In addition to being a long-time collaborator of veteran hip-hopper Tech N9ne, Kansas City native, Krizz Kaliko claims to have invented a new form of music entitled, Funkra.  It’s described as an innovative mix of funk, rap, rock, R&B and opera.  Funkra is heard throughout Krizz’s debut album, TECH N9NE Presents: Krizz Kaliko Vitiligo. 

The title is inspired by Krizz’s condition, vitiligo, which is a skin disorder characterized by smooth, white patches on various parts of the body caused by the loss of natural pigment.

Sixshot spoke with Krizz about his struggles with vitiligo, coping with his mental issues, working with Tech N9ne, and more.

The title of the album refers to your skin condition.  I read in school that you were relentlessly teased and contemplated some type of Columbine act.  What was your mindset at that time?

My mindset was kind of weird.  Kids at school they make fun of all kids for anything, but me I had something special to make fun of.  It's like kids jumped on me.  I got jumped on different times by three to five different guys—like the same set.  I was tired of getting beat and my sister would take up for me a lot. 

She would come outside with knives and weapons to try and protect her little brother. When I got in junior high I started carrying weapons to school and even guns.  I carried a gun to school for a while.  Fortunately I never had to use it on anybody.  I had to keep weapons on me to protect me from these kids, but the weird thing about it is that I also had a lot of friends too.  It made me pretty compassionate and personable, and having that good family structure made me one of the more popular guys.  So I've seen the best and the worst of this deal.

So you can relate to those kids that did have to use their weapons in school.

Yeah, before I heard the Columbine story I already knew what those kids had probably gone through; as being outcasts and feeling like they had no allies.  At one point in time I was there in my mind and at a younger age than they were.

What age were you at that time?

When I started carrying weapons to school it was like junior high school at 13.

You said you experienced being both an outsider and being popular.  For some being teased makes them always feel like an outsider no matter how popular or famous they get, so is that something that stays with you?

Yeah, I still feel like that.  I can be in a room full of people and feel like I'm all by myself.  I've been like that on stage before too.  I'm standing out next to Tech [N9ne] but also I felt like I wasn’t in the room with those thousands of kids.  So it’s definitely had a mental impact on me.  If you read any literature on vitiligo it will tell you that most people with vitiligo will have mental problems.  The beauty of that is that it has made me overwhelmingly creative.  So in retrospect I would not trade it in or my experience for another life if I had the chance ‘cause I wouldn’t be me.  I wouldn’t be as creative as I believe I am.

I also read that you got the big blonde hair because you wanted to dare people to stare at you for another reason.

I felt like they’ve been staring at me all my life so I might as well entertain them and give them something to look at.  Also, when you’re trying to get into this music thing you want people to pay attention to you as much as possible.  So therefore I'm gonna do crazy stuff like color my hair blonde because I want the most attention.  I'm used to having all the attention in the room anyway so I might as well entertain them ‘because that’s what I always wanted to do.

Is part of that also a defense mechanism to divert attention away from the vitiligo?

No, not at all.  I don’t want to deflect attention from the vitiligo.  I always been a to-the-left kind of person.  With the hair deal I just wanted to draw more attention to myself.  A big black dude with blonde hair without vitiligo is gonna draw attention.  So when people look at me it’s like, “What in the hell is this dude?”  So it may make them inquire about my music or what I got going on. 

A lot of people with this condition have self-esteem issues.  When you look in the mirror do you see beauty there?

I’ve been insecure about it throughout my life and I've asked God several times why would you make me look like this and why me.  But the other thing is that my mind has the ability to see artistic value in a lot of different things.  So when I look at myself it looks like God’s work of art.  I did the photo shoot for my album and I told them make my skin smoother.  They said the beauty of it is to show all the imperfections in my skin.  I was like you’re right and that’s how I look at it anyway.  I’m pleased about it.  I definitely wouldn’t be the Krizz Kaliko you see today if I didn’t have it.

The track, “Anxiety,” is a very raw record.  What gives you the most anxiety in life?

Well I have anxiety problems.  I've been diagnosed with being bipolar and I have anxiety issues.  Everybody around me experiences it with me.  I’ve been diagnosed with general anxiety disorder or bipolar and they all mimic each other and are the same thing.  I felt like my way of being therapeutic about it is to put it in a song.  So there wasn’t even enough time on that song for me to express every way I feel about anxiety.

Do you take medication for your condition?

I used to but the thing about those medications is that they mediate the problem which is like masking it.  It doesn’t help you get over it.  The biggie about me taking that is that it makes me mentally numb.  It just makes you sleepy and not think at all.  I’d rather think good and bad thoughts than not think at all ‘cause I can’t be creative like that.  I eat off my creativity.  So I can't handicap my brain like that.

You’ve worked extensively with Tech N9ne.  How did that experience prepare you to step out on your own?

I probably wouldn’t be able to step out on my own if I didn't have this experience.  This is the best rap school you can go to.  He taught me how to be a star—I mean how to be the total you.  This dude showed me how to be totally different and not fake it and try to be different.  He taught me what to do on stage ‘cause we annihilate everybody.  Even if their show is good I feel like our show is better.  [Laughs]  So that prepared me to be out on my own ‘cause you’re only as good as the team you got around you.  People are stars on their own but when I look at Michael Jackson or 50 Cent or anybody, I think they must have a really good team around them.  That team is what can really make you.

Tech N9ne co-signs this album, but I’m wondering if you feel that eventually you will have to prove that you can stand on your own.

The one reason why we did that is because he did help me develop who I am as an artist so he really does present me.  Another thing is that for marketing reasons naturally you put Tech N9ne on the CD it’s gonna be in the Tech N9ne section in the record stores.  So that area already gets traffic whereas maybe my section wouldn’t get as much.  People are already looking in his section thousands of times a week all over the country.  But we call it severing the umbilical chords so I got to do that.  This will be the only album that you see “Tech N9ne presents…” on.  I'm ready and I been anticipating this all my life.

For more information please visit:
http://www.myspace.com/bigkrizzkaliko