into stereotypes of young black males and tells the hard truth about things that some do (and why they do it) while proclaiming that that’s not what he’s going to be and maybe the message will hit home with everyone (black, white, everything). Following that up KRIT combines some amazing piano keys with his beat and croons the hook on “Free My Soul” that would make Pimp-C and Devin The Dude proud. KRIT’s laid back yet deep thoughts on “Free My Soul” make it yet another unbelievable highlight of the album. Next up KRIT vents on the touching “The Vent” where he spits about losing loved ones and he questions how loved ones can be taken and many other deep thoughts:

“how can the devil take my brother if he’s close to me?/
when he was everything that I wasn’t but hoped to be/
I get a little honest and I ask myself/
If the time come will you save me if I ask for help/
set my mind on a journey to the outermost/
to document what it had seen and CC me the notes/
and ask Kurt Cobain why because I need to know/
he stopped when he had such a long way to go/
I saw love in the eyes of a perfect stranger/
she overlooked my caring heart in search of a gangster/
will we ever be together? Only time will tell/
she called my phone and talked to me as an hour swelled/
I put my problems in a box inside my tightest rhymes/
under lock and key, buried down deep inside my mind/
now when it gets too full and I can’t close the lid/
I spaz on my family and my closest friends/
trade my materials for a piece of mind/
I’m so close to heaven, hell I just need some time/
who cares about life and the highs & lows/
maybe I should write another song about pimps & hoes/
cars and clothes…idol gods…gold and calf's…Louie scarves/
I do this for the love and it’s free of charge/
I don’t need jail to be behind bars/
this is purely art”

“The Vent” is one of the most sincere and epic songs on the entire album and comes at a fitting time on the album. Following this KRIT offers up a bonus remix to a favorite from his “K.R.I.T. Wuz Here” with a remix to “Country Shit” featuring southern heavyweights Ludacris & Bun-B. The trio take this already thumping southern anthem and turn it into an ever better anthem that all southern will gladly jam and nod their heads too.

Overall KRIT offers up yet another classic project and I know that word gets tossed around too loosely but I have no problem calling this project exactly that. KRIT doesn’t just offer up deep thoughts and uplifting messages but he also caters to those that love songs to just ride to, songs for parties, and even for the ladies. KRIT is able to appeal to all fans while staying true to himself. He pours his entire soul into his music and it shows which in my opinion makes his music so appealing. The Pimp-C comparisons will remain because of his delivery and the way he croons (as well as his funky production) but KRIT is making his own legacy and proving that he is a force to be reckoned with in the southern and in Hip Hop in general. KRIT recently inked his deal with Def Jam Records and if the company allows Big K.R.I.T. to be Big K.R.I.T. and not change him then he can make big noise in the mainstream and potentially offer up some actual thought with music on the radio rather than the watered down pop music we get at the moment.