Big K.R.I.T. has had an amazing couple of years, first breaking through in 2010 with K.R.I.T. Wuz Here, then following up in 2011 with the critically acclaimed The Return of 4Eva. This lead a place on XXL‘s Freshmen list, as well as a deal with Def Jam. Now, as we patiently await the release of his debut album, Live From The Underground, he first serves up this mixtape release, 4EvaNaDay.

Despite the above rating, 4EvaNaDay is a release of pure quality, 17 tracks of self-produced K.R.I.T. madness, without a single guest appearance. Like his previous efforts, K.R.I.T. zeroes-in on the laid back cool that helped propel tracks like “Dreamin’” on songs like the super-chilled out opener “Wake Up”, the reminiscent “Yesterday”, and the inspirational “Boobie Miles”.

Much of the rest of the LP travels into more familiar southern formulas, as heavy 808′s, synths, and screwed-up hooks help propel tracks like “4EvaNaDay”, “Me and My Old School”, and “1986″, showing abundant influence from his popular southern counterparts. The difference, however, is that K.R.I.T.’s music is heavy on substance, spending less time on topics like wood-grain wheels and more on reality-based topics, such as label woes (“Handwriting”) or corrupt preachers (“Package Store”).

4EvaNaDay definitely has a unified sound throughout, but it never seems to take off. While all of those perfect Outkast LP’s maintained that balance of mellow, introspective tracks and more upbeat, fun songs, K.R.I.T.’s latest constantly stays in chilled-out territory. And while it is all of quality, it doesn’t quite reach the bar set by K.R.I.T. Wuz Here. In his defense, this is a collection of tracks that lead up to the release of his album, so we have to imagine that his best stuff is saved for that release.