After taking a seat on a couch next to Mississippi rapper Big K.R.I.T., he laughs and jokes about what he views to be the ultimate approval of an artist’s “making it:” playing the Late Show with Dave Letterman.
“If they let me do my show on David Letterman, I’m gonna be doing my show on that,” K.R.I.T. says. “The music won’t change, just the platform that they put me on.”
K.R.I.T., a recent Def Jam Records signee known for his bombastic Southern anthem, “Country Shit,” rocked his trademark single and many others for last week’s Sibs Weekend Concert. With every concert performed he hopes to find himself as an artist, which involves “making it” to the top in his own unorthodox way.
“Especially in the beginning of my career I was used to performing in front of crowds that didn’t know my music, so you know you get used to that,” K.R.I.T. says. “But that’s when you go out there and put on and you try to win people over cause it’s important.”
K.R.I.T. doesn’t sweat the fans who only have a small knowledge of his discography. This cool attitude allows him to focus on making and producing a sound that he can call his own, which includes the grit and soul that Southern hip-hop artists have to offer.
“The name of my upcoming album is Live From The Underground, so that obviously shows you that I’m not gonna change,” he says. “I’ve been making the same kind of music that I was making since the beginning of my career and it’s always gonna be that way.”
Although K.R.I.T. has stuck to utilizing comfort-food soul samples and heavy-handed Southern thump since the release of “Country Shit,” his aesthetic has remained far from repetitive. He raps about his life without sugarcoating it for the mainstream audience, and that’s what he feels will lead to success down the road.
“I think it’s more about me just making music that reflects who I am and prayin’ to God that people take to it,” he says. “For me it’s organic. Like, I want people to learn about the music and decide to pick it up whether they want to or not.”
However, what separates K.R.I.T.’s musical aspirations from those of other similar artists is his unique production process. The “organic” aspect of his product can be found within his desire to create every aspect of an album or mixtape by himself.
“You know I produce all my own music, I write my own lyrics and my own hooks and I mix my own records,” K.R.I.T. notes. “For me that’s the best way for me to create, that way it’s raw emotions and it’s me. It’s not a gang of ideas thrown into one record.”
Whether you believe that Big K.R.I.T. will make it by bringing his Deep South sound to the studio or not, don’t be surprised if you eventually see K.R.I.T. plopping down next to David Letterman. That’s when we’ll all know that he “made it.” |
