CADILLACTICA (EXP)

Recording information: Blakeslee Recording, North Hollywood, CA; Multi Alumni Studios, Atlanta, GA; Parhelion Recording, Atlanta, GA; Parkland Playhouse, Parkland, FL; Taylor Gang Studios, Pittsburgh, PA; Westlake studios; Windmark Studios, Santa Monica, CA. Illustrator: Eric Bailey. Like David Banner before him, Meridian, Mississippi rapper Big K.R.I.T. was baptized in deep Southern slop and then cut through the competition with a bit of an indie spin, but Cadillactica is on another level, and if the album cover makes it looks like one of Kid Cudi's space jams, there's good reason. This sprawling, ambitious effort is the promise of Cudi's early soul-searching fulfilled, beginning with two interesting intros, best of the pair being "Life" where K.R.I.T. testifies "I found life on this planet/Dammit, I've been damaged/But I won't take this for granted" and then proceeds to shove and prove as if this were his debut. Check the frantic, techno-Outkast title track for unique and new proof, while "Soul Food," featuring Raphael Saadiq, does just what it does on the tin, reminiscing about tradition in a mournful, "you don't know what you got till it's gone" style. "Do You Love Me" carries the same weight when it comes to young love, and when it comes to church and prayer, "Saturdays = Celebration" offers that there are no saints without sinners, and does so with the stately production of Alex da Kid, who sounds primed to take on the heaviness of Kanye's Yeezus. All of these grand moves are anchored by the K.R.I.T. sound the streets already love, including the low-riding "Mo Better Cool" with Wiz Khalifa and Bun B, plus the anthemic "King of the South," which spills out the speakers with slurred samples and banging Jeep beats. Cap it off with Lupe Fiasco and the poignant "Lost Generation" and Cadillactica is an album where an artist launches a superior second act while losing none of the essential elements that made the first so powerful. ~ David Jeffries