"What Good Are Those Riches if You're 6 Feet Under?"

Take'em to church Big K.R.I.T.! For years he's been leading the charge for Southern Hip Hop and he showed exactly why on Keep The Devil Off. Between the gospel undertones, choir assist, and sermon-like message, it all fits together quite well. Shoot, don't sleep on that organ breakdown and funky guitar at the end too. It's five full minutes of music, not just rap verses and that's what makes K.R.I.T.'s music stand out.

As an added benefit, check the newly minted black and white video for the track below. No glitz and glamour about the visions, it's 💯 K.R.I.T. repping where he comes from. While you're scooping up this new one on iTunes or Spotify, check out his new 4 Eva is a Mighty Long Time album that'll be landing the upcoming Friday...#KeepTheDevilOff


Big K.R.I.T. - Keep The Devil Off (Take 1)

Videos of the Week October 7th

Out of all weeks, this was the week for awe inspiring performances. That's not to discount the two buzz worthy music videos in this week's top five, but the live acts were on point like a decimal this week. Led by Chance the Rapper's stunning all-star collabo turned reprise performance of Blessings on Fallon there was a clear pecking order of the top three live acts. Following close behind was Big K.R.I.T., dressed as a police officer, delivering an incredibly passionate spoken word performance of Kenneth Whalum's Might Not Be Ok. There have been many Black Lives Matter protests, but this one seemed to strike a chord with me and all that were watching. Rounding out the performances was everyone's favorite new pop song from The Weeknd. Performing on SNL, he truly stole the show, balancing swagger with harmony like a champ.

If you're able to sneak past the live videos, then have no fear, Kygo has you covered with his new video with Julia Michaels for Carry Me. It was good enough to close out the Olympics, so you better believe the video came correct. And in case you were living under a rock the past 24 hours, you may have missed Bruno Mars' new single. It's filled with as much dancing and funk as you'd hope for in a Bruno single. I wouldn't go as far as calling it Uptown Funk part two, but the similarities exist. Either way it's a fun watch and you'd better get used to hearing it because Top 40 radio isn't going to get tired of 24K Magic for a while...#24KMagic

Chance the Rapper Performs Blessings (Reprise) on Fallon with Anthony Hamilton, Ty Dolla $ign, Chano, Raury, and D.R.A.M

Big K.R.I.T.'s Spoken Word Performance for Black Lives Matter at BET Awards

The Weeknd Performs Starboy with Daft Punk on SNL

Kygo feat Julia Michaels - Carry Me (Video)

Bruno Mars - 24K Magic (Video)

Photo Credit: YouTube

Big K.R.I.T. and 9th Wonder Work the Guillotine

Whenever I think of a guillotine, I think of a violent and swift result. As a result, the title Guillotine Flow came with it expectations of harsh lyricist that would leave the listener thinking that the artist "killed it." While I'm not denying that K.R.I.T. and Rapsody brought their A game, they delivered their bars in methodical, mellow fashion, which was a bit of surprise. The subtly heavy, chill beat cooked up by 9th Wonder was by far my favorite part of the track. The beats he's able to create lend credence to the thought that simplicity is beautiful. You may not leave thinking it's the flashiest instrumental you've heard, but it paves the way for those two artists on the mic to tell a compelling story. That's what a producer is supposed to do and exactly why this 9th Wonder and K.R.I.T. collabo is special despite lacking pizazz...#GuillotineFlow

Big K.R.I.T. & Rapsody - Guillotine Flow (prod by 9th Wonder)

The Only Tude You Need is Hermitude

It's a valid question, why haven't there been more Hip Hop and Future Bass collaborations? You'd think that with the amount of bass injected into Hip Hop there would be more examples of artists reaching out to up and comers like Hermitude. For those of you who haven't heard of Hermitude, they are an Aussie duo who have been cranking out a lot of great music lately.

