If Kendrick Lamar and Drake can rock the Hip-Hop space in an instant, why shouldn’t Big K.R.I.T.? In a comparatively quiet 2015 for the Meridian, Mississippi double-threat, he makes up for lost time with a major splash in the water. It’s Better This Way is a fitting title for an artist who has made end of year charts on recent mixtapes, given his illustrious pedigree following KRITWuzHere and Return To 4eva.

I.B.T.W. (which is also available for free download) welcomes a new guest in Warren G, another producer/MC who has proven to excel at both—in the generation before Krizzle. Additionally, longtime collaborator Ludacris also comes back in to reprise the two charming MCs’ growing list of chemical bonds. Also, Big K.R.I.T. teams with DJ Drama for this one. The Aphilliates head seems to only put his voice and name on the cream of the crop these days. It is indeed “holiday season.”

“King, Pt. 4” starts things at the top. The series extends with Big K.R.I.T. venting like crazy about his mind-state as of late. The calm-headed twenty-something gets loud, like his baddest of beats. “No Static” is a smooth merging of the 601 and the 213 area codes, as Warren G flexes his cadences over a Greg Nice-based beat. The title track (and tape-closer) catches Big K.R.I.T. singing, with a potent message about how he’s become a modern day master without support from traditional media channels. “Vanilla Sky” is another standout with a moving beat, catchy chorus, and that soul-drenched message about simpler days.

Upon early listens, It’s Better This Way may be the most exciting mixtape since 2011. What do you think?

Related: Big K.R.I.T. & Raury Deliver Some Forbidden Knowledge & Issue a Wake Up Call (Audio)