The Beatbox: Krizz Kaliko

Krizz Kaliko, a 10-year veteran of the Strange Music label, has gotten a lot of mileage out of his second solo album, Genius, since it was released this summer. Much like his mentor, Tech N9ne, Kaliko woos fans with his affinity for offbeat topics (“Bipolar,” the album’s 11th track, is dedicated to the eponymous mental disorder), combined with a healthy dose of party-going hedonism. Krizz gets lexical with “Back Pack,” for example, when he provides listeners with an inspired synecdoche for female backsides. In all, Genius is well-crafted and tightly produced, and Kaliko reveals himself as a budding talent — locally speaking, at least. But more importantly, perhaps, Krizz sounds too much like Tech N9ne to be considered original. Tapping into Tech’s swarming fanbase is a smart marketing strategy, of course. But when it comes to establishing oneself as a formidable solo artist, it’s certainly not genius.