It's unfortunate to report that Krizz Kaliko, a mainstay in the Strange Music family, has officially parted ways with the label. The news was confirmed by Travis O'Guin of Strange Music, and shared by a distraught Tech N9ne. From the sound of it, a variety of factors led to the decision, though Kaliko himself has yet to expand upon them. He did issue a statement to his fans on Twitter, thanking them for the support and love. He also thanked Tech N9ne on Instagram, writing a heartfelt message to the legendary Chopper.
"As I'm sure many of you have realized, and perhaps many of you haven't, Krizz has not released any new music since his album, Go, on April 8, 2016," begins O'Guin. "I'm pretty certain that nobody knew that Krizz was actually out of a contract when that was released. Krizz and I did a quick agreement to cover the release of that album, with the anticipation of entering into a new multi-album contract shortly thereafter." Despite having sent Kaliko the contract two and a half years ago, however, a deal was never able to manifest.
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"I'm also aware that he feels his music hasn't reached as many people as he would've liked and it caused him to really contemplate where the future will take him," continues O'Guin. "However, I'm well aware of how important Krizz's music is to the massive amount of people that it has, indeed, reached. This point has been made incredibly obvious over the last few days." Sadly, Krizz decided to pursue another direction, leaving Strange contractually obligated to remove his presence from their website.
For those familiar with Kaliko and the greater Strange Music movement, the news should hit particularly hard. Krizz has been riding with Tech since the outset, having worked together since the early days of Absolute Power's "I'm A Playa." Since then the pair have been inseparable collaborators and friends, as evidenced Tech's brief yet impactful status. His sadness has been matched by Strange's loyal fans, who have taken to the comment section to lament the development.
Check out Tech's post & O'Guin's official statement below.