For exhibit 1, I offer you their most recent album Dark Night Sweet Light, which has rocketed up Australian music charts. On that album, you'll find the track below featuring one of my homegrown Hip Hop favorites, Big K.R.I.T., as well as a new one with my favorite Cool Kid, Chuck Inglish (Hijinx). Their music offers an accessible, chill dose of Hip Hop with every listen. It's a heavy, but soft and palatable way to indulge in Hip Hop and I appreciate that. Those of you who will be heading to Lollapalooza and Hard in the upcoming weeks, make it a point to check out Hermitude's set while you're there...#DarkNightSweetLight

Hermitude feat. Big K.R.I.T., Mataya & Young Tapz - The Buzz

Videos of the Week November 6th

Ran a bit heavy on actual music videos this week, which is a bit of a change of pace. Leading the way is the much anticipated Dangerous video from David Guetta, which had more trailers than most movies that come out. It's not my favorite Kendrick Lamar track, but I can dig the live band feel and overall positive message of the track. Sticking with the Hip Hop vibe, K.R.I.T.'s space age video for Cadallactica was a interesting watch. It reminded me that I need to give his upcoming album a more thorough listen.

Before you go thinking this is an all music post, feel free and get all your laughs out to the news anchor wildin' out white boy style to Where They at Doe? I bet the woman co-anchor wishes she would have participated a bit more now that it's gone viral. Last but not least are the visuals from Lorde's latest single Yellow Flicker Beat from the upcoming Hunger Games: Mocking Jay Part 1. I continue to be amazed at her presence as a now 18 year old...#HappyBirthdayLorde
David Guetta feat Sam Martin - Dangerous (Video)

Kendrick Lamar - I (Video)

Big K.R.I.T. - Cadallactic (Video)

News Anchor Dancing to Where They at Doe?

Lorde - Yellow Flicker Beat (Video)

Photo Credit: YouTube

K.R.I.T. Goes in on alt-J's Every Other Freckle

Here's another great example why Big K.R.I.T. is light years beyond the average Hip Hop artist. Yes, there are plenty of artists who also produce, but what Hip Hop artist goes out of his way to do a mix of a British Indie rock band's single? The only correct answer to that question is Meridian, Mississippi's own.

How you go about adding a beat to the original version of Every Other Freckle is beyond me. It's such a chill, slightly melodic track that you wouldn't think would fit under the purview of Hip Hop, but somehow K.R.I.T. squeezed in a top notch verse. For me, it doesn't get much more interesting when one of my favorite artist goes outside of his usual comfort zone, so consider it a treat tonight...#EveryOtherFreckle

Photo Credit: YouTube

"Tell Me You Know You the Greatest"

Without a doubt, Jim Jonsin is on the short list of producers that cause me to jump when seeing their name attached to a track. With that being said, it's been months since I've come across a track he produced. You could imagine how excited I was when his comeback from relative hibernation was a track with K.R.I.T.

To my surprise, the production on Pay Attention was subtle and the track takes on more of a calm, thoughtful vibe. Lyrically it's an ode to the finest girl in the club with K.R.I.T. spittin' bar after bar to that special woman. Rico Love did his part too, adding much needed vocal support. Call this a warning shot, Cadallactica is coming soon...#Cadallactica

Big K.R.I.T. feat Rico Love - Pay Attention (prod by Jim Jonsin)

Videos of the Week November 8th

Not a lot of interesting music videos this week, but fear not, I found some interesting tidbits to share. James Blake continues to be one the more intriguing artists in the music and he's found a way to firmly entrench himself on my concert bucket list. If you're wondering why, check the video out below.

If you have an hour to blow and want to get a thorough glimpse of Drake's life, you'll enjoy the Q interview. For quick drive-by entertainment check J Cole's inspiring performance of Crooked Smile on Letterman, some great behind the scenes footage of Big K.R.I.T.'s 4eva N a Tour and to top it off a quirky Jason Derulo video with a whole lotta trumpets...

J.Cole – Crooked Smile (Live On David Letterman)

James Blake Performs Measurements at Terminal 5

Big K.R.I.T. – 4Eva N A Tour (Behind the Scenes Pt. 1)

Q Presents Drake Uncut

Jason Derulo - Trumpets (Video)


Photo Credit: YouTube

Videos of the Week July 26th

Whole lotta comedy this week in the form of The Lonely Island's performance on Jimmy Fallon and Colbert's entertaining roast of Kanye's new clothing line. Aside from that, I enjoyed the really well done piece by Jason Goldwatch on Bun-B. He is a living legend and I'm glad to see him get the respect he deserves through features like this. Still loving just about everything that Big K.R.I.T. puts out and am excited as hell to see Miguel on tour with Drake this fall...#WouldYouLikeATour
The Lonely Island Perform YOLO on Jimmy Fallon

Stephen Colbert Talks About Kanye's Clothing Line

Bun-B Time Pieces by Jason Goldwatch

Big K.R.I.T. - Multi Til the Sun Die (Video)

Miguel - How Many Drinks Acoustic Session

"My Chevy Hop Scotchin' If You Ask Me"

Unbeknownst to me, there has been a production competition co-hosted by McDonalds and Vibe called "The Big Mix" taking place over the past few weeks. The best decision they made surrounding the competition was to let Big K.R.I.T. select the finalists. Now that K.R.I.T. has unquestionably taken over the reigns as the most influential producer of southern Hip Hop music, his opinion on what's "hot" should be taken with more than a grain of salt...matter of fact it should probably be taken with an entire salt lick.

