You can take Big K.R.I.T. out of the South, but you can’t take the South out of Big K.R.I.T. “My apologies for not getting up,” K.R.I.T. tells me as I entered the back room of his tour bus. It’s less than 10 minutes since he finished his 45 minute set at the Congress Theater, and K.R.I.T. is understandably a little worn out. The last time K.R.I.T. was in Chicago he was a part of history when Young Jeezy used the Windy City stop of K.R.I.T.’s Return of 4eva tour to officially welcome Freddie Gibbs, who was opening for K.R.I.T., into the CTE family.
While many artists would’ve found it hard to take the stage after such a spectacle, K.R.I.T. was happy for Gibbs, and ready to rock. “I was like, ‘oh this is crazy.’ We weren’t tripping, we were like, ‘oh, this is live!’ These days it is K.R.I.T. who is making history, and collaborating with Hip Hop heavyweights such as T.I. and his influences like 8ball and MJG.
It’s just part of a natural progression for K.R.I.T., who has released two critically acclaimed mixtapes since 2010, and is currently awaiting the 2012 release of his first official LP, Live From The Underground. The album, which was recorded in just 2 months, has been pushed back to clear much needed samples, as well as wait for a guest feature that K.R.I.T. can’t divulge, but promises is definitely worth the wait. I talked to K.R.I.T. about the LP, the meaning of remaining underground, and some advice he’s gotten from Method Man. Read the full interview below.