Kutt Calhoun
Background information
Birth nameMelvin Lewis Calhoun Jr.
Also known asCutt Dawg, Bloody Kutty Cal, Bloody Kutty
Born (1977-01-01) January 1, 1977
OriginKansas City, Missouri, United States
GenresHip hop
OccupationsRapper, business executive
Years active1993–present
LabelsBlack Gold Entertainment, Empire Distribution (current), Strange (former)
WebsiteTheRealKuttCalhoun.com

Melvin Lewis Calhoun Jr. (born January 1, 1977), better known by his stage name Kutt Calhoun, is an American rapper and business executive from Kansas City, Missouri.[1] After getting his start in the late 1990s underground rap scene of Kansas City,[2] he subsequently signed to Strange Music when the label was founded in 1999.[3] Calhoun released his debut album B.L.E.V.E. in 2004,[4] and his 2007 sophomore album Feature Presentation debuted at number 60 on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart.[5] Calhoun's third album, Raw and Un-Kutt, made its debut at number 162 on the Billboard 200 chart in its first week of release,[6] as well as charting at No. 19 on the Top Heatseekers chart.[7]

Between 2011 and 2012 he released two EPs, Red-Headed Stepchild and Kelvin, both of which again charted high on Billboard, with Kelvin reaching No. 8 on Top Heatseekers.[8] Calhoun released his fourth studio album, Black Gold, in 2013,[9] and the album debuted at number 1 on Top Heatseekers.[10][11] With first-week sales of 4,300 copies in the United States,[12] the album met with positive critical response[13][14] from publications such as HipHopDX.[14] Splitting from Strange Music in 2014[15] on amicable terms,[3] he afterwards founded the record label Black Gold Entertainment.[16] His 2015 Kuttin Loose EP was the first release on the imprint.[17] Distributed through Empire Distribution,[18] it peaked at No. 16 on Heatseekers and No. 41 on the Top Rap Albums chart.[8] Again meeting with a positive response,[17] MetroActive wrote that the EP "demonstrates a devastating flow, razor sharp wit and some downright nasty Dirty South production."[3] Frequently touring the United States, by the end of 2015, Calhoun had embarked on his independent On My Own Tour.[19]

Music career

Early years and B.L.E.V.E. (1990s–04)

Melvin Lewis Calhoun Jr. was born on January 1, 1977, in Kansas City, Missouri,[15] where he spent his childhood.[20] By the 1990s he was involved in the underground hardcore rap scene of Kansas City, and he began actively recording in the late 1990s.[2] Rapping professionally since 1998,[3] that year Calhoun appeared on the album Center Piece of the Puzzle by Snug Brim, using the alias Cutt Dawg.[2] Afterwards he began working as the hype man of Kansas City rapper Tech N9ne,[2] also helping cofound the Tech N9ne imprint Strange Music in 1999.[3] Calhoun had several features in 2002 on Tech N9ne's album Absolute Power.[21][22][23]

After being featured as a guest artist on a number of singles,[2][21] Kutt would release his debut album, B.L.E.V.E. (standing for Boiling Liquid Expanding Viscous Explosion),[15] on August 10, 2004[4] through Strange Music.[24] The album features several appearances by Tech N9ne, as well as other local rappers such as Krizz Kaliko and Skatterman & Snug Brim.[25] The album made an appearance on Billboard's Top Heatseekers (West North Central) chart.[26] Rap Reviews greeted the album positively, writing "Calhoun has represented his hometown [Kansas City] admirably