Being a hot prospect in rap can be a gift and a curse. Just ask Big K.R.I.T. The Mississippi native, who burst onto the scene in 2010, with his critically acclaimed project, K.R.I.T. Wuz Here, earned early comparisons to southern stalwarts like Scarface and Pimp C, among others. That same year, K.R.I.T. would ink a record deal with Def Jam Records, a signing that would put the MC in the seemingly envious position of being an artist on one of rap's most storied record labels. However, despite proving himself to be one of the genre's most gifted songwriters with additional mixtapes like Return of 4eva and 4eva N A Day, when it was time for his major label debut, Live From the Underground, the returns were marginal at best. This left K.R.I.T. in a state of purgatory while many of his contemporaries flourished.

After going back to the drawing board and unleashing his sophomore album, Cadillactica, which also under-performed commercially, Big K.R.I.T. eventually decided to part ways with Def Jam in 2016, and make the transition to being an independent artist. The move would be one that was championed by the rap community, who felt that the major label system may have been more of a disservice to K.R.I.T. His new move also put the anticipation for his next body of work at an all-time high. More than a year later, Big K.R.I.T. has answered the bell, delivering his third studio album, 4eva Is a Mighty Long Time. The LP finds him basking in artistic comfort and heading back to his roots.

With guest appearances from T.I., Lloyd, UGK, CeeLo Green, Sleepy Brown, Joi, Jill Scott, Keyon Harrold, Bilal, Robert Glasper and others, as well as producers like Mannie Fresh, Organized Noize, Terrace Martin, DJ Khalil and K.R.I.T. himself manning the boards, 4eva Is a Mighty Long Time is an explosive return for the southern rhymer and is sure to get fans reacquainted with the artist they originally fell in love with.

XXL sifts through Big K.R.I.T.'s latest album, 4eva Is a Mighty Long Time, and picks out 20 lyrics that are sure to stick with you and serve as food for the soul.

  • "Big K.R.I.T."

    Big K.R.I.T.

    "Shitting on niggas, my rhyme flow hands/Behind back eyes blind fold/Mind, body, and soul connected to the Most High even when times got low/Uh, look how they hate me, but copy me/Possibly I was the one with components and properties/To be the greatest of all time, but you won geography lottery"

  • "Confetti"

    Big K.R.I.T.

    "We all off in the club like Sincere on Belly/Can't even drink my liquor, money on my celly/Accountant like you got a check, spend it when you ready/I'm giving niggas hell, pray I go to Heaven/Nailing in they coffin, the cost of them being off it/Balling since Iverson crossed you, winner's circle my office"

  • "Ride Wit Me"

    Big K.R.I.T. Featuring UGK

    "I'm down with Lil J til' the muthafuckin' grave/Disrespect, they gon' put your picture on the front page/I'm center stage shining in a foreign you ain't seen yet/Chrome look like water, and my candy paint is lean wet/Don't forget the rims, them muthafuckas a clean set/You can't tell me that this ain't cost ya boy a mean check" - Bun B

  • "Ride Wit Me"

    Big K.R.I.T. Featuring UGK

    "Fade the top, then let it show, how it taste? I got to know/Ice the grill, cold enough to freeze the snow/Bruce Lee, boy, sho' nuff that bumping dragon, I got the glow/Got the cake, smash it in your face, I got more to make/I'm on the chase for a bread truck to put off in my safe/And let it bake, stingy with the flakes, all the crumbs get ate/Off the plate, sop it up with the lobster, shrimp, and steak" - Big K.R.I.T.

  • "Get Up 2 Come Down"

    Big K.R.I.T. Featuring Sleepy Brown and CeeLo Green

    "We back at it one mo' gain'/Cranking my motor, revving my engine/Chilling the AC 'til it's colder than a breeze in Alaska/Sun shine like the winter time just passed us, watching for laws and jackers/Cause this shit here too clean to be taken/I keep it tucked off in my clothes, you never catch me out here bucked naked" - Big K.R.I.T.

  • "Aux Cord"

    Big K.R.I.T.

    "To vacation, across 110th Street was blazing/For the motherless children that related to Mahalia/I know, you tired of that you can't feel it in your heart/Let the music be your secret lover like Atlantic Starr/New Birth, Wildflower was that jamming shit by far/And Eddie Kendricks' voice will have you singing in your car/I know, I know, I know Marvin played at your home/But that's the reason why your parents had to get it on"

  • "Get Away"

    Big K.R.I.T.

    "I put the piece on chain, I did that shit for the haters/Made in the image of greatness, I got that there from my maker/Skipped over the minor leagues and took that shit to the majors/Fuck all that salt they was tossing, sauce got plenty of flavor/I'm on my shine like a chrome grill when the sun out like gold spill/That plate on the time machine that sat on some chrome wheels"

  • "Mixed Messages"

    Big K.R.I.T.

