It is rare to find an artist who has both age and wisdom on his side. At just 25 years old, Big K.R.I.T. possesses the musical intuition of an old soul. Hailing from Meridian, Mississippi, K.R.I.T. (born Justin Scott) grew up listening to early rhythm and blues records in his grandmother's house and later went on to discover songs by revered soul artists like Curtis Mayfield, Willie Hutch, and Bobby Womack. It's easy to detect the influence of these artists and other rap legends in K.R.I.T.'s music, which masterfully resurrects the rich heritage of Southern hip-hop from the '90s.
After spending several years releasing mixtapes as a struggling rapper, K.R.I.T. began working with Jonny Shipes of Cinematic Music at the end of 2009. Within two months, the burgeoning rapper was able to record and release a series of songs and videos that caught the attention of major labels, including Island Def Jam, which signed K.R.I.T. in early 2010. In May of that year, just a month after signing, K.R.I.T. dropped K.R.I.T. Wuz Here, a mixtape which led to stints opening up for Wiz Khalifa on the Wake & Bake Tour and co-headlining The Smoker's Club Tour with Curren$y. In March of 2011, K.R.I.T. released his most-downloaded project to date, Return of 4eva. The mixtape earned rave reviews from Pitchfork and Complex and earned K.R.I.T. a spot on XXL's Freshman cover in February 2011, placing him among the industry's most promising newcomers.
2012 finds K.R.I.T. preparing to release Live from the Underground, his hotly-anticipated debut full-length studio album on Island Def Jam. Prefix listed the disc as No. 8 on its list of 100 Most Anticipated Albums of 2012. In addition, in early March the rapper dropped his newest mixtape, 4evaNaDay. "Boobie Miles," the first cut off the disc, was released on February 1st. The official release party for the record goes down tonight at Highline Ballroom. Don't miss it.
