Krizz Kaliko

Krizz Kaliko

Krizz Kaliko at release signing for Tech N9ne's Killer on July 1, 2008
Background information
Birth name Samuel William Christopher Watson IV
Also known as Big Krizz Kaliko
Born (1974-03-07) March 7, 1974
Origin Kansas City, Missouri, United States
Genres Hip hop
Occupation(s)
  • Rapper
  • songwriter
Instruments Vocals
Years active 1999–present[1]
Labels Strange Music
Associated acts
Website www.KrizzKaliko.com

Samuel William Christopher Watson IV[2] (born March 7, 1974)[3] better known by his stage name Krizz Kaliko, is an American rapper and songwriter. He is a longtime collaborator with fellow hometown native, Tech N9ne, and is signed to the label that Tech co-owns, Strange Music.

Career

Krizz Kaliko began his musical career in the late 1990s when he began working with a local producer by the name of IcyRoc Kraven. Another local rapper by the name of Tech N9ne was also collaborating with IcyRoc at the time, which led to the two rappers meeting. At the time, Tech N9ne was working on a song titled "Who You Came To See" and Krizz made a comment that the song could have a better hook. Tech offered up the opportunity to prove his case, and Tech was blown away when Kaliko proved just that. Tech would bring Kaliko into his "inner circle" which would eventually result in Kaliko signing to the new-found label Strange Music co-owned by Tech N9ne and Travis O'guin.

Since then, Kaliko has often contributed to albums put out by Tech N9ne, be it being featured as a rapper or simply providing background vocals for the tracks on the album. Although the largest portion of his work is that of his collaborations with Tech, he has also performed similar tasks for fellow labelmates Kutt Calhoun, Skatterman & Snug Brim, and Prozak. Other collaborations include tracks with the Kottonmouth Kings, Potluck, E-40, T-Pain, Twiztid, and Andy Mineo.

His debut album, Vitiligo released on May 6, 2008, charted on several Billboard charts including peaking at number 19 on the Top Independent Albums in the week of May 28, 2008. In the same week, he peaked at number 167 on the Billboard 200.

His second studio album, Genius, was released on July 14, 2009.

A number of his songs can be heard in the background of the strip club scenes in the movie "Big Fan" starring Patton Oswalt.

Krizz chose the title Shock Treatment for his third studio album. Other titles he considered were Son of Sam and Walk on Water.[4]

S.I.C., his first EP, was released on May 17, 2011. In June 2011, he was featured on Winnipeg's Most's second single, "Forgive Me", from their second album, GoodFellaz.

On May 15, 2012, Krizz released his fourth studio album, titled Kickin' and Screamin'. It is currently his highest charting album on the Billboard 200. The album has features from long-time collaborator Tech N9ne, as well as rappers Twista, Chamillionaire, T-Pain, Twiztid and Rittz, while the production is almost entirely handled by Seven. In November, Krizz released his second EP Neh'mind. The song "Damage" featuring Snow Tha Product was made the lead single. A video for "Damage" was shot and released on YouTube on December 14, and got over 100,000 views in two weeks.

Personal life

Krizz suffers from an autoimmune form of vitiligo, a skin condition characterized by smooth, white patches on various parts of the body, caused by the loss of natural pigment.[2] Several of these patches are clearly visible on his face. He would later use the name of the disease he suffers from as the title for his debut album. Krizz has also been diagnosed with Bipolar disorder.[2] On his second album, he titled one of the tracks after the disorder.[1]

Discography

References

General Source: "Krizz Kaliko - Bio". Retrieved 2008-05-15. 

  1. 1 2 "Krizz Kaliko Updated Bio". 2009-06-12. Retrieved 2009-06-12.
  2. 1 2 3 Whitlock, Jason (July 7, 2009). "Krizz Kaliko: On his way to 'Genius'". InkKC. Retrieved July 8, 2009.
  3. ↑ "Krizz Kaliko on IMEEM". Archived from the original on July 15, 2009. Retrieved July 15, 2009.
  4. ↑ Tech N9ne interviewed by Rocky Flats live on the K.O.D. tour part 3. 2010-01-12. Event occurs at 0:58-1:38. Retrieved 2009-01-15.

External links

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