Happy Birthday, Big K.R.I.T.!

People have been looking for the successor for OutKast's mix of southern ethics and extraterrestrial ambitions for a while. Future comes close -- he's tied to the Dungeon Family -- but his orbit has been weighed down by the strip club and lean addiction. "Trap N----s" is cool, but perhaps the next logical nomination for successor is Big K.R.I.T. He turns 29 years old today (Aug. 26).

Big K.R.I.T.'s run of mixtapes from 2010 through 2011 had some people nervous. With projects that good, they thought he peaked before he released his studio debut. K.R.I.T. Wuz Here and Return 4Eva -- which featured trunk-rattlers and starry instrumentals, both tied together by K.R.I.T.'s sharp-tounged rhyming -- were highlights from 2010 and 2011, respectively. However, his debut Live From the Underground, was met with lukewarm reviews and had weak sales.

But fans didn't count Big K.R.I.T. out; guest spots on songs like A$AP Rocky's "1 Train" showed that Live From the Underground may have been just a misstep. Fans had to wait a little over year to reconcile those doubts. K.R.I.T.'s sophomore album, Cadillactica, melded his skyward ambitions with accessibility and became one of last year's finest albums.

Now that he has hip-hop's confidence back, K.R.I.T. is going on tour this fall. He'll be traveling through the U.S. on the aptly titled Kritically Acclaimed Tour.

Watch Big K.R.I.T.'s "Mt. Olympus" Video

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