Live From the Underground (2012) K.R.I.T. may be transitioning from mixtape favorite to major-label player, but his self-produced space-age funk maintains a coat of thick Mississippi mud. He uses his… Big K.R.I.T. Hip-Hop/Rap Def Jam
UNDERGROUND ALBUM The southern hip-hopper maintains his roots through his self-produced album
Image credit: Roger Kisby/Getty Images
UNDERGROUND ALBUM The southern hip-hopper maintains his roots through his self-produced album
EW's GRADE
A-

Details Release Date: Jun 05, 2012; Lead Performance: Big K.R.I.T.; Genre: Hip-Hop/Rap; Production: Def Jam

K.R.I.T. may be transitioning from mixtape favorite to major-label player, but his self-produced space-age funk maintains a coat of thick Mississippi mud. He uses his new clout to invite guests like Melanie Fiona and Ludacris to sip moonshine and spin backwoods tales of soul survival (''If I Fall'') and country debauchery (''What U Mean''). With its feral lyrical hunger and playful production, Live From the Underground is the best distillation of the South since OutKast's rule-rewriting heyday. A-

Best Tracks:
Gospel-kissed Porchlight
Thumping I Got This
Originally posted May 23, 2012 Published in issue #1209-1210 Jun 01, 2012 Order article reprints