Early Life
Jarae Shondell Liggion was born and raised in Kalamazoo, Michigan on May 16, 1983. By the time he was 14, his mother and his siblings moved to Sacramento, California. He completed his education at Pacific High School, a continuation school, in 2002. He had natural talent for football, earning him the nickname “Freight Train”. Unfortunately, a head injury sustained during practice forced him to abstain from playing football. At this critical point, he transitioned his career into music.
Career
Known as stage name, Krytykal The Problem’s exploration of music began at the age of 16 when he would freestyle and uplift his teammates during game road trips. The energy and response from his teammates fueled his passion for music and on his path to becoming a full-fledge career.
Throughout the years he collaborated with various local record labels in Sacramento, and it was during this time that he crossed paths with videographer J-Million and music producer Complex. Together, they formed a team called Million Dollar Entertainment, working collaboratively on all Krytykal’s projects.
Krytykal is diligently working to promote his music across the nation as well as internationally. Krytykal’s debut his first solo album titled Success Is the Best Revenge which was released in 2009, and his second solo album titled Larger Than Life was released in 2013. In 2017 Krytykal launched his big hit single “Customer” featuring on Sirius/XM Radio and interviewed by DJ Envy and DJ Steel. Krytykal was also featured in an interview with DJ Scream from Hood Rich Radio.
In 2022, Krytykal re-branded his vision with the type of music he produces. The creation of his new logo “T1” was formulated, symbolizing Type 1 Diabetes, a condition he was diagnosed with in 2007. It took a great amount of time to adjust to his new lifestyle as a diabetic. Understandably, living with diabetes come with a range of emotions that can interfere with any aspect of daily life. These emotions inspired him to release the single “Insulin” featuring Complex accompanied by a music video in 2022.
Following the release of “Insulin”, Krytykal sought add more symbolism to represent all adversities in his life which is the ball and chain. The single “Ball and Chain” was released in 2023 launching this symbol as the central focus in his music video.