Big K.R.I.T.-Praying Man (Feat. B.B. King)

"Praying Man" is the perfect barometer for Big K.R.I.T.'s career right now. On an album titled Live From The Underground, K.R.I.T.  performs with none other than Blues legend B.B. King, a juxtaposition that highlights the meteoric rise of  K.R.I.T. (all of these .s are starting to get a little out of hand). After years of releasing superb quality mixtapes,  K.R.I.T. attempts to balance burgeoning name recognition with the holy grail of every rapper-not going mainstream-on his brand new debut and largely succeeds. While other artists might just use a soulful sample, K.R.I.T. gets King to come and croon while laying some mean guitar licks. The combination of the two along with  K.R.I.T. 's storytelling create a unique, introspective allegory that in some ways is the modern heir to Nina Simone's classic "Strange Fruit." Not afraid to show off his new found status with cameos from legends,  K.R.I.T. also doesn't turn his back on what got him here in the first place and the result shows on this jamandahalf and the album in general (one of the best of the year).

Buy Live From The Underground

Click here to download "Praying Man"

The Roots feat. Big K.R.I.T.-Make My

There are few things better musically than a rap song that takes its time to drop. My favorite song of all time, "Elevators" by Outkast, knows that good things come to those to wait, and "Make My" by The Roots and Big K.R.I.T. follows that legacy to a T.

I didn't do a "best-of" list for last year, but if I had, Undun by The Roots would have been very very near the top. Today's jamandahalf is a clear standout on that brilliant album, and it truly is an album in the purest sense of the word. Featuring a verse by longtime favorite Big K.R.I.T., The Roots know they have earned the right to ride out for as long as they want to, and that's what they do. Other than said verse by KRIT and a reflective banger by Black Thought, the thing that is most notable about the track is how expansive it sounds. At the beginning of the album, but at the tail end of the life of Redford Stephens, the central character to the story of Undun, both verses focus on taking one final look back on a life of both good and bad before Redford's subsequent suicide. Although the dark lyrics do weigh the song down, there is some glimmer of the triumphant hidden in there somewhere. Finishing an album-long story with a serious dose of class, The Roots give Stephens a proper farewell.

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Download The Roots Make My (feat. Big K.R.I.T & Dice Raw)

Big K.R.I.T.-The Vent

Big K.R.I.T., a favorite of the blog for a little while now, has recently released the follow up to KRIT Wuz Here titled Return of 4Eva. Since the last time he was on the blog K.R.I.T.'s been writing a play book on how to build consistent hype-release great music, go on tour, remain visible while not playing yourself out, strengthen yourself as an artist and a brand. Return of 4Eva sounds like a natural progression, rather than a huge leap, to his first tape, but as a rapper KRIT has clearly matured. Deeply rooted in Southern rap, KRIT sounds like 2.0 to the subset which has been both so oversaturated in recent years yet which still seems like it has something more to offer. KRIT continues to combine tracks that showoff deep introspection with tracks which showcase the more trunk-rattling traditional elements of Southern Rap, bridging the gap that most Southern rappers can't.

Today's jamandahalf features KRIT venting/rambling, in the best possible sense of the word, on a threadbare beat. When you hear this song you really have to listen. It's not a song that comes easy, but it does really show off KRIT, the rapper. On tracks like these KRIT shows off his humanity. Not Hollywood enough to stay aloof, "The Vent" sounds like a buddy coming to talk about what they got on their mind. KRIT is clearly not hiding, its impossible to over a few piano chords and a synth or two, rather, he's putting himself out there, ready to be judged. Judge for yourself and let me know what you think.

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Big K.R.I.T.-As Small As A Giant

Almost every article I’ve ever read about Big K.R.I.T. compares him to other rappers like Pimp C and David Banner. Comparisons are easy, especially when talking about artists that most people don’t recognize. Familiarity breeds interest; we want to hear music that sounds like other music we know, we want to hear artists that we can compare to others. That is the entire premise of Pandora.com and the Genius playlists on iTunes: giving us music we can identify with, even though we may not know the specific artist or song. Especially with rappers, southern rappers in particular, people try and identify other rappers they sound like, boxing them in before they have the chance to make an identity for themselves. Everyone is the next Andre 3000 or Big Boi. Typecasted. This can sometimes help listeners find new artists that they might like, but in other ways it clips the wings of up and coming rappers, limits their individual shine and almost always sets them up to fail under the weight of too-heavy expectations.

Big K.R.I.T. earned the above categorizations with just one mixtape, Big K.R.I.T. Wuz Here, which generated huge buzz and resulted in a major record label deal. But hopefully the same comparisons don't also put shutters on him. On songs like “As Small As A Giant,” off the mixtape, K.R.I.T. mixes up a healthy dose of honest soul searching with clear confidence, over a flow that sounds aged but sharp. Starting off with his best Big Rube impression and a great spoken word intro, he goes right into his verse sounding much older than his 24 years. Completely self-produced, KRIT is a shining light of Southern Rap, keeping strong the introspective streak that the South has always had, and one that is more needed now than ever.

And oh yea, if ya ask me, I say he kinda sounds like a young TI mixed with a little Trick Daddy ;-).

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