Long story short, the contest started with ten contestants and those ten contestants were eventually whittled down to five finalists. Out of of those finalists, Foreign Allegiance was eventually crowned the champ and they earned a chance to work with K.R.I.T. on a new track. Check the video below for a quick behind the scenes look of What You Know About It...
Straight up, the track is bangin'. Given, I'm a heavy lean toward the sound of southern Hip Hop (pun intended), but between the keyboard lead in and the sampled screwed hook, K.R.I.T. was given a more than sufficient platform to shine on. Big ups to Mc D's and Vibe for bringing this thing together...#TheBigMix

Big K.R.I.T. - What You Know About It (prod by Foreign Allegiance)

Videos of the Week March 15th

Not gonna lie, there was an entertainingly diverse mix of videos that came across the radar this week. It's hard to top @jtimberlake performing Mirrors live on @nbcsnl, but the production value of @Pitbull's pop hit Feel This Moment with @TheRealXtina. I'll give the most creative award to @reeltalk6788 for attempting an ASL translation of Started From the Bottom. If you asked me which was the funniest video of the week, that award goes to @JeffGordonWeb for the hilarious, white-knuckle test drive he took a poor used car salesman on. All I can say is bravo @PepsiMAX for the edgy situational humor...#GordonTestDrive
Pitbull feat Christina Aguilera - Feel This Moment (Video)

Justin Timberlake - Mirrors (Live on SNL)

Pepsi MAX & Jeff Gordon Present: "Test Drive"

Drake's Started From the Bottom in Sign Language

Big K.R.I.T. - R.E.M. (Video)

"Ain't Nobody Trippin' Cause the Money Already Made"

Might as well start calling them New G.K. the way @BIGKRIT and @BunBTrillOG are cranking out tracks these days. Last week I posted their new Air Jordan XX3 promo track Check the Sign and this week it's another new one off K.R.I.T.'s upcoming King Remembered in Time mixtape.

The track takes on a similar opening to International Players Anthem with the old school sample. The more I listen, the more I gain an appreciation for just how much UGK's style influenced the way K.R.I.T. makes music. The smooth, funk filled Shine On is a perfect example of why he has just as much of a right as @tip to the throne as King of the South...#ShineOn

Big K.R.I.T. feat Bun-B - Shine On

Air Jordan XX8 Days of Flight

In celebration of the newest installment of Air Jordans, @BIGKRIT and @BunBTrillOG decided to get together a new track called Check the Sign. If you aren't a sneakerhead, you may have missed the newest version, the Air Jordan XX3s, which just came out this week. Check the promo below for visuals...

As far as the track is concerned, there isn't a much more dynamic Hip Hop duo than Bun and K.R.I.T. You might as well call them the new version of UGK the way K.R.I.T. channels the late great Pimp C..."You can't, you can't walk a mile, you can't, you can't walk a mile in mine"...#XX8DaysOfFlight

Big K.R.I.T. feat Bub-B - Check the Sign (prod by Big K.R.I.T.)

"Anything is Better Than That 1 Train"

With @asvpxrocky's debut studio album on the horizon, there's a legitimate excitement building surrounding the release of his studio debut album LongLiveA$AP. F'in Problems made some waves on top 40 radio the past month and now Dat PMF let loose with a new cypher/freestyle featuring a whole gang of young artists. I'll put it this way, between @kendricklamar, @Yelawolf and @BIGKRIT, there's enough lyricism involved to power a small country.

