Mixtape Review | Big K.R.I.T. – It’s Better This Way

This tape came out on October 14th this year. Big K.R.I.T. is one of my favorite rappers, so I’m tryin’ to squeeze this review in before the end of the year. I really missed out on a lot of mixtapes in 2015. I mainly focused on albums & EPs. I’ll hopefully be doing more mixtapes next year tho. Anyway, I’m not really sure why I didn’t review this when it first dropped. I guess I was probably busy reviewing other albums. For some reason I assumed that this thing was over 20 tracks. Maybe I got it mixed up with a different mixtape… It’s hosted by DJ Drama which is pretty annoying, but hopefully he won’t be too obnoxious on this project.

Track 1: Intro

Okay, I’m not exactly sure where K.R.I.T.’s supposed to be in this skit, but his Chevy isn’t workin’, so he’s gonna try to get wherever he’s goin’ on foot. Basically he’s just like, “Ima do something different.” That’s pretty much all you need to know about this skit.

Track 2: King, Pt. 4 (Prod. Kenneth Whalum)

I’ve never heard any of the other “King” songs, but with a title like that this should be dope. Okay DJ Drama is talkin’ about “be the leaders” or some bullshit like that. Why is he here? I mean, I don’t mind him as much as some other DJs, but what is the point? What purpose does he serve on this shit? Who actually likes it when DJ Drama yells over songs like this? I don’t really dislike it that much, but I’d still prefer a No DJ version. Is there a No DJ version? Ah fuck it. It doesn’t matter. This beat from Kenneth Whalum is pretty dope. Never heard of him, but he did a good job here. Damn.K.R.I.T.’s goin’ the fuck in right now. Goddamn. This is so dope. He’s really goin’ in. You know what this reminds me of? That series that Kendrick has called The Heart. He just sounds super hungry and determined to be the “king.” It’s just bars over a dope beat. No hook. This is great. I definitely fuck with this shit. He tore that beat to shreds. That skit at the end with the old ass motherfucker that was on 4Eva N A Day was pretty entertaining too. I actually care about these skits for some reason. Maybe it’s because I really like Big K.R.I.T. more than a lot of other MCs. Or maybe these are actually good skits. I don’t know. All I know is that the beat was hard, and he demolished it. Dope af. 5/5

Track 3: 86 (Prod. Big K.R.I.T.)

Okay, this song is about cars. Not about Cadillacs surprisingly. It’s actually about Monte Carlos. I don’t really give a shit about cars to be honest. I did when I was littler, but these days I don’t really care at all. In fact, I care so little that I don’t even have my license yet, and I’m 17. I’ve got a permit and I’ve only driven like 7 times because I just don’t give a motherfuck. Sorry. I don’t know why I said all that. Anyway, this beat is dope. The hook is cool. This is a pretty light hearted song. He’s not really sayin’ anything too serious or deep. It’s a fun track tho. His flow is dope af. I don’t know if it’s always been like this and I just didn’t notice it or something, but K.R.I.T.’s flow has been really dope lately. This song is dope. The flow, delivery, and beat were all pretty good. The topic isn’t super interesting to me, but it’s still a fun, entertaining track. I fuck with this. This is dope. 4/5

Track 4: No Static Feat. Warren G (Prod. Big K.R.I.T.)

Wow. I wasn’t expecting this collaboration. I don’t really know shit about Warren G. I’m gonna have to review his albums some time. Maybe next year. Warren G’s just on the hook. It isn’t bad, but it’s really nothing special. This beat is dope af. The hook actually sounds pretty good when the beat drops. K.R.I.T. did his thing on the first verse. I guess he’s kinda flexing, but he doesn’t come off as an asshole whenever he’s bragging. He still seems like a cool guy to hang out with instead of just being a rich douchebag. The shit he’s sayin’ isn’t that deep. He’s not really doin’ that much different from a lot of other MCs. It’s just a good ass song. I fuck with this. This is dope. 4/5

Track 5: Piece On Chain (Prod. Big K.R.I.T.)

This hook is alright. It’s not bad, but it doesn’t really stand out much. The beat’s cool. K.R.I.T.’s flow is dope. He’s pretty much just rappin’ about his chain and also the chicks that he’s fuckin’. He does a pretty good job. I don’t know whether or not this beat is dope or dope af. I’ll play this one safe and call it dope. Nothing really stands out that much aside from the Bill Withers sample. It’s a dope track, but I’m not amazed. If I was trying to prove to somebody that K.R.I.T. is one of the greatest, I wouldn’t show him this track. It’s not bad tho. I fuck with it. It’s dope. 4/5

Track 6: Shakem’ Off Feat. Ludacris & K. Camp (Prod. Wolfe De MCHLS)

