MIC/LINE is HYPEBEAST Radio’s music-centric show that looks to deliver in-depth conversations with your favorite artists, digging into their origin stories and asking the questions you want answered. For this week’s episode, we sit down with Big K.R.I.T.

Ten years in the rap game, K.R.I.T. is finally feeling free. The Mississippi native, born Justin Lewis Scott, jump started his career with his mixtape K.R.I.T. Wuz Here and signed to Def Jam Recordings soon after. His success led him to a part of the 2011 XXL Freshman Cover alongside rappers like Kendrick Lamar, Meek Mill and Mac Miller. His second mixtape, Return of 4Eva, solidified his unstoppable prowess in the rap game as the successor to Southern rap.

His most recent album and long-awaited sequel, K.R.I.T. Iz Here, showcases his coming to terms with his idea of happiness and “newfound freedom.” The album was not only executive produced by Rico Love, but dropped under K.R.I.T.’s own record label, Multi Alumni. The hip-hop vet tells us that his current mindset is focused on creating the best music sonically so that the music can be timeless. 

“Whether I sell a million now or a million 15 years from now, it’s still going to equate to the worth that it deserves. We get so caught up in that first week sale and everything else doesn’t matter when it’s supposed to.Maybe you heard it, and you weren’t in the right space to digest what I was saying. It might take you ten years, and you finally get it. You’re not going to immediately get it— finding the patience to digest, pay attention and observe what somebody had to go through to create that.”

Reflecting on his earlier days, he details how growing up in a courteous and hospitable environment in the South shaped his personality and perspective. Whether it’s rapping on “Country Shit” or dropping songs like “M.I.S.S.I.S.S.I.P.P.I.” a decade later, KRIT wants his listeners to see the beauty if the country South.

KRIT’s long-standing career is a reflection of not only his musical talent, but also his emotional growth. Constantly challenging himself, he tells us the KRIT we saw in 2010 is not the same as the KRIT in 2019. 

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