Big K.R.I.T. Brings a Family Reunion Vibe to House of Blues

Mississippi rapper Big K.R.I.T. (an acronym that stands for King Remembered in Time) has battled his own demons and wrestles with the duality of being K.R.I.T as well as Justin Scott. The rapper burst onto the national scene in 2010 with his K.R.I.T. Wuz Here mixtape which ended up landing him a deal with Def Jam Records.

His journey in the industry has been well-documented, but he has persevered and earned the respect of his peers and also helped to grow his fan base over the years. His concerts are notoriously known to be full of energy and theatrics, and the From the South With Love tour was poised to be no different as the show rolled into the House of Blues.

You can see a slideshow of photos from the concert here.

As the house lights came back on after the opening acts, life-sized crowns with a turquoise glow adorned each side of the stage along with a video screen in the center. A short intro video set the scene — K.R.I.T. is coming. Suddenly, he darted out from stage left to the sound of "K.R.I.T. Here," much to the audience's chagrin, and the show was ready to begin. "I Been Waiting" followed, with the enthusiastic crowd still rhyming in tow with the Mississippi-born emcee. As K.R.I.T. took a moment to catch his breath, he likened the concert to more of a family reunion before performing two more songs from his latest album in "I Made It" and "Learned From Texas."

The last time Big K.R.I.T. was in Cleveland, he only performed songs from his most recent album at the time, opting to have his DJ play a medley of some of his past hits during an intermission that also served as a wardrobe change. This time around, with the family reunion still going on, K.R.I.T. revisited a handful of those tunes including "Return of 4eva," "4evaNaDay," "Sookie Now," "Talkin' Bout Nothin'" and "1999."

K.R.I.T. steered the show back towards new material with the Saweetie and Lil Wayne-featuring "Addiction" and "Blue Flame Lounge," the latter of the two was inspired by the exotic strip club in Atlanta which K.R.I.T. called "a magical place." The performance featured a hue of blue lights along with a pole dancer to make the mood complete.

Throughout his career, Big K.R.I.T. has released a series of "My Sub" songs, with the most recent being "Subenstein (My Sub IV)." During an intermission, DJ Dibiase addressed the audience and asked if they wanted to hear the unreleased "Ballad of the Bass (My Sub V)," which he then played.

As K.R.I.T. returned to the stage, the show continued with "Believe," "Finer Things" and "Make It Easy." The Jill Scott-sampling "Energy" proved to be a fan favorite and as he performed it, K.R.I.T. made his way out into the audience to be with the people who had been vibing with him all night long. The show began to round third and head for home with "Pick Yourself Up" along with "Rotation" and one of K.R.I.T.'s time tested classic tunes in "Country Shit." After exiting the stage, he came back out and took photos with fans.

Many artists have a tendency to either become complacent or jaded by the industry. Big K.R.I.T. refuses to do either one, opting to keep things fresh. He's become increasingly vulnerable over the past few years, and it has helped him strengthen the connection with those who support him.

The show also featured performances by rising star Rapsody, who has a burgeoning fanbase of her own as well and recently released her third album, Eve, this past summer, and Domani Harris.

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