This should be interesting. Ludacris can spit, but I’m a little nervous about this K. Camp feature. I don’t think he’s a terrible rapper, but he’s definitely not a good MC. Hopefully he’s just on the hook or something. I don’t know who this Wolfe De MCHLS guy is, but the beat he made is honestly nothing special. It’s not really bad. I think mediocre is the best word to describe it. I don’t know why, but I kinda like this hook. It sounds ignorant as fuck, but I like it. K. Camp is nowhere to be found tho. That means he has a verse. He better not fuck this shit up. Alright, K.R.I.T.’s goin’ in now. His verse wasn’t bad. This is definitely the most ignorant song on the tape so far. It’s entertaining tho. K.R.I.T. did his thing. Alright, K. Camp’s goin’ in now. I actually kinda liked his verse. His voice provides a nice contrast from K.R.I.T.’s. He wasn’t really saying anything that impressive, but it was cool. Alright, this hook gets kind of annoying after a while. Luda’s goin’ in now. He easily had the best verse. “We’re not fucking same bitches, not slapping the same asses / Eating the same foods or paying the same taxes / Driving the same cars or shop at the same places / When you bend yo’ girl over she don’t make the same faces.” His flow was dope. This song isn’t amazing or anything, but it’s entertaining. That Ludacris verse really increased my enjoyment of the song. K.R.I.T. & K. Camp weren’t bad, but the shit they were saying just wasn’t that interesting. Ludacris’ verse was gangsta as fuck tho. That shit was dope. I fuck with this shit. 4/5

Track 7: How ‘Bout That Money Feat. Young Dolph (Prod. Big K.R.I.T.)

Young Dolph is one of my favorite Trap rappers, so this should be dope. This is probably gonna be the most ignorant song on the tape. This beat is pretty dope. The hook’s cool. Not really anything special. K.R.I.T.’s verse was cool. Hahahaha. Young Dolph’s about to go in. Fuckin’ love this guy. Lmao. “Aaaaaaaaayyyyyyyy.” The way he raps is so funny to me. The way he emphasizes random words is so dope. “Live by the gun, DIE BY THE GUN!” His verse was great. The shit he says is stupid as fuck (“Fell in love with your bitch ’cause her head was ironic”), but the way he says it makes it so fun to listen to. “It’s Dolph. It’s DOLPH!” This shit is dope. The beat’s cold, and both rappers did they thing. I fuck with this. 4/5

Track 8: In The Darkness Feat. Wolfe De MCHLS (Prod. Wolfe De MCHLS)

It’s clear from the skit at the end of the previous track that this song is gonna be about pussy. This beat sounds pretty good so far. Oh God. Wolfe De MCHLS is singin’ the hook with autotune. It doesn’t sound bad sonically, but I can’t understand a fucking word he’s saying. He’s mumbling like Future. What the fuck is that about? Is it really that hard to get your fucking words out? Just open your fucking mouth. Damn. I like it tho. Haha. I know I kinda just shitted all over it, but it really isn’t bad honestly. That mumbling shit is just kind of a pet peeve. I hate that term. Pet peeve. Where did that term come from? K.R.I.T. opens up the first verse with a pretty fucked up line. “A puppet on some strings, she had me gone, ’cause even if I was married with kids, no goin’ home.” Wow. This is really fucking dope so far. He’s rapping with the mindset of a cheating man. I’ve never heard anyone make cheating seem so poetic. Oh no… What the fuck… It was going so well, but this Wolfe guy ruined it. K.R.I.T. only has one verse, and after that all you hear is this weird moaning from Wolfe De MCHLS. It sounds like he’s on life support and he’s 5 seconds away from dying, but he’s trying really fuckin’ hard to yell at some one. It’s not working at all. I liked K.R.I.T.’s parts, but Wolfe De MCHLS ruined it for me. I’m not a fan of this guy. This song is wack to me. 2/5

Track 9: Vanilla Sky (Prod. Big K.R.I.T.)

This hook is alright. I can’t decide whether or not I like it. K.R.I.T.’s singin’ it, and it sounds like there are a few female background singer’s helping him out. I think it definitely would’ve sounded a lot better without the background singers, but that’s just me. This beat is smooth as fuck. I’m glad that he took a more introspective turn on the second half of this project so far. I was starting to get sick of all the ignorant party shit. This hook actually sounds pretty good. It just took some getting used to for me. Not sure why… It’s not like it’s really unorthodox and experimental or anything. This song is dope af. Especially that second verse. On this song he comes off as one of them cool ass guys that’s really young and always high, but still really wise for some reason. I definitely fuck with this shit. This is dope af. 5/5

Track 10: Got Me Thru Feat. DeLorean, Big Sant & Scar (Prod. Big K.R.I.T.)

