Big K.R.I.T.

Justin Scott, hailing from Meridian, Mississippi, first encountered music through childhood cello instruction. Financial pressures later steered the aspiring rapper toward self-production, beginning with MTV Music Generator on the Sony PlayStation. Early mixtapes opened with See Me on Top in 2005 and reached a high point in 2010 with K.R.I.T. Wuz Here, the same year Def Jam signed him and placed him on tracks alongside Wiz Khalifa and Curren$y.

XXL named him to its 2011 Freshman Class while Return of 4eva appeared and drew praise from both Rolling Stone and Spin as one of that year’s strongest releases. Additional verses that year surfaced on deep cuts by Freddie Gibbs, Smoke DZA, Ludacris, and Chamillionaire.

The major-label debut Live from the Underground arrived in 2012, entering the Billboard 200 at number five with assistance from 8Ball and MJG, Bun B, Devin the Dude, and Anthony Hamilton. Two years later the more wide-ranging Cadillactica also reached the Top Ten, coinciding with productions for Rick Ross and A$AP Ferg.

After parting ways with Def Jam, K.R.I.T. formed the independent Multi Alumni label, which issued 4eva Is a Mighty Long Time in 2017 and preserved his run of Top Ten albums. The following year yielded the brief releases Thrice X, Double Down, and Trifecta; eight of those tracks were later packaged as the 2019 set TDT. Fourth studio album K.R.I.T. Iz Here followed later in 2019, featuring Lil Wayne and J. Cole.

Guest appearances over the next several years placed him beside Snoop Dogg, Erick Sermon, and B.o.B. He worked alone on the 2021 mixtape A Style Not Quite Free, then delivered fifth studio album Digital Roses Don't Die in February 2022. Its lead single, “Southside of the Moon,” highlighted the project’s exploratory funk through doo-wop backing vocals, smooth drums, and slinky guitar lines.

Earlier, the Meridian native had already built a reputation as both precise yet relaxed rapper and skilled producer within the Southern tradition of UGK, 8Ball and MJG, OutKast, and David Banner. Mixtape work preceded the Def Jam period that generated Live from the Underground and Cadillactica, while later independence through Multi Alumni supported 4eva Is a Mighty Long Time and TDT. Production and featured work continued for Wiz Khalifa, Curren$y, Freddie Gibbs, and Rick Ross, extending into the 2021 mixtape A Style Not Quite Free and 2022’s Digital Roses Don't Die.