Good*Fella Media recently caught up with rapper/producer Big K.R.I.T. to discuss his most recent mixtape Return of 4Eva. During the interview, K.R.I.T. discussed his headlining a tour Coporate Thugz Entertainment signee Freddie Gibbs. He said that touring as a main act has really helped him to narrow down the fan base he’s looking to attract.
“I get to see my core fan base, like the people that really know the music, that went and heard K.R.I.T. Wuz Here and that got Return of 4Eva, and that’s kind of how you can judge what market you need to go about as far as pushing…hard copies [of music] and paying attention to radio [markets] and promotion,” he explained. “It’s still a dope experience to be able to go there and have the banners up and people [following me] from the beginning…jamming to it. It’s crazy.”
K.R.I.T. also discussed his relationship with fellow Mississippi rapper David Banner, who he collaborated on the song “Sookie Now” off Return of 4Eva. He said that not only is Banner his personal mentor, but that he was blessed to work with him in the studio.
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“At the end of the day, [David] Banner’s definitely a mentor to me,” he explained. “He definitely gives me a lot of knowledge about the game and just uplifting and encouraging things as far as just how music [goes]. It was only right that I just reached out to him for that kind of record because it has that kind of…extra country [feel], and then, at the same time, it was about doing a record when we felt ready to do a song, not when everybody expected us to [do a song together]. A lot of people didn’t expect that, so it just made it even doper.”
K.R.I.T. also talked about his sample-heavy production style and how moving to a major label may affect it. He said that while he’s willing to pay the costs for clearing samples, he knows there are modern soul and R&B groups like Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings whose sound mimics the very samples he uses.
“You’d be surprised…[I could create the same sound of samples] by being able to work with talented…bands like [Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings],” he explained. “Sharon Jones is an album that I picked up, and if you listened to it, you’d think it was made back in the ’60s or ’70s and just really kind of creating that same soulfulness but being more modul[ar]. Or just being down to just pay [for sample clearances], ‘cus if it’s jamming it’s jamming and I don’t want to take away from the soulfulness of it.”
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The full interview can be seen below.
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