This should be dope. I don’t know who Scar or DeLorean are, but Big Sant always kills his features on K.R.I.T.’s songs. Goddamn. This fucking beat is incredible. K.R.I.T. incorporated a fucking harp in this beat and it sounds fuckin’ great. DeLorean’s on the first verse. Damn. His verse was actually pretty dope. Random features that I’ve never heard of usually don’t really say much, but he went in. The hook is nothing special. It’s just there. K.R.I.T. killed it. Sant’s up next. I love this guy. He went in. All three MCs had dope verses, but… Who the fuck is Scar and where was he? Seriously, what did he do on this track? Was that him singin’ on the outro? That was it? If that was him, then he only said like 5 words. He barely did anything. I don’t even know if that was actually him, but whoever that was on the outro actually sounded pretty good. It was just not really much of an outro. It was all muffled and it only lasted like 8 seconds. It was cool tho. I fuck with this song. The beat is dope af and all three MCs went in. This is dope af. 5/5

Track 11: Can’t Be Still Feat. BJ The Chicago Kid (Prod. Big K.R.I.T.)

Goddamn, this fuckin’ hook is so smooth. Big K.R.I.T. is singin’ it, and BJ is backin’ him up. It sounds real good. The first verse was dope. He’s rapping about gettin’ money, but not in an ignorant or braggadocios way. He’s just rapping about how he doesn’t wanna be poor again. This song is dope. It’s just a good ass song. Not much else to say about it. The beat’s dope, the hook is dope, the verses are dope. It’s a dope song. 4/5

Track 12: Keep It Boomin’ (Prod. Big K.R.I.T.)

This hook is nothing special. I’m not really feelin’ his flow on the hook, but it’s not bad. The beat is dope. The first verse was cool. The second verse was dope too. This is cool, but as a song it just isn’t doin’ that much for me. It’s not bad tho. The beat is dope, and so are the verses. The hook just wasn’t that good, and his delivery was kinda… Not bad, but it got old pretty quickly. This is alright. 3/5

Track 13: Party Tonight (Prod. Big K.R.I.T.)

This beat is dope. It sounds like it uses the same sample as The Midnight Marauder by Logic. The hook is cool. The first verse was really dope. The second verse was even better. It just ended. I don’t really have much to say about this one. It’s not a party song like the title might lead you to believe. It’s kinda like that saying that was around during the plague. What was it? I can’t remember. Basically it was like this: “We should have a lot of sex and do a lot of drugs and drink a lot because we’re probably gonna die tomorrow.” That’s not a direct quote, but that’s basically what it meant. That’s pretty much what this song is lyrically, except it sounds a lot less ignorant. He talks more about the fact that life isn’t great rather than focusing on the actual party. It’s a dope song. I fuck with it. 4/5

Track 14: It’s Better This Way (Prod. Big K.R.I.T.)

This beat is dope af. The hook is cool. K.R.I.T.’s singin’ and it actually sounds pretty good. The first verse was dope af, but he snapped on that second verse.  He’s basically talkin’ about how he doesn’t get radio play because he’s real instead of bein’ fake and doin’ random shit just to get people talkin’. He went in. I definitely fuck with this shit. This song is dope af. 5/5

Track +: Guillotine Flow Feat. Rapsody (Prod. 9th Wonder)

Guillotine Flow.png

This song isn’t on the mixtape, but it was released as a loose track a few days after this tape dropped, and I needed an excuse to talk about it, so there ya go. I was real excited when I saw that K.R.I.T. & Rapsody made a song together because I really like both of them. K.R.I.T. is one of my favorite MCs and Rapsody had one of the best features of the year on Kendrick’s latest project, so I knew this shit was finna be hot. Also, 9th Wonder is a dope producer. Not to mention the title of the song. I was a little disappointed when I actually heard the song, but it’s still dope. The hook is nothing special, and his flow isn’t as crazy as the title would make you think, but it’s still good. 9th Wonder’s beat was cool. Nothing special tho. K.R.I.T. killed both of his verses, but Rapsody stole the show for me. “I’m the black storm trooper all the white folks mad at.” I love that line. “Hotline bling and ain’t nobody answering your calls / How meek of you niggas not to answer me at all.” She went off on this track. I fuck with it. The hook, and flow, and beat aren’t anything special, but both MCs went in. It’s dope. 4/5

Final Thoughts:

That shit was dope. It’s definitely not my favorite K.R.I.T. project, but it’s definitely worth listening to if you’re a fan. I don’t think this is the best starting place for new listeners, but it’s still good. It’s just a collection of good songs. I just feel like there are few great songs on here. It’s good tho. The production is pretty good. The hooks are average. The features are good. The actual bars are easily the best part of the tape. DJ Drama was unnecessary, but he wasn’t too obnoxious. I forgot he was even hosting this tape for a minute. It’s a good ass project from a great MC. I fuck with this tape. This shit is dope.

Favorite Song: King, Pt. 4

Least Favorite Song: In The Darkness

Verdict:

81%

HOTTTTT

Tell me if I’m trippin’ in the comments below

If you enjoyed this article, share it on Twitter & Facebook
Watch the videos below for more thoughts on this mixtape

Follow me on Twitter: @OGNickMarsh

Advertisement

Tell me if I'm trippin'

Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in:

WordPress.com Logo

You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. Log Out /  Change )

Twitter picture

You are commenting using your Twitter account. Log Out /  Change )

Facebook photo

You are commenting using your Facebook account. Log Out /  Change )

Connecting to %s