Mississippi rapper Big K.R.I.T.‘s latest album Live From the Underground is one of 2012′s biggest success stories, but he’s hardly taking time to pause and reflect. K.R.I.T. revealed to Hive details on two upcoming projects. The first is his long-rumored collaborative project with Shady Records’ Yelawolf. Having confirmed to radio show host Bootleg Kev that the K.R.I.T./Yela album Country Cousins has entered the recording process, he added that along with his own production touch he’ll be enlisting the talents of 9th Wonder, DJ Premier and DJ Toomp. “They’re just the kind of people I know can capture the sound me and Yela want,” he explained.

Moving on to the vibe of Country Cousins, K.R.I.T. said, “With me being from Mississippi and Yelawolf being from Alabama, it just made so much sense to blend our sound. Plus, we want this to be a situation where we can really showcase the lyrical side of our music.”

K.R.I.T. plans to finish up Country Cousins after the second leg of his current tour ends in mid-October. Once he’s off the road, he told Hive that he’ll also finish another project which he describes as a “theme music album.” Explaining the concept behind it, K.R.I.T. said, “I’m not necessarily rapping but making something that other artists might want to sample. It’s completely musical. I really want to showcase the production side of me as well.”