Born on September 13, 1981 in St. Petersburg, Florida as Herman Grant, Cristol has spent his entire life in the South. After graduating from Northeast High School in St. Pete, Cristol moved away to Danville, Virginia to attend Averett College. After a year at Averett College, he then made the decision to come back home to explore his musical talents while attending St. Petersburg College working on his Musical Engineering and Spanish Degree.


Cristol's talent was first noticed at the age of 10 when he began to play the trombone and the sax, but that wasn't enough. He then began starring in school-sponsored Broadway musicals and talent shows, but his potential was still untouched. As he entered high school he was selected by his peers to be the lead singer in the school choral group. He was also a member of two R&B groups in high school: Lil 2 Shai, and 3 till. He then began to explore his new-found love, Hip-Hop music. In 1999, as a member of the rap groups Flo-Ridaz and South point, he began to record mus