#7
Big K.R.I.T. | 4eva Is A Mighty Long Time
Multi Alumni/BMG | Amazon | iTunes
According to Justin Chadwick: “Beyond proving to be one of the most fully realized and masterfully orchestrated double albums hip-hop has ever witnessed, the 22-track 4eva is also unequivocally one of 2017’s finest long players, regardless of genre classifications.
In the wake of his dissolved relationship with Def Jam, K.R.I.T. reclaimed his independence by launching his own Multi Alumni label and releasing a grand, brave manifesto of renewed purpose and self-awareness in the form of 4eva Is A Mighty Long Time. Truly a concept album of two halves that unfurls as a unified, cohesive whole despite featuring multiple producers, the first disc is a hard-hitting, braggadocious expose of K.R.I.T.’s public alter ego, while its noticeably more contemplative and subdued companion second disc finds him reconnecting with his off-stage identity as Justin Scott. And it is precisely this duality, this dichotomy between its creator’s ego and humility that can be heard across the 22-song effort and discerned in the album’s quasi-spiritual artwork, that makes 4eva K.R.I.T.’s watershed moment to date.
On 4eva Is A Mighty Long Time, Big K.R.I.T. mines emotional depths and exorcises personal demons with a lucidity and sincerity seldom heard these days on contemporary hip-hop records. Whether or not this album grants him the mainstream attention that has thus far eluded him throughout his ever-evolving, yet still criminally underappreciated career remains to be seen.
But regardless of how bright the spotlight shines on him in the weeks and months and years to come, it’s reassuring to know that K.R.I.T. is destined to embrace the vicissitudes of his personal and professional life, without compromising the purity and integrity inherent within his distinctive musical vision. K.R.I.T. translates to “King Remembered In Time,” and chances are that this exceptional album will be remembered as one of the year’s finest and arguably its creator’s magnum opus. That is, until he releases his next masterpiece in due time.”
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