Shout out to @Hit_Boy for the appropriately simple beat that allowed all artists involved to do their thing without taking the focus away. If you're curious, A$AP's debut is scheduled to hit shelves on January 15th. I'm anxiously awaiting that @BNNOfficial and @skrillex track on the album titled Wild For the Night. Chances are you'll see that at some point on this blog, stay tuned...#LongLiveASAP

A$AP Rocky feat Kendrick Lamar, Joey Bada$$, Yelawolf, Danny Brown, Action Bronson & Big K.R.I.T. - 1 Train

Videos of the Week August 3rd

Whole lotta Hip Hop and a lil R&B is on the menu for this week's video catch up. You'd be a damn fool not to respect the type of music @bigkrit is putting out of late. @tip better step up his game because K.R.I.T. is taking over the South as the most highly sought after artist.

You're in for a double shot of @ludacris this week too with his Jingalin' video hitting the interwebs. Interesting how MMG peiced together the video for 3 Kings. Is there any chance Jersey Shore won't adopt @wakaflockabsm's new track with @bobatl as it's new theme song?...#NoBrainer

Big K.R.I.T. feat Ludacris - What U Mean (Video)

Ludacris - Jingalin' (Video)

Waka Flocka feat B.O.B. - Fist Pump (Video)

Justin Bieber feat Big Sean - As Long As You Love Me (Video)

Rick Ross feat Dr Dre & Jay-Z - 3 Kings (Video)

"No Introductions Needed, Boy Just Call Me the Undefeated"

Straight up, the world is a better place to live in when @BigBoi is putting out new music. Sure we'd all appreciate a new Outkast album, but settling for a solo album from Sir Lucious Left Foot is not a consolation I'm willing to live with. It just so happens, that consolation season begins on November 13th when Big Boi is scheduled to drop his new album Vicious Lies And Dangerous Rumors.

You may remember Big Boi quietly releasing a new track called She Said OK about a month ago, which was supposed to be on the new album. The track was OK, but didn't sound like lead single material. I can say for a fact now that the track below will instead serve as the lead single for his new album. I'll let @BIGKRIT introduce the track below and explain how he became a part of it...

What do I think about the track you ask? Not even tryin' to gas you all up, Gossip is going to end up being one of my top 10 favorite tracks when 2012 wraps up. Off top, the in your face UGK sample is hype as hell. Simply put K.R.I.T. murdered the beat and his shortened verse was on point like butterfly knife. Taking it a step further, if anyone else but Big K.R.I.T. attempts to recycle a Pimp C verse, I'll probably end up going ape shit. It was cool to hear @BunBTrillOG pitch in a verse at the end, serving as the icing on the proverbial Hip Hop classic cake.

I don't care what type of music you like, if you can't wild out a least a little bit to this thick slice of country Southern pie, then you need to hit that x on the browser in the top right hand corner of this window and promptly never come back...#ThatsMyWord

Big Boi feat Big K.R.I.T & UGK - Gossip (prod by Big K.R.I.T.)

|iTunes

"What You Mean You Ain't Nasty?"

Songs like @bigkrit's new one below make me really hopeful that Southern Hip Hop is headed in the right direction. There's a cavalcade of good reasons for the effusive compliments I've given K.R.I.T. in the past and What You Mean only validates what I've said about his music to date. The undeniable funk, heavy bass and overall tough tone of the track from the beats to the grimy hook to the flawless way he navigates the beat...it's a unique kind of awesome.

I'm guessing that if you didn't grow up on Southern Hip Hop like I did, then you may not appreciate K.R.I.T.'s music as much as I do. The biggest reason I've got so much respect for him as both a rapper and producer has to do with the way he's advanced the styles and sounds of the music I grew up with. From Three Six Mafia to UGK, the slow, heavy, codeine soaked rhythms had always set the standard of quality. Keepin' it 100, only UGK was ever been able to mix in large doses of funk successfully in Southern Hip Hop until K.R.I.T. came along. Sure the messages are ignorant and repetitive too like UGK, but you can't tell me that the rolling funk on the beat below doesn't immediately cause you to start nodding your head.

