Nine years ago, Big K.R.I.T. released K.R.I.T. Wuz Here, his sixth mixtape but his first to get reviews from publications such as Pitchfork and DJBooth and earn critical acclaim in the process. The mixtape not only gained attention from critics but from a man named Sha Money XL, former president of G-Unit Records and current Senior VP of A&R at Def Jam Records who signed K.R.I.T. to the label as one of his first priorities in his then new position. But over the years, tension between K.R.I.T. and Def Jam grew and they parted ways in 2016. Since then K.R.I.T. has been independent and has released his second album under his Multi Alumni label entitled K.R.I.T. IZ HERE.
This album is notable for not being produced by K.R.I.T. at all which is an idea that the rapper first spoke about back in 2013 when he was still on the Def Jam label. Producers DJ Khalil and Rico Love make a return for K.R.I.T. on the album but there are many producers that are working with K.R.I.T. for the first time such as Danja, Wolfe de Mchls, DJ Camper and Tae Beast. But while K.R.I.T. takes a full backseat on producing for the first time ever, the beats still work in the rapper's favor.
Songs such as K.R.I.T. HERE and Make it Easy are based around soul samples that K.R.I.T. is used to rapping over. Obvious, Everytime, and Blue Flame Ballet are more stripped back and fit into K.R.I.T.'s smoother area of work. And while tracks like I Made, Addiction, and Learned From Texas have the typical late 2010s style approach with rattling hi-hats and 808s, the beats still avoid being generic and K.R.I.T.'s rapping sounds as natural as ever.
The album's list of guests includes Lil Wayne, Saweetie, Rico Love, Yella Beezy, Baby Rose, J. Cole, Wolfe de Mchls, and DJ Camper, all of which attempt to match K.R.I.T.'s energy with varying degrees of success. Wayne and Cole add electric verses to Addiction and Prove It respectively. The hooks provided by Saweetie, Beezy and Love on Addiction, I Made, and Everytime respectively are simple, yet effective. But features from Wolfe de Mchls and DJ Camper on High Beams and Life in the Sun respectively, are either grating or blend into the track so much that it ultimately becomes a forgettable appearance and K.R.I.T. is left to pick up the slack.
A couple of weak hooks aside, this album proves to be great in every other aspect. And while the approach is slightly different from the rapper's breakout mixtape almost ten years ago, the overall message is still there. "They pump-fakin' when they hatin', they ain't passin' the ball/When I get it, Kyle Watson, I ain't passin' at all" K.R.I.T. boasts on I Been Waitin, just one of the many examples of the rapper's unwavering confidence. K.R.I.T. still has a chip on his shoulder and it won't go away anytime soon.
Final score: 8/10
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