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For Krizz Kaliko, a Rapper and RnB Singer born and raised in Kansas City, music is more than his life’s work: it’s his lifeline. A long time collaborator of Tech N9ne and a signee to the rapper’s Strange Music label, Krizz’ music always reflects his mood. From his playful 2008 debut Vitiligo, to his dark epic Genius (2009), Krizz’ body of work runs the gamut of the human psyche. Krizz Kaliko’s expressive lyrics and emotional honesty have won the rapper a devoted legion of fans who eagerly anticipate his every move. After releasing five studio rap albums, Krizz forsakes his rapidfire bars for smooth singing on Go, a powerful, ambitious Pop/RnB effort releasing April 8th.
[wpex click for full bio]There are two kinds of crazy in this world — crazy you stay away from and crazy that manifests itself as brilliance. Krizz Kaliko knows both ends of that extreme, whether by design or not.
Born Samuel William Christopher Watson, at age two — well before becoming musical co-conspirator to Midwest rap legend Tech N9ne — he developed vitiligo, a skin disorder that causes loss of pigmentation. His eyelids and lips are splotched white and he cuts an odd figure; in a crowd or alone, he’s impossible to miss.
“Growing up, kids would pick on me and kids would bully me,” he says. “They’d throw rocks at me and chase me home, because I looked different. It hurt. It changed me. Made me sad. But then, also, it made me do things to alleviate that sadness. I learned to sing. I learned to dance. I learned to rap. I was a fat little kid that didn’t look like anyone else — naturally, that became my biggest asset. Somehow, I became pretty popular.”
Kaliko was reared in the racially-diverse suburbs of South Kansas City, Missouri. His mother was a gospel singer of local renown; father, the superintendent of a Sunday school. He first stretched his vocal cords in the choir, and, had it been up to his parents (they divorced when he was just 4-years-old), he’d have gone on to a fine career as an attorney. But after two years at Penn Valley Community College, he quit school. Something else was tugging at his soul. Something from his youth.
“My stepfather used to whoop on me,” he says. “He was fresh out of the pen. And he was a terrible dude. He was physically abusive, because he was crazy. Institutionalized crazy.”
Not only crazy, but also a criminal. He made his bones robbing banks and committing other serious crimes. For Kaliko, step-pops is an enduring source of much psychological pain.
“He terrified me” he says. “When people weren’t around, when my mother wasn’t there, he’d abuse me. And nobody believed what I said. It was like I was crazy. I thought about killing him all the time. Endlessly, I’d think about it. Visualizing it, how I’d do it. I was that mad. I would get weapons from my friends — bats, knives, other stuff. I thought: I will kill him in his sleep. And then, miraculously, the boogie man disappeared. Him and my mother split up.”
Carrying his childhood scars, Kaliko spent his teens and early twenties drifting, not especially successful or unsuccessful at anything. Opting to not continue with college, he held a series of odd jobs. He was a grocery store clerk, corrections officer and even a customer service rep for T-Mobile (back when it was known as VoiceStream). Meanwhile, he quietly pursued music, rapping and singing, not hewing to any conventional standard for what it should sound like.
“I was just a fan,” he says. “So that allowed me to go in many different directions. I could identify with country songs, gospel songs, Christian rock songs, songs that were meant for dancing, commercial songs, non-commercial songs. I was, and still am, a liberal thinker. I enjoyed everything. Through music, I could do anything, be anything. Most importantly, I could be myself.”
One artist who appreciated Kaliko’s approach was rapper Tech N9ne. The pair met in 1999, through DJ Icy Roc, who once dated Kaliko’s sister. After paying Tech the whopping sum of $500 to feature on his solo album, the Strange Music founder discovered Kaliko’s diverse skill set. He asked him to appear on “Who You Came To See,” from his 2001 album, Anghellic, and then they began performing together locally. It lead to a years-long series of collaborations — Kaliko writing, producing, featuring on, touring with and generally being a musical wunderkind in the Strange Music family.
“It was like I was his musical muse, and he was mine,” says Kaliko. “We learned from each other. On stage, in the studio— nobody has believed in me, wanted more for me, wanted the entire world to hear and know and understand my talent, more than him.”
In 2007, Kaliko officially inked with Strange Music; since then, he’s released five albums, each one more confessional, more expressively oddball than the previous. Songs in his oeuvre include: “Bipolar,” “Misunderstood,” “Freaks,” “Rejections,” and “Scars,” among others, endearing him to society’s misfits. But in recent years, he’s also become more clear-headed about who he is and what he wants to do. Musically, he’s found himself.
“For years, I rapped and rapped well,” he says. “The fans enjoyed it. I enjoyed it. I made some good music. But, it was time to try some new things.”
That much is clear from his new album, Go, where he ditches rapping almost completely. Instead, he commands listeners to the dance floor, belts out melodies, softly croons, plaintively coos while generally seeming to enjoy himself more than he ever has. Yes, nearly a decade into his career, Krizz Kaliko is rebranding, rebirthing — or as he’d say, returning to his roots — as a full-fledged singer. Pop, rock, R&B, trap, funk, no genre is off limits, no scale unsung.
“I just wanted to make timeless music, songs that could play twenty years from now,” he explains. “Go is a roller coaster ride. It starts out as dance, but then there are other parts where one might listen on a pair of headphones, because it’s very meaningful. Other songs, you might turn up in your car. Through it all, I’m speaking from the heart.”
The album is chock full of earworms, songs both aesthetically-appeasing, yet also immediately captivating and catchy. Case in point: the brooding “Stop The World;” folky anti-depression ode, “Happy-ish;” or the shout-along “Didn’t Wanna Wake You.” Not completely abandoning hip-hop, songs like “More,” featuring labelmate Stevie Stone, and “Orangutan” — with Strange Music all-stars Tech N9ne, Rittz, Ces Cru, JL, and Wrekonize — invoke the crew’s knowing, trusty Midwestern flavor. Mostly though, Go is a new sound; all frenetic, inspired energy. It’s the biggest, broadest, most accessible project Krizz Kaliko has ever made.
“The truth is, I’m an unlikely guy to be a pop star,” he says. “Look at me— I’m a big dude. I have vitiligo. I get anxiety attacks. I’m bipolar. But Top 40 radio, a global audience, that’s what this music is worthy of. I’ve always been an unlikely dude to do anything, whether it’s music, working with Tech N9ne or even being alive, frankly. The odds being against me, that’s good. I like that. I have trust that the music will ultimately reign supreme.”
[/wpex]Press Releases
Krizz Kaliko Releases First RnB Album, Go, and New Video “Talk Up On It”
With Pop/RnB Opus Go on the Way, Krizz Kaliko Releases Flirtatious “Talk Up On It”
VIBE Premieres Krizz Kaliko’s Powerful “Stop the World” Video From Pop/RnB Opus, Go
Strange Music Lieutenant Krizz Kaliko Drops “Behave” via Complex, Builds Anticipation For Upcoming Pop/RnB Album
Billboard Premieres Krizz Kaliko’s RnB Single “Stop The World,” The First From Upcoming Go Album
Press Photos
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