Mississippi rapper Big K.R.I.T. has set out to do something he's never done before with his upcoming sophomore album, Cadillactica, out November 11 on Cinematic/Def Jam. By handing over some creative control and stepping out of his comfort zone to create a concept album featured around his own envisioned planet, K.R.I.T. has surprised even himself.
Cadillactica, a figment of the Southern MC's vibrant imagination, houses spaceships, Cadillacs and all things fly, while signifying K.R.I.T.'s journey through life and his musical career from the beginning. What started as a mission to create "funky, psychedelic music" evolved into a world of its own when he agreed to pass production credits over to acclaimed producers like Jim Jonsin and Terrace Martin, allowing K.R.I.T. more time to write and conceptualize.
"I wanted to not only free myself creatively to just make something that has a concept, and something that I can free-roam musically, but I wanted to tell the story of where the Cadillac came from that crash landed on planet Earth on Live From the Underground. That was symbolic of the music that I made that crash landed into mainstream music," K.R.I.T. tells Exclaim!
On past projects, the Southern rapper admitted to rushing the creative process and getting caught up in the business aspect of his industry, which distracted the wordsmith from making the music he intended to.
"I don't really want to be in a rush to create anymore and I've done that with previous works and I've done that with mixtapes. They still came out to be successful, but now more than ever, there's so much going on in the world, and even me wanting to visually see new things and get new experiences in order to take people on a journey even more in music, that takes time," K.R.I.T. explains.
In addition to storytelling, and pushing himself creatively on Cadillactica, K.R.I.T. follows up his celebrated single "Mt. Olympus," with the confident aggression that fans have grown to respect. Taking his self-assurance a step further, K.R.I.T. claims the title of "King of the South" on the album, identifying himself as the best rapper to come from rural roots.
"This is me knowing that I'm going to create music on a level of quality and that I'll never stop. I'm always going to push myself, to not only be a positive role model, but to showcase that we have talent in the South and the 'country' doesn't mean that you aren't capable of reigning at the top," he says with sincerity.
As the November 11 release date nears, pressure of first week sales and album of the year comparisons fail to startle the assured artist.
"As long as [fans] listen to it, that's success in itself. I don't necessarily think that people look for me to have the number one record thing. I just think that people listen and gravitate towards my music, because they know that I'm going to make a full body album and there's going to be songs for everybody and it's going to flow a certain way. My music is relatable. That's why people understand that Cadillactica is going to be something different as well, because I never really go with the wave. I never really do what everyone else is doing and that's why I'm excited for them to hear the album.
"I think people are not going to expect some of the musical content or subject matter, or just the vibe. They're just not going to expect this from me and that's exciting, because you never want people to know exactly what you're going to do."
As previously reported, you can catch Big K.R.I.T. at some upcoming Canadian tour stops, including October 9 in Montreal, October 10 in Toronto, October 25 in Victoria and October 26 in Vancouver. You can find the rest of the tour dates and all the show details here.
Cadillactica, a figment of the Southern MC's vibrant imagination, houses spaceships, Cadillacs and all things fly, while signifying K.R.I.T.'s journey through life and his musical career from the beginning. What started as a mission to create "funky, psychedelic music" evolved into a world of its own when he agreed to pass production credits over to acclaimed producers like Jim Jonsin and Terrace Martin, allowing K.R.I.T. more time to write and conceptualize.
"I wanted to not only free myself creatively to just make something that has a concept, and something that I can free-roam musically, but I wanted to tell the story of where the Cadillac came from that crash landed on planet Earth on Live From the Underground. That was symbolic of the music that I made that crash landed into mainstream music," K.R.I.T. tells Exclaim!
On past projects, the Southern rapper admitted to rushing the creative process and getting caught up in the business aspect of his industry, which distracted the wordsmith from making the music he intended to.
"I don't really want to be in a rush to create anymore and I've done that with previous works and I've done that with mixtapes. They still came out to be successful, but now more than ever, there's so much going on in the world, and even me wanting to visually see new things and get new experiences in order to take people on a journey even more in music, that takes time," K.R.I.T. explains.
In addition to storytelling, and pushing himself creatively on Cadillactica, K.R.I.T. follows up his celebrated single "Mt. Olympus," with the confident aggression that fans have grown to respect. Taking his self-assurance a step further, K.R.I.T. claims the title of "King of the South" on the album, identifying himself as the best rapper to come from rural roots.
"This is me knowing that I'm going to create music on a level of quality and that I'll never stop. I'm always going to push myself, to not only be a positive role model, but to showcase that we have talent in the South and the 'country' doesn't mean that you aren't capable of reigning at the top," he says with sincerity.
As the November 11 release date nears, pressure of first week sales and album of the year comparisons fail to startle the assured artist.
"As long as [fans] listen to it, that's success in itself. I don't necessarily think that people look for me to have the number one record thing. I just think that people listen and gravitate towards my music, because they know that I'm going to make a full body album and there's going to be songs for everybody and it's going to flow a certain way. My music is relatable. That's why people understand that Cadillactica is going to be something different as well, because I never really go with the wave. I never really do what everyone else is doing and that's why I'm excited for them to hear the album.
"I think people are not going to expect some of the musical content or subject matter, or just the vibe. They're just not going to expect this from me and that's exciting, because you never want people to know exactly what you're going to do."
As previously reported, you can catch Big K.R.I.T. at some upcoming Canadian tour stops, including October 9 in Montreal, October 10 in Toronto, October 25 in Victoria and October 26 in Vancouver. You can find the rest of the tour dates and all the show details here.