For me, @LUDACRIS's typical, well thought out verse was merely icing on the cake. He's never short on the witty bars, which is why he's always added value on his features. Still, I would have liked it just as much without him, it's that dope. I'm guessing the track below will surface on K.R.I.T.'s new Live From the Underground mixtape due out June 5th, which is cool, but I've got September 27th circled as a much more noteworthy date since that's the scheduled release of his studio album that is also set to be titled Live from the Underground. Mixtapes are cool and all, but you boy is finally getting the call up to the big leagues, which is long overdue for those who listen to his music...#BigLeagueReady

Big K.R.I.T. feat Ludacris - What You Mean?

|Mixtape

Videos of the Week May 4th

Bunch of interesting videos this week ranging from an extremely awkward samurai flavored MTV First Date for @donaldglover to an Electric Feel type of woodland forest video from @rihanna. In other words, this week strayed off the beaten path since there were less big video releases. Pretty cool to see how @BIGKRIT lives life on tour and how incredibly down to earth he is. It was cool to see all the cameos on the Street Knock video too from @alleniverson to @therealkiss. Anybody else not believe @macmiller is from earth? Didn't think he was capable of a track like Clarity, but that's not necessarily a bad thing...#Maturity

Rihanna - Where Have You Been (Video)

Swizz Beatz feat A$AP Rocky - Street Knock (BTS Video)

MTV First Date with Childish Gambino

Mac Miller - Clarity (Video)

Road Less Traveled Part 2 with Big K.R.I.T.

David Banner and Big K.R.I.T. Love Mississippi

If @THEREALBANNER wasn't enough to put the state of Mississippi on the Hip Hop map, the combination of his continuous presence and the emergence of @bigkrit has officially it's relevance with a concrete stamp. You wouldn't think that Southern flavored Hip Hop would have anything to do with classic R&B, but with the help of @mr_lee713, they managed to flip Jodeci's classic Love U 4 Life into a bangin' track. Peep the original below if you need a refresher and managed to avoid every school dance when you were growing up in the 90s...

The single is supposed to surface on David Banner's upcoming mixtape, Sex Lies and Video Games due out on May 22nd. The mixtape is part of "The Movement" for artists to start controlling their own licensed content. The idea came from comedian @louisck when he performed and recorded his set "Live at the Beacon." Below is an excerpt taken from David Banner's website explaining himself...

"The goal of Sex, Drugs & Video Games is to show the world urban music is still valuable. And how am I going to do that? Well, I’m glad you asked. I need 2 million of you to download this mixtape for free (click the link below), then I need the same 2 million of you to donate at least $1 to the movement, but feel free to donate more! There is no maximum donation.

And what’s the “movement” you may ask? THIS MOVEMENT IS TO START CONTROLLING OUR OWN MUSIC, MOVIES, AND CONTENT… PERIOD! WE ARE NOT SIMPLY CHARACTERS IN A VIDEO GAME being controlled by the invisible hand. Once the goal is met, I’m going to shoot a movie that will drop May 22, 2013, a portion will go to charity. Big shout out to Louie C.K. for the motivation!"

Honestly, I like what he and Louie are doing. They're cutting out the middle man and trying to legitimately get compensated for what they did without having to deal with fees and securing their own content. It feels like a navigation of the grey area that is online music right now because it's very much so against locking down content with chains like DRM and it's trying to persuade people who download for free to have a conscience and give a couple bucks for a piece of property that someone else is providing for your entertainment. I love outside of the box ideas like this and I hope it catches on to a certain extent because the business model of online music will always be flawed because technology is always one step ahead and the people who enjoy music don't want to get raked over the coals for increasingly high album costs. I dream that someday there will be a happy medium with ideas like "The Movement," but I fear that it'll always be a cat and mouse game that ends in a lot of frustration.

For our own personal gain, David and K.R.I.T. put together this nice visual display of the track. Don't be afraid to support him on his quest to get his bread up for entertaining y'all...#CreativeCompensation

David Banner feat Big K.R.I.T. - Believe
|Donate

Big K.R.I.T. Got This

Embedded in every notable Southern Hip Hop artist is an persistent desire to be the best. At the center of that desire is an a unwavering confidence that @bigkrit puts on full display with his new single I Got The Here off his upcoming album Live From the Underground. In a not so subtle way, the track barrels forward through all adversity like Kobe in the 4th quarter. It's the ultimate, you can't stop me track lyrically that maintains it's Southern roots through an unmistakable Mississippi drawl.

Just last week K.R.I.T. promised that his new album would find a way to hit stores in June. Along with that announcement came a new mixtape, 4eva N a Day, to tide us over until the real studio debut comes through. I haven't been able to narrow down a favorite yet, but I'm a sucker for screwed up samples, so Me and My Old School Guitar is in the lead right now. Man if his studio debut is half as good as all the mixtapes he's released the past two years, we're all in for a treat this summer...
#CantWait

Big K.R.I.T. - I Got This Here

|iTunes