    "I never really liked all the fake shit/But I'm attracted to the fake ass and fake tits/That's why I made a song like original/To remind me of what fake is/I wanna be rich but I'm giving back/I love her like none other but don't get attached/Screamin' peace over beats but I grab a strap/I help you make a meal but I got a cap" =

  • "Mixed Messages"

    Big K.R.I.T.

    "God on my line after all, but I ain't pick up when he called/Matter of fact, I ain't pick up at all, cause my bills paid now/Said my grace now, my light is still on, so why would I pray now?/Home is the best place for me, so why would I stay now?/Sick and tired of being sick and tired, but I never could lay down/I only got a gun to protect myself, the AK make a nigga shakedown/I love social network for music, but the negativity'll make you break down"

  • "Miss Georgia Fornia"

    Big K.R.I.T. Featuring Joi

    "I'm sorry that I left you but I had to/You can be sour all you want but we'll have you/Sweetened on the low, we've been bitter and it shows/Perhaps if the willow stop weeping, it'll grow/But I guess we'll never know/I just keep putting on it, Southern toning/Heard through the grapevine and a couple songs/Some of yo' fam hating on me, I'm never home, I know you lonely" - Big K.R.I.T.

  • "Everlasting"

    Big K.R.I.T.

    "But I ain't like most people/I'ma hit you with that "How you doin'? What you vibing to and can I vibe with you?/And if the world was filled with flowers surrounded by waterfalls/And mountains despite the fact I just mentioned, can I lie with you?"

  • "Higher Calling"

    Big K.R.I.T. Featuring Jill Scott

    "Pick up when I call ya, I was starving for your garden/And I heard that you was thirsty, this is perfect, I got water/We could plant a seed and grow it, won't nobody know it/’Til you showin', overflowin', overdoin', don't console it, hey/This ain't 'bout no bill collectors asking you for time/Sally Mae can't get connected when you on this line" - Big K.R.I.T.

  • "Price of Fame"

    Big K.R.I.T.

    "Paparazzi after my shows asking me questions/God fed up with my soul so ain't no blessings/Happiness can't be bought or sold, I learned my lesson/Now I see what fame will really get you/Bottle by the nightstand, that ease the stress/Dealing with depression, pills on the dresser"

  • "Price of Fame"

    Big K.R.I.T.

    "Lifestyles of the rich and famous/That lifestyle left a lot of rich folk brainless/To the temple, yeah we were broke but that life was simple/Besides, food is food, water is water, air is air, the rest is mental/I did without until I did within/I said on beat what I wrote in pen/I gave my all without giving in/But it's a thin line between heavenly divine and a living a life of sin"

  • "Price of Fame"

    Big K.R.I.T.

    "I'm a man now, I came up to hold my fam' down/Can't tell them about my depression cause most them fans now/Got to protect myself at all times/I know some partners that been sued by their bloodline/Lord forbid I let my blood down/The first time I say no, guess we ain't blood now"

  • "Drinking Sessions"

    Big K.R.I.T. Featuring Keyon Harrold

    "Breaking some bread down, treat it like the Last Supper/Toast to all the time we were po' but still we had one another/Hoppin' in/out of shuttles, I'ma be big momma/I'ma get rich momma, I'm sorry I ain't got a wife or kids momma/But look what I did momma/Got a house that I barely can stay in, a car I barely can drive/I'd be a liar if I said getting money didn't make me feel alive" - Big K.R.I.T.

  • "Drinking Sessions"

    Big K.R.I.T.

    "Shit been fucked up ’cause they don't talk about Christ/Everybody trying to die young but who gon' talk about life?/I pull that card Good Lawd, Confederate flag shit so flawed/They used to fly it like pilots and burn crosses in our yards/I can't get with ya if you with that whistling Dixie want that old time back/But niggas got a hundred rounds and automatics so we ain't having that" - Big K.R.I.T.

  • "The Light"

    Big K.R.I.T. Featuring Robert Glasper, Kenneth Whalum, Burniss Earl Travis II and Bilal

    "When I'm out on the creep/Do whatever to get a meal when you barely can eat/I'm determined to fight the power to further the peace/Mama scared the police might make a point out of me/’Cause it's hard to sleep living life in a daze/When kings wanna be niggas, I hope it's phase
    Queens down to be hoes as long as they paid/Chained to our oppressor, I'm knowing we slaves" - Big K.R.I.T.

  • "The Light"

    Big K.R.I.T. Featuring Robert Glasper, Kenneth Whalum, Burniss Earl Travis II and Bilal

    "In a world full of alt-rights I was left field/Black man born poor, I was black steel/Black man born free, this how blessed feel/Because my dreams are dreams, don't make them less real/Nightmares are still the same thing/I've fallen from grace, wishing I had wings/Like a dunk in the Summer but I ain't had Spring/’Cause all that running from trouble'll give you bad knees" - Big K.R.I.T.

  • "Bury Me in Gold"

    Big K.R.I.T.

    "I got a goal to be golden like King Tut/Often those pictures of that gold/They would flicker, make it hard to call me nigga/’Cause the chains can change they chained us up with/This rope ain't the rope they hanged us up with"

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