"Some preachers false prophets educated pigeon droppers using our sins to get paid, Slaves - give them freedom but give them dope, take away their leader cause that give them hope, sell them dreams of changing things like they were never kings and queens before, as small as a giant"
KRIT Wuz Here is the signature mixtape from Big KRIT's discography. It has the tracks like "Glass House," and "Country Shit," to let you know he is capable of creating the tracks Def Jam wants, but there's so much more to it. This was the first time KRIT really spoke his mind on tracks. He admitted to simply trying to get a deal before but his heart just wasn't in it anymore. Instead KRIT raps about what he's been rapping about since, being KRIT.
The production from the album is crazy. It takes you from the highs to the lows and back with nothing but the beats. The thing that makes it so special is KRIT produced every aspect on his very own. That's something he takes pride in more than his lyrics. In 2014 on the track "Mt. Olympus," he stated "Yes, I made the beat, yes, I mixed the track, I am far from whack, you a one-trick pony." It's something he's been doing ever since. Rarely do you hear KRIT on a beat he didn't make. I'm not just giving him bonus points for doing it all by himself, it's good, really good. It's also twenty tracks with only 6 features and no interludes or skits. It's wall to wall music with barely a break from KRIT.
The first track I want to look at is "Hometown Hero." The track samples a clip from Friday Night Lights, a movie that followed football player Boobie Miles. Boobie Miles was the best player in his state but he tore his ACL and ended his football career. Since then he's been in and out of jail. The track isn't one about being black, it's about being a rapper. The track opens up with Boobie talking about how he has God given talent, the top of his game. Then KRIT goes on to talk about how nobody appreciated him at all until he started making popular music. Then he got the XXL Freshman cover and people claimed he would never top that and he was the weakest link of the class. That year also featured Kendrick Lamar, YG, Lil B, Mac Miller, Cyhi The Prince and Meek Mill. KRIT feels left out with all these artist going on to become bigger than him. To his credit, that year also featured Yelawolf, Diggy Simmons, Lil Twist and Fred The Godson, who he has exceeded. KRIT feels like since he stopped doing popular songs people have once again written him off, even in his hometown. Similar to how Boobie Miles was written off.
The track "Viktorious," is KRIT reaffirming his commitment to making the music he wants. It opens with the lyrics "They like Krizzle what'chu gonna be if ballin' all they wanna see, the cars, the clothes, the hoes, the, chevy door that fall like angel wings, all of that been done before well I'm a keep it simple, with my voice upon a track up till it come back monumental." He also makes sure to let people know that he's not a clone of David Banner and that he'll keep holding up Mississippi. "Hometown Hero," was things that bother KRIT, but "Viktorious," is everything he will and won't do. Then we take a turn.
"Children of The World," is KRIT's explanation of what it's like growing up black in Mississippi. He dropped out of college because it cost too much money and there aren't any jobs in the black community there. You could always work fast food but you'll still be poor. Everyone receives food stamps or welfare. He tried selling drugs but found out it's not like the rappers say, there's nothing good about it and it eats at your conscience. Meanwhile people are joining gangs, not to commit crimes, but to protect themselves from the police. In the end most people turn to God for help and wonder why God never answers their prayers, but they keep holding on because there's nothing else. The education is sub par and doesn't help you get anywhere. The government is no help because they put people into the situations. Even if they don't have faith, the church is the only place they can turn. Then he looks at how pimping always pays, until STDs start to spread through the community. It paints a picture of hopelessness because no matter how much we try to change the world, we're still just children of the world.
"They Got Us," features KRIT telling three different stories. The first is a man who stopped dealing so when dirty cops tried to rob him there were no drugs. Instead they locked up his cousin so now he's selling drugs to pay bail so the cops don't have his children taken away from him. The mother of the children is probably why he stopped selling drugs because she's addicted to crack now. KRIT then goes to the strip club to relax, only for the stripper to proposition him. She complains that people come to strip clubs and don't tip because of the recession, so she's short on rent money. He's shocked but she tells him that she "don't really like hoin, ain't hard to tell, but when all else fail pussy always sells." These two share the theme of black people being put in bad situations to no fault of their own. The third story doesn't play victim. Sometime, we do fall into traps of our own. It's about a man who cheats and beats his wife only to learn that he got HIV from another woman and he calls to apologize. He's in that situation because of his own actions so it's important that he owns up to them.
"Neva Go Back," provides an interesting perspective on growing up in the black community. He remembers how much fun he used to have with his friends and his family kept him worry free. However, as he started to grow up he noticed things changing. He noticed his family was poor, drugs had started flooding into the neighborhood and it was no longer safe. He also realizes that it's not just his family going through struggles. He notices everyone is going through it, but they try to survive in different ways. Some turned to drugs to forget, some sold drugs to make money, some hoped education would be the way and so on. He finally comes to the realization that he could never go back to the days of being a kid no matter how much he wants to.
"Small As A Giant," talks about what it's like being in the black community. No matter how big our accomplishments are we're treated like abused children. Throughout he uses himself as an example at various points. Lines like "belittled as a peasant but my bloodline is of kings," demonstrate the hypocrisy of the way black people are treated. Constantly there are stereotypes of us portrayed in the media for laughs and nobody questions it or even bats an eye. KRIT also paints how many black people are born already backed into a corner with minimum options. "No car, no house, drug dealing feeling like it might be my only option to get meals, what else could I do, put yourself in my shoes, if you had no whip you'd take some shortcuts too." It also demonstrates the lack of empathy black people receive. Everyone always feels bad for the police officer that shoots an unarmed black person. How is he holding up? Does he need half a million dollars? How is his family? Does he need a vacation? Nobody ever seems to worry about the family of the victim but other black people. In fact it seems like black victims need to find a way to defend themselves from the grave. God forbid they ever stole a piece of candy, because if they did, the media will tell you they deserved it.
Meanwhile people like President Obama are degraded more than any president in history. People talked about impeaching the man before he even took office. We have congressmen like Doug Lamborn calling the President of The United States a tar baby to a soundtrack of country music stars like Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood who are after some kind of record in the ways they can say "He's not my president." Meanwhile Venus and Serena Williams dominated the grand slam scene in tennis for 15 years straight with only two other women winning. Venus retired and started a flourishing business and several charities that landed her a spot on Forbes for most powerful celebrities while Serena continues to be the most dominant person in tennis history. Yet, all we hear about is how they're too hood, dress inappropriate, have horse asses and look like monkeys. No matter how high a black person goes, they'll be looked down on, even if they become giants.
"Small As a Giant," can really sum up the entire mixtape. Black people are get pushed into a hole at birth. We do whatever we can to make it out with the limited choices we're given. Sometimes, we screw up and pull down other black people along the way. The entire time we're climbing people are trying to push us back down, laughing at our pain, while picking off and killing others climbing with us. Then, the moment we finally see light they try to kick us back down or if we get too big for that they ask why we didn't make it as fast as the white crab who has an elevator and a 400 year head start.
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Great review. KRIT is my second favorite rapper behind 50 Cent who is hanging on by a thread to tell the truth.
ReplyDeleteYou might have to just let 50 go. I don't even think he wants to rap anymore. Can I interested you in a slightly used Troy Ave? It's the same thing at this point.
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