Kalico, a founding voice behind the group MyFolk, doesn’t like to be boxed in. If there’s a title that fits, it’s the one he chose himself: an all-around creative. Not because it sounds good, but because it’s the most honest way to describe how he moves.
He’s from South Georgia, where music wasn’t something you chased, it was something you grew up inside. His father sings wherever a song finds him, weddings, gatherings, anywhere the moment calls for it. His mother had a different kind of passion. She would buy full albums and play them nonstop, wearing them out before moving on to the next. Between the two of them, music wasn’t optional. It was part of the environment.
Kalico picked it up early, though not in the way most people expect. As a kid, he became known for rattling off fast rap verses, especially songs like Bone Thugs-N-Harmony. Truth is, he didn’t always know the exact words. He knew the rhythm, the sound, the feel. He could mimic it so well that people assumed he understood every line. Even now, he’s still the one people turn to when they can’t quite make out what’s being said in a song.
That instinct for sound eventually turned into writing. In high school, with time on his hands and not much interest in the work in front of him, he started putting his own words together. What began as a way to pass time slowly became something more serious.
After graduation, he moved to Atlanta with the intention of building a music career. Like a lot of artists, reality met him quickly. Instead of studio sessions and momentum, he found himself working jobs and caught up in a party lifestyle that didn’t leave much room for progress. Still, the creative side never stopped.
A turning point came when he connected with a producer who was developing talent and needed writers. Kalico stepped into that role, creating music for other artists. It was a step forward, but the timing wasn’t on his side. The 2008 recession hit, work dried up, and writing alone wasn’t paying the bills. He made the decision to return home, but he didn’t come back empty-handed. He brought with him a catalog of songs, mostly R&B, and a collection of beats the producer allowed him to keep.
Back in South Georgia, he kept writing. No spotlight, no pressure, just consistency. Then an opportunity came through family. A cousin reached out with access to a local studio and asked if Kalico could put together three songs. That was easy. He already had the material.
Those sessions turned into something bigger than expected. The energy in the studio was immediate. People were drawn to what they were hearing. Someone asked what they called themselves. Without planning it, Kalico answered on the spot: MyFolk.
What started as a one-time recording turned into a group. Members were added over time, and the chemistry grew into a shared identity.
One of their standout moments came with a track called “Hangover 3.” It was meant to be fun, almost a gimmick, inspired by the kind of nights where you wake up unsure of what happened the day before. The twist is that the song came out before the movie it referenced. It caught attention quickly, eventually pulling in over 100,000 views on YouTube. It proved they could tap into a moment and make people feel it.
But like many groups, success came with complications. Managing four different personalities, each with their own priorities and perspectives, created friction. For Kalico, the hardest part wasn’t the music. It was everything around it. The conversations, the compromises, the behind-the-scenes decisions. As an artist, he’s always been more focused on creating than navigating politics.
Still, the work never stopped. If anything, those challenges sharpened his perspective. One of the projects that best represents that mindset is “No Fat Lady.” The idea flips a familiar phrase. Where people say it’s not over until the fat lady sings, Kalico sees it differently. In his world, there is no final note. No closing moment. No signal that it’s done. There’s always more to create.
That belief drives everything he does. His creativity isn’t tied to circumstances. It doesn’t depend on where he is or what’s happening around him. As he puts it, with the right mindset, your surroundings don’t define your output.
Today, Kalico continues to create with the same approach he started with: freely and without limits. Whether it’s through MyFolk or his own work, the goal is simple. He wants people to hear it, connect with it, and enjoy it.
His latest release, “P.A.W.S,” is already out across all platforms, another example of an artist who isn’t waiting for permission or perfect timing. He’s just creating, the way he always has.
And as long as he’s here, that’s not going to change.