Kutt Calhoun

Background

Kutt Calhoun was born Melvin Lewis Calhoun Jr. on January 1, 1977, in Kansas City, Missouri, and came up in the city's underground rap scene in the 1990s. His first recorded appearance was in 1998, as Cutt Dawg, on Snug Brim's album Center Piece of the Puzzle. He then worked as a hype man for Tech N9ne and helped establish Strange Music when it launched in 1999, and he appeared on several tracks on Tech N9ne's Absolute Power (2002).

Strange Music

In 2004 he became the first artist signed to Strange Music other than Tech N9ne. His debut album, B.L.E.V.E. (short for "Boiling Liquid Expanding Viscous Explosion"), came out August 10, 2004, with guests Tech N9ne, Krizz Kaliko, and Skatterman & Snug Brim. Feature Presentation (2008) reached No. 60 on the R&B/Hip-Hop albums chart, and its single "Bunk Rock Bitch" featured Tech N9ne and Krizz Kaliko. Raw and Un-Kutt (2010) reached No. 170 on the Billboard 200 and included "Naked (Boom Boom Room)." He followed with two EPs, Red-Headed Stepchild (2011) and Kelvin (2012).

Black Gold (February 26, 2013), his last full album for Strange, went to No. 1 on the Heatseekers chart and No. 120 on the Billboard 200, selling about 4,300 copies in its first week. Guests included Tech N9ne and Brotha Lynch Hung.

Black Gold Entertainment

In 2014 he left Strange Music on good terms and started his own label, Black Gold Entertainment. He released the Kuttin Loose EP in 2015 and went on his "On My Own Tour." His 2015 single "Handz Up (Shut Shit Down)" addressed police brutality. Later releases include Persona Non Grata: Truth Be Told (2019), the Residue EP (2023) and T.D.I.A.L. (2024). Collaborators across his career include Tech N9ne, Krizz Kaliko, Brotha Lynch Hung, E-40 and Too $hort.