Big K.R.I.T.: The Ebro Interview

The inspiration for Mississippi rapper Big K.R.I.T.’s latest album Digital Roses Don’t Die was a photograph of his grandparents given to him by his father. “In my mind, I’m thinking, I can’t imagine what they was thinking about, like life and what happens next kind of vibe,” he told Apple Music’s Ebro Darden. Moved by the concept of a family heirloom that changes meaning over time, the rapper, whose real name is Justin Scott, approached this project like an artifact that would be passed down from generation to generation. “I was trying to create an album based off the life I saw my grandparents have, based off the love I’ve experienced in my life, and what that feels like musically,” he said. The album, which is 17 tracks of R&B-crooning infatuation, isn’t loaded with guests like some of the MC’s prior work. “It’s literally [about] a relationship, and nobody can feature in your life, so that’s why there’s no features,” he said. “The only two vocalists are this amazing female singer named Rolynné, who does a lot of the back-and-forth with me, and then I got a homie doing the talk box on ‘Show U Right.’ But other than that, it’s all me, whether it’s a f*****g bad note or not.” The project also doesn’t have a single sample, which is practically unheard of in today’s hip-hop landscape. Scott said he was interested in making something that future musicians would want to riff off of. “When are we going to start making the music that people want to sample instead of [continuing] to go back to the ’90s, ’80s, ’70s, and ’60s?” he said. “So I’m like, I’m good. Let me create something.”