Premiere: Stream KR's 'It Could Happen' Project

Los Angeles rapper/songwriter KR shares his new project 'It Could Happen.'

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Complex Original

Image via Complex Original

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We finally have an answer to the question, who is KR?

Since he dropped “Poetic Death” almost three years ago, fans were intrigued enough to follow his journey to hip-hop notoriety. In that video, the Los Angeles-based rapper/songwriter, who was 18 at the time, was chilling with his friends at Chatsworth High School, looking straight at the camera and delivering passionate rhymes for nearly two minutes straight. “I’m the voice of the younger teens, for the vocals that cannot breathe/I’m the breath of stability, when my voice goes on these beats,” he leaves us at the end of the song. His perspective was maturer than the average teen, promising to use his music to inspire people who don’t have a platform to speak.

“My goal in hip-hop is to bring hope to all the people out there with no voice. Sometimes artists forget that their music is therapy for their fans who may be going through something, whether it be struggle, depression, or just a bad day. I want to touch all my fans with every lyric, beat, video and performance,” he said to XXL.

Now 21, KR has developed as an MC, progressing his talents in projects such as his I$0LYF3 mixtape series and showing tremendous growth in his surprise EP, And It Begins. Upon a few listens to KR's catalog, comparisons to an up-and-coming J. Cole or a focused Dizzy Wright come to mind, but his lane is creating melodic songs that speak directly to his generation. Whether it's “Complicated,” a dreamy rap ballad about the struggles of love, or “Read Your Mind” which reworks Avant’s version into a sensual earworm, KR is learning from his mistakes in front of a wide audience. We can all learn from his growing pains.

Today, Complex is premiering an early listen of It Could Happen. The 12-track project's central theme is a relationship with a former girlfriend who he’s made some regrettable decisions with. He’s reflective of his loyalty as he tries to move on from her, weaving in storytelling records like “Onyx,” admitting fault in the ever personal “Don’t Leave,” and touching on the subject of cheating on “Do Me Like That” that’s reminiscent of Lawrence and Issa's heartbreak in Insecure.

"The subject matter of this project comes from the many bad decisions I made with a particular women from my past,” he tells Complex. “All the mistakes, lies and me failing to understand how to treat a woman is expressed through my music. This project is me showing my versatility in sharing my art, but wrapped in a sincere apology for what I've done."

You can stream the full project below, as well as watch videos for “Complicated” and “Read Your Mind.” Pre-order the project on iTunes now before its official release on Dec. 9.


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