"MT. Olympus"- Big K.R.I.T.

A "diss" is how Consequence of Sound describes Big K.R.I.T.'s "MT. Olympus". They're not alone in the description either. A cursory glance at "MT. Olympus" mentions on Twitter reveals plenty of people who've had the wool pulled over their eyes. Somehow because K.R.I.T. calls the famed "Control" beat a beat that "an ugly b**** that everybody done f***ed raw," everyone assumes he's going for Kendrick Lamar's head. The hip-hop community is lousy with this mentality. A mere mention of another rapper, that isn't 100% glowing, will be seen as an insult by those listening. People become subliminal attack experts and are able to make proverbial mountains out of molehills.

There's nothing "subliminal" about K.R.I.T.'s booming new self-produced effort. Over near-Gothic incantations and echoing piano, Krizzle immediately establishes who he's at odds with. The battle lines aren't draw between K.R.I.T. and other rappers, but K.R.I.T. and an indecisive audience. One moment they want something real, the next they're clamoring for "radio." Hearing the Meridian, MS-native tell it in the chorus, you can hear the frustration in his voice. Not simply because he snarls "f*** them n*****," but because it sounds like it’s done through clinched teeth. 

The same crowd is incredulous that K.R.I.T. could've "made the beat" and "mixed the track." Any direction he heads in is the wrong way. Even if he ascends to Rap-God status, he won't be put in the same pantheon as rappers from the East-Coast and West-Coast. "You tellin' me I can be King of Hip-Hop, and they wouldn't give it to Andre 3000?" he demands as the heavy drum hits back out entirely. A kingdom's hard to claim, especially when no one's willing to recognize your sovereignty.





Cadillactica is out some time this fall through Def Jam.

What's New(s)?

Interpol plan new tour/album

Interpol has been making a bit of a comeback of late. The NYC three-piece announced a slew of tour dates on their website, including choice dates at the Governor's Ball Music Festival and All Tomorrow's Parties Iceland. Along with those festival dates, frontman (and occasional rapper) Paul Banks, guitarist Dan Kessler, and drummer Sam Fogarino will be top-billed on NME's Awards Tour which spans eight dates across the U.K. in March.

While the band tours the U.K., they'll be wrapping up their as-of-yet unnamed fifth LP. Recording for the follow-up to 2010's self-titled release concluded in December, so plans for a 2014 release seem incredibly high considering the flurry of tour activity. That said, there haven't been any tracklists shared so things are still incredibly tentative. While you wait for the effort to materialize, help yourself to "Barricade" from Interpol's self-titled album.

Tour Dates:
3/18 Glasgow, Scotland- Glasgow O2 Academy
3/19 Leeds, England- Leeds O2 Academy
3/20 Manchester, England- Manchester Academy
3/22 Liverpool, England- Liverpool O2 Academy
3/23 Nottingham, England- Nottingham Rock City
3/25 Birmingham, England- Birmingham O2 Academy
3/26 Bristol, England- Bristol O2 Academy
3/27 London, England- London O2 Academy Brixton
6/6 New York, NY- The Governors Ball Music Festival
6/20 Scheessel, German- Hurricane Festival
6/20 Neuhausen, Germany- Southside Festival
7/10 Lisbon, Portugal- Optimus Alive
7/12 Keflavík, Iceland- All Tomorrow's Parties Iceland

Big K.R.I.T. remixes Gary Clark Jr.

 

Considering Mississippi-native Big K.R.I.T.'s predilection for blending hip-hop, blues, soul, and it seems all-too-appropriate he'd be linking up with blues-revivalist Gary Clark Jr. The Texas bluesman is currently prepping a "remixtape" of his well-received 2012 debut LP Blak and Blu, and the K.R.I.T. remix of the title-track is our first sampling. K.R.I.T. leisurely travels down the motivational lane for the number. Krizzle offers up pearls of wisdom like "I know what you're going through, no need to be shy about it, ain't none of us brand new, don't let the world brand you," atop a steady knocking beat. Clark dials down on the traditional bluesy hollering for a soulful croon, giving the whole affair a weightless feeling. 

No official date has been announced for Blak and the Blu: The Mixtape, but Spin is reporting Erykah Badu, Talib Kweli, and Bilal will be guesting on the tape. You can hear the title-track here, and view a clip for the monstrous "Numb" below.

Check back in tomorrow for more of the newest in new(s) and follow @AllFreshSounds on Twitter for updates throughout the day.

4 Eva

Mississippi-rapper Big K.R.I.T. has announced his latest mixtape 4Eva & A Day will be released February 20th. K.R.I.T.'s 2011 mixtape Return of 4Eva was one of the strongest mixtapes of the year and the underground-rapper is promising to "take it back to a lot more lyrical content." With the first single, "I Got This" dropping on February 1, we'll get to see what sort of lyrical dishes K.R.I.T. is cooking up. Given his track-record so far, I have no worries that K.R.I.T. will deliver the goods on this tape while we wait for his LP Live from the Underground to drop in June.

"Dreamin"- Return of 4Eva

Track Attack- "Make My" ft. Big K.R.I.T. & Dice Raw

 Redford Stephens, the protagonist of undun.

The concept-album is the latest offering from the Roots.

"I did it all for the money, Lord" raps guest Big K.R.I.T. on "Make My," a somber song on what might be one of the most sullen rap albums in history. With their latest offering, undun, The Roots have dropped another gem, a concept-album about the travails and travels of stick-up kid Redford Stephens. "Make My" cuts to the core of Redford's struggle to survive.

With an electronic ripple and lilting keyboard, Mississippi-native Big K.R.I.T. enters the scene capturing this mentality masterfully in his verse, spotlighting the problems that come with more money. "Well in the world of night terrors it's hard to dream, they hollerin' cash rules everything, just call it cream. Cause when it rises to the top you get the finer things." Here K.R.I.T. gracefully lifts from the immortal "C.R.E.A.M" by the Wu-Tang Clan. In this song, cream is no longer a blessing, but a curse and K.R.I.T. would just as soon "give it all for peace of mind."  K.R.I.T. pinpoints a situation far too many find themselves in, where "everything that wasn't for me I had to chase." Time and time again on this record, Redford goes after what "'isn't for him," because he wants a better life than the one that he's got. As we see from the paranoia demonstrated in K.R.I.T.'s verse though, this isn't such a good thing.

"Sleep" ft. Aaron Livingston undun

The first official song off of undun.

This track sees Redford reflecting on the end of his troubled life

Lead MC Black Thought continues the paranoia of Redford in the second verse, showing us how little this all amounts to. "Tryin' to control the fits of panic, unwritten and unraveled, it's the dead man's pedantic." Despite all of Redford's struggling to make it, he'll soon be forgotten when he fades away, becoming another statistic. To escape this sorry state Redford contemplates suicide, pondering about what to put on that "blank canvas." In the final line, Black Thought through Redford relates back to us, "if there's a heaven I can't find a stairway." No matter what he does, Redford is trapped and has little control over what happens in this world or the next, with suicide standing as the only way he can get a grip on life.

 "Make My" ft. Big K.R.I.T. & Dice Raw (shortened track)

This is all very glum material from the Roots, but it's not without purpose. Far too many people in cities throughout this country and the world see this situation play out every day. Arguably no other hip-hop album has payed this much attention to that plight this year than undun. In Redford's world (The real world,) right and wrong aren't absolutes, but opinions, walking hand-in-hand with one another.

"Make My" ft. Big K.R.I.T. & Dice Raw (full track)

Now Wait a Minute

As a programming note, "Track Attack" is going to be a day late and a dollar short this week. While you wait for the new installment, enjoy this still great rap cut from earlier in the year, courtesy of Big K.R.I.T. The song is in my opinion one of the best rap tracks of the year and is a phenomenal showcase of the Mississippi star's wealth of talent behind the boards and on the mic.

"Dreamin"- Return of 4Eva

"Hold It Now"

The video for T.I.'s insanely-catchy cut "I'm Flexin" is out now. The video is a typical southern-rap display with plenty of shots of T.I. and featured underground rapper Big K.R.I.T. riding around Atlanta. As of now, T.I. hasn't announced anything concrete about future albums, so in the meantime just do a little "flexin" of your own.

"I'm Flexin" ft. Big K.R.I.T.

The Roots- "Make My"

"Make My"- undun

Up above, is the first official video from The Roots' new album undun, which is slated to drop December 6. "Make My" is the first single to be released off the album, and the entire track features underground-rap star Big K.R.I.T. The black and white affair from above runs less than half the length of the actual song, but is compelling none the less; giving us a violent and emotional shootout.
 

For the next three weeks, the group has promised to released a new video every Tuesday at 12:06 pm (most likely Eastern-Time) to promote the album.

Gangsta Gibbs

 Gary, Indiana rapper Freddie Gibbs.

 Gibbs new mixtape is out now.

Courtesy of Smoking Section:

Gary, Indiana gangsta-rapper Freddie Gibbs' new mixtape Cold Day in Hell is now available. Gibbs has long been promising the tape and now we have another dose of his rapid-fire Midwest-style. The tape features CTE labelmate Young Jeezy, as well as Three 6 Mafia mastermind Juicy J, and Philadelphia rap-stalwart Freeway with production by Big K.R.I.T. and DJ Burn One, amongst others. No word yet on when Gibbs' debut LP Baby-Faced Killa will drop. While waiting on the download, enjoy this cut from the tape.

"Let 'Em Burn"- Cold Day in Hell

 

The King is Back

T.I. the self-proclaimed "king of rap."

T.I. has been on a tear since being released from prison in August.

Another week has gone by, and we have yet another offering from T.I. The newest track to be released from the Southern-rapper is "Hear Ye, Hear Ye," and features Pharrell, curiously referred to as Sk8brd. The cut continues the recent hot-streak T.I. has been on since being released from prison, which has seen a song with Young Jeezy and a remix of "N****s in Paris" by Jay-Z & Kanye West. T.I. has also released a song with fellow Southern-rapper BIG K.R.I.T. entitled "I'm Flexin." According to Rolling Stone, these tracks may be for an upcoming release, which could be entitled Kill The King. Until more details from "The King" come forward, feel free to blast these great songs as much as possible.

"I'm Flexin" ft. Big K.R.I.T.