Some artists experience stardom and mainstream success seemingly overnight, while others have to pay their dues and take the road less traveled. Big K.R.I.T. is one of the latter, having spent the last decade navigating the music industry and enduring its highs and lows. Since departing from Def Jam Records in 2016 after failing to gain traction in the major label system, Big K.R.I.T. has come into his own, evading obscurity and breathing new life into his career.

Putting fans on notice with his first independent album, 4eva Is a Mighty Long Time, the Mississippi native and former XXL freshman built on that momentum in 2018. Releasing a trio of EPs (Thrice X, Double Down, Trifecta), the Multi Alumni CEO closed out last year on a high note. He looks to continue that hot streak with his latest effort, TDT.

Running eight songs in length, TDT is a collection of songs from last year's aforementioned EPs sequenced as a standalone release that captures Big K.R.I.T. at the top of his game. The veteran rapper delivers dense rhyme spills with the fervor of a man possessed. Boasting a production lineup that includes 5ive 9, Charity Work, Danja, DJ Khalil, D'Town Tha Great, Jim Jonsin, Mark Byrd, Rico Love, Supah Mario, Tariq Beats and Big K.R.I.T. himself, TDT is a sonically rich affair that allows K.R.I.T. to play to his strengths while displaying his versatility.

After giving Big K.R.I.T.'s latest project a spin, XXL picks out 20 of the best lyrics from TDT that stand out.

  • "Energy"

    Big K.R.I.T.

    "No slip, black eyes/Big shooter, lit fly/Don't stop, must try/Energy, that's why/I'm doing the most/In the middle of the road or runnin' the globe/I'm fightin' for those to give everything back what they owe/So close, don't fold, live bright, live bold/Kick back, get close, light it up, light it up for yours" —Big K.R.I.T.

  • "Energy"

    Big K.R.I.T.

    "Bossed up, flossed up, fly like a saucer, live in the moment/Get it, get it, own it/Live it, breathe it, zone it/No time to waste/No time to slow down when we out on the chase/Don't be pumping your brakes/When you come over, nothing, you do what it takes" —Big K.R.I.T.

  • "Learned From Texas"

    Big K.R.I.T.

    "Now that I'm pullin' up clean, I doubled the figure like double the cup of the lean/Glasshouse with the gleam, screams like puppets on strings/Yadadamean, 4 p.m. at the Kappa on swangers and adapters watchin' me ball, yeah/Salamander on the slab, two miles per hour, they watchin' me crawl, yeah" —Big K.R.I.T.

  • "Learned From Texas"

    Big K.R.I.T.

    "I-I just wanna pull up (Pull up, pull up)/Like UGK used to double cup the fluid (Po' it up)/DJ Screw, chop suey/Learnin' shit from Texas/Swangin' that bubble eyed Lexus/Neon every exit/Poppin' that trunk so reckless" —Big K.R.I.T.

  • "Learned From Texas"

    Big K.R.I.T.

    "Poppin' up twice, trunk shakin' like a fist full of dice/Wrist game like a cooler of ice/Chandelier-like, who need some light?/UFOs like, who need a ride?/Don 'Ke keep the South on the side/Southside while I'm tippin' on fo's/Suplex when I'm slammin' them doors/Top drop, keep my halo exposed" —Big K.R.I.T.

  • "Pick Yourself Up"

    Big K.R.I.T.

    "Income tax check, you blow that shit/Buy that foreign, they repo that shit/She leave your dick dry, that ain't your bitch/Your partners made it rain, but you ain’t tip/Lame nigga, fame get ya nothin' but cameras and lights/Money on the table, you want friends and likes/Swipe up, wipe down, all the fresh for sale/Ain't no handouts here, nigga you can't tell" —Big K.R.I.T.

  • "Pick Yourself Up"

    Big K.R.I.T.

    "Ride dirty, late night, coulda had that time/Way up high, drop top, you can't have this shine/Aw mane, cold game, if these walls could talk/They'd say, 'Stack that shit, nigga get that vault'/Youngin' say he fucked up, that shit ain't my fault/Nigga pay them dues, nigga pay that cost/Pick yourself up" —Big K.R.I.T.

  • "Pick Yourself Up"

    Big K.R.I.T.

    "'Cause they got that foreign, they buy all they clothes/They don't need no man, but you still that ho/Every man you fuck with tryna sow his oats/Every man you fuck with fuck then catch ghosts/'Cause the cars they drive like a moth to flame/You ain't pimpin' the game, tryna fuck for change/Pick yourself up" —Big K.R.I.T.

  • "Glorious"

    Big K.R.I.T.

    "Yeah, makin' a move or two/Just to look at what these moves'll do/Caddy-corner, corner pocket the bills/Bought a foreign just to go with the grill/Flip a coin just to blow off a mil'/Need a hiking trip to get where I live/Might hop in a Lear, take a flight to the Sip'/Just to check on the family, then back in this bitch" —Big K.R.I.T.

  • "Glorious"

    Big K.R.I.T.

    "Just to mack on a bitch with immaculate tits on the low-low/Bitch, I'm selfish, the foreign ain't four-door/Bitch, I'm selfish, no I don't need no ho/Han Solo on the creep/Keep a Georgia with a peach/Split the middle for the feast/Fold the money, never crease/Keep it poppin' like some grease/Going broke is for the weak" —Big K.R.I.T.

  • "Glorious"

    Big K.R.I.T.

    "Uh, buy what I wanna, life of a loner/Keep a rider like Winona/Sittin' on chrome, ignoring my phone/Like where was they when I was homeless?/Now I got whip appeal, now I got chips to deal/Talkin' million dollar goals on porcelain thrones/With heated floors, ain't shit to live" —Big K.R.I.T.

  • "1 Oh Oh"

    Big K.R.I.T.

    "I gotta be out, you need to breathe now, 'cause/We ain't on the same page, no/Ain't slept together in days, and/The hugs and the kisses turn to waves/The love that we had turn to paint/And you still hold it down 'cause you feel it/100 forever like really though, really" —Big K.R.I.T.

  • "1 Oh Oh"

    Big K.R.I.T.

    "I know what can happen when you break the heart of a woman the moment you capture it/And everything used to be passionate/Now it all feels like a accident/All of the years of imagining/All of the happenings/Maybe we rushing/But I knew I could trust you to keep it 100, 100" —Big K.R.I.T.

  • "Higher (King Pt. 6)"

    Big K.R.I.T.

    "When I'm in a jam, help me understand/If I cry tears, am I less of a man?/My father never did, so his blood pressure/Than mine, I pray he find/To shed tears for me/To accept these gifts from me/The jewels that he did give me/Worth more than diamonds and chains and Rollies" —Big K.R.I.T.

  • "Higher (King Pt. 6)"

    Big K.R.I.T.

    "(Found God) In the bottom of a bottle/In the purpose of my chakras/Maybe the stars is too low, it's much/And I'm too blind to know/(The power) That makes me run from a bag/When you finally get you a bag/That Jeff Bezos wish he could have/The numbers could never form from math" —Big K.R.I.T.

  • "Higher (King Pt. 6)"

    Big K.R.I.T.

    "Might not agree with my waltz/(My God) Can forgive but I don't/(Whoa, God) Gave me wings but I ain't flown/(Much higher) Than the paper planes that I've thrown/(The power) That it takes to move a mountain/(The power) That it takes to keep from drownin'/(The power) To know why all these demons surroundin'/More than any number I've counted/I find God" —Big K.R.I.T.

  • "Look What I Got"

    Big K.R.I.T.

    "Back to the slab/Wrist was hurtin', countin' too much money that I barely could dab/Chemist in the lab, stirrin' the glass/Fuck the Uber app, I call her a cab/Yellow the swag/All the wins I got, I throw in the bag/Dig a hole, buried deep in the ground/Water it once in a while, watch it grow into cash" —Big K.R.I.T.

  • "Look What I Got"

    Big K.R.I.T.

    "Stiff arm the haters, Heisman the pose/Signal my nigga like I need a block/Touchdown, plenty time on the clock/Field goal ho, extra point for the top, good/Flood the diamonds in the wood/Hood, Like the shooting guard for Cavs, splash/Early Tuesday morning, niggas still yawning, only time I deal with trash" —Big K.R.I.T.

  • "4 Tha Three"

    Big K.R.I.T.

    "Just because we flying flossed out/Never been a worker, always bossed out/When you come from the mud, you get it out the mud/Now look at what the mud cost now/Creepin' on A street, College Park/Knockin' these doors down after dark/Searching for a cornbread, collard green/Eating thorough bread, thick from the start" —Big K.R.I.T.

  • "4 Tha Three"

    Big K.R.I.T.

    "What you knew 'bout that grill that chill/That top and bottom, that's invisible set/Even granny had gold for real/Even granny had gold around her neck/Gotta let your light shine/Soon as they start hating at the right time/I went from 300 coming out hard, now I'm worldwide" —Big K.R.I.T.

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