It’s been nearly a year since Big K.R.I.T. released the incredibly focused King Remembered In Time mixtape as a gift to his fans, and now, with his sophomore album, Cadillactica, slated for release later this year, K.R.I.T. is giving his fans an entire week of free music

The Week of K.R.I.T., as the rapper and his team are calling it, promises a new, free, and downloadable track from Young Krizzle each day this week. The first W.O.K. offering, “New Agenda,” features labelmate Rick Ross (who just released an album of his own) and was premiered on the official Rolling Stone website, before racking up over 60,000 plays in 24 hours

K.R.I.T. took some time out of his Cadillactica sessions in Atlanta to talk with REVOLT about the song, Week of K.R.I.T., and his upcoming album. Check out our exclusive interview with him below, and to revisit our chat with him about collaborating with the Grammy-winning Gary Clark, Jr., head here

REVOLT: Where did the motivation for the Week of K.R.I.T. come from?

Big K.R.I.T.: A lot of people were asking me when I was gonna drop something new. I've been working hard on my upcoming album Cadillactica, but I wanted to give my supporters something to jam out to right now

Are we hearing songs that didn’t make the cut for Cadillactica, or are these from entirely separate sessions?

These are songs that I just decided to create knowing I was going to give them away for free. These weren't songs that were supposed to be on Cadillactica or had sample clearance problems—none of that—I just wanted to do some songs and give 'em to the people. Thank God I have the kinda team that understands my want to put my music out when I feel a certain way, and that if I just want to have something in my car to ride to, I want everybody else to have something to ride to too

You have some of the most dedicated fans of any artist. It seems like they’ll never abandon you

I appreciate the fact that people support like they do. It’s incredible that I could tour and stay in the studio since April [of 2013] then come back and drop music and see that people haven't forgot [about me], are still eager to hear what I have to say, and are still rooting for me

What kind of mental zone are you in during the Cadillactica recording sessions?

Where I'm at creatively is just about making sure that I show as much growth as I possibly can because I've learned so much from the amount of traveling I've had the opportunity to do, and from working with other producers

Being able to sit back and be content with what I create; not being so stressed or worrying about trying to make a certain type of record, nothing like that. Basically making the kind of music that Cadillactica deserves to have on it; creating the sounds, sonically, that are different from K.R.I.T. Wuz Here, Return of 4eva, 4eva N a Day, Live From the Underground, and King Remembered in Time but still in the pocket of soul, still in the pocket of grit, and all the things that people have come to love from me and my music - it's just more elevated

I'm treating it just like I was in 2009: sleeping in the studio, not going home, listening to an abundance of old school music that inspired me, writing verse after verse to one record just because the first version may not be enough for me. I'm really starting to pay attention to those intricate things
In other words, you’re blasting out of the underground and heading for new heights?

In my mind and heart, I'm forever underground, but I want more people to hear the music. I want people to understand that the older I get, the broader I want my message to be. When it comes to the music, I always just wanted people to hear it. K.R.I.T. Wuz Here was all about, "If this is my last project, let me put all the songs that make me feel a certain kind of way, that reflect Mississippi in a positive light,” let me put that on a project because I want people to hear that. And I'm still the same now, I know I have a message, I have the subject matter and content, and I just want people to hear it. I want to get my music out to the masses

You mentioned that you’re going back and listening to the old school music that inspired your first project. Which artists and albums are you revisiting, specifically?

Right now, I’m always listening to Bobby Womack and Curtis Mayfield. I'm also diving back into lot of jazz like Billy Cobham and Miles Davis' Kind of Blue; things inspired me to think, "What if I throw a vibraphone in here? This beat don't have to stay the same." I could flip a beat up a thousand times if I want to. That's kinda where I was trying to go with "New Agenda"; the way that jazz moves, the way that Blues and soul music moves, is that you can really change [the song] at whatever point you want to. I want my music to flow like that, but to not necessarily be restricted to a sample. I'm really starting to learn more and pay more attention to the music that I do sample and try to go from there. With the music on Cadillactica, you just don't know where I might take a song next!

So what you’re trying to say is "I got this here!"

[Laughs] Yeah you could say that. I'm confident enough now to know, yes, I got this here. My supporters know I'm always gonna be myself, cause it's K.R.I.T. forever, but there's also growth. I'm getting older and finding out that the people that I happen to get to work with are fans of my music and I didn't even know! Being able to put Rick Ross on a record like "New Agenda" is a milestone for me and it's still got that grit, it's that kind of beat that crawls. I'm gon' always do me but I’m always improving