Whilst the rest of the southern rap scene have been getting
busy riding throwaway trap beats and dropping throwaway punchlines, Big K.R.I.T has
been steadily moving away and sculpting his own much more original and quite
possibly influential sound. He’s always been a standout character in deep south
hip hop, mainly down to his speedily tight and acrobatic flows. He can jump
around any beat at any tempo he likes and still perfectly articulate every
word.
New to his style on this album is his choice of instrumentation.
The usual 808s are there but it’s the other sounds on top that give it that flair
– the Style Council-esque synth-bass, the female vocal harmonies and bounteous
use of digital cowbell.
Also heading off in a new direction is the lyrical content.
This record sees Krit covering third eyes, the big bang and God. That might
sound like the priggish subject matter of a rapper who thinks he’s the world’s next
modern philosopher, but instead Krit keeps it tastefully low key if only to
build a spiritual, spacey vibe to the tracks.
Although the majority of the album is solid, there are some
tracks that pale in comparison to others. ‘Pay Attention’ was ironically the song
that held my attention the least, adopting a mainstream Drake-like chorus. The ‘Standby
(Interlude)’ track is also blatant filler and doesn’t really do much for me. Thankfully,
these tiny scratches don’t take away from the fact that this is still a gem.
★★★★☆
TRACK TASTER: