True Music In Hip Hop: Big Krit Talks “Cadillactica” 1st Week Numbers + J. Cole Releasing His Album With No Promo

Big K.R.I.T.’s latest album Cadillactica opened with over 43,000 units sold in its first week and debuted in the Top 5 on the Billboard 200 album chart. The Mississippi rapper/producer spoke with DJ Smallz about the sales numbers for his sophomore studio LP. K.R.I.T. touched on how his previous LP Live from the Underground received a bigger promotional push than Cadillactica, but the success of his new project shows he has built a strong, supportive fan base. “There are people that actually went on NPR and streamed the album, but they still went out and bought the record. That says a lot. To stream your album for free, and people still double back and still support it,” said K.R.I.T. “I feel like even my album was under shipped, based off of this hard to calculate how many people will go in the store and buy the album. It’s an uphill battle, but slowly but surely people are finding out my albums out.” The “Pay Attention” performer was also asked about fellow emcee J. Cole’s decision to release his upcoming album 2014 Forest Hills Drive with no singles and very little mainstream promotion. “Some people have the marketing team, the push to do that. Some people don’t,” stated K.R.I.T. “That’s all about how you maneuver, I guess, in the beginning and having the right team put together, how you built your fan base.” The 28-year-old Def Jam signee goes on to suggest that not all artists should take the route Cole is attempting with his third album. K.R.I.T. added entertainers that have a strong social media/online presence have a better chance of being successful with a “no promo” project release.