Growing up in Meridian, Mississippi, Big K.R.I.T.'s grandmother was his biggest champion, dancing along to his earliest cuts about dreams of a candy-colored Caddy. But K.R.I.T.'s family also feared how fame and its trappings might wear down a “smart country boy” like him. So after signing to Def Jam in 2010, the producer-rapper tried to assuage their fears through his music. K.R.I.T. established himself as a studious Southern hip-hop artist, rapping about the simpler pleasures from back home. “Country Shit,” a song referencing UGK's seminal “Pocket Full of Stones,” featured Bun B on the remix. K.R.I.T.'s 2012 major label debut, _Live from the Underground_, featured hard-hitting 808s and blues legend B.B. King. In 2016, K.R.I.T. parted ways with Def Jam — he then released _4eva Is a Mighty Long Time_, a double album that addresses how his chase for fame led him to alcohol as a coping mechanism. Now that he is an independent artist, K.R.I.T. is growing even more ambitious.
