It has been a great year for southern rap. With Travis Scott’s “Rodeo” thrusting the genre into the mainstream again, Beat King’s “Houston 3AM” keeping that door open, and Big K.R.I.T.’s “It’s Better This Way” following on the heels of 2014’s banger “Cadillactica,” 2015 has been huge for the south coast. It seems almost by weather pattern or astrological timing that every few years the southern underground hacks open to show America the artistry its growing that is noticeably fresher than T.I. or Lil’ Wayne.
So for this reason, it should be thrust out at the beginning of the article that Big K.R.I.T. not only delivered an excellent performance, but used his touring window as an exhibition of some of the South’s finest.
At 7 p.m., on Tuesday night at The Granada on Massachusetts Street, doors opened to an excited crowd. Inline for the doors were old school revivalists and rap fanatics alike – a majority were solid fans as dedicated as any that one can find. These people gathered in a reasonable number, comfortably setting the stage for a night buzzing with enthusiasm and dedication to sound. It says a lot about the fans of a genre when no less than 60% of the total crowd that night is there before the first of four acts.
At roughly 8 p.m., the Houston native, Delorean, took stage. A gracious and positive performer, this carried over into a clean and precise free style that was incredibly well executed both on the part of the DJ and Delorean himself. His meter set up for an interesting flow with the emphasis generally placed on the end of every sentence. This lyrical jump into action warmed up the audience and commanded attention with so much ease that its hard to see that this is his first tour.
Sometime around 8:30 p.m., came Scotty ATL –an Atlanta, GA based rapper who presented a slightly different style and younger energy, but reverts back to a more traditional method of rhythm. This is around the time when the other 40% of the crowd or so began to filter in and a looser, more fluid energy filled the room. This fit well with Scotty’s meter that would place emphasis on the first and every other third word after that.
BJ the Chicago Kid was an attraction on his own – involved with a different DJ, his set was completely separate from the others that night, but in a unique and sufficient way. Much more melodic and R&B oriented, BJ laid down more complete tracks with an excellent display of talent. He engaged the crowd and was a break from the flurry of lyric, but ultimately kept to a nonabrasive sound. Although calmer, he was true to the more independent Chicago sound and provided a really great dynamic to the show.
Around 10 p.m., Big K.R.I.T. made the entrance. With DJ Dibia$e sitting high behind and flanked by the drummer and bassist, strobes ushered in Big K.R.I.T with a dark blast of sound. The lights then cast upward and hues of pink and blue lit up the stage and crowd.
From the very beginning, Big K.R.I.T. laid into the crowd with track after face-melting track. He would pause between just about every song to call out to the crowd or preview the next song, which provided a great audience relationship and built a strong ethos with the crowd. As he progressed through song after song with a crowd jumping to nearly every song, there was a startling kind of realization that K.R.I.T. was a return to old school production and subject matter – his songs varying from social issues to introspection to party ballads. This is especially so once it’s taken into account that this commentary to banger vibe shift happened so subtly through the track list with songs like “It’s Better this Way” giving into “King of the South.”
Around 10:30 pm the drummer and K.R.I.T. left the stage for a much-needed break while the DJ hammered into this incredible 10-minute solo. K.R.I.T. comes back out after and begins to blow the roof off with each word more choppy and measured. By two tracks into the latter half of the show, the entire crowd was jumping. As the solos came more heavily, it became more apparent how embodying of the southern rap genre K.R.I.T. is. Independence, subject matter, raw defiance, west-coast melody meeting east-coast beat, and a sprinkle of the Chicago chip-on-the-shoulder aura encompass a flow that is analytically executed with speed and endurance. As its relevant to the influence, tones of SUC and Scarface are apparent, as there seems to be a touch of Tech N9ne oral athleticism.
By the time the show wound down, it was stagnated for no less than three minutes before the DJ introduced the encore performance. K.R.I.T. revisited the stage with a final burst of two tracks that sealed the night off. A celebration of the drummer, DJ, and bassist followed and then K.R.I.T. bid everyone a good night by jumping down to the level of the crowd and shaking hands sometime around 11:20 pm or so. The crowd dispersed satisfied and the men of the night could be found here and there throughout the aftermath interacting with the fans.
Though it’s one thing to notice K.R.I.T.’s propensity for showmanship and audience relation, there are subtleties and influences that reveal themselves so strongly when he’s performing that watching him live is a whole other experience. The meaning and emotion behind songs reveal themselves with the stressing of certain syllables in just the right combination. Additionally, the line-up K.R.I.T. brought with him was an attraction on its own, a showcase of artists like Delorean and Scotty ATL that deserve future recognition as well as such formidable artists like BJ the Chicago Kid. Though long and crowded with performance, the show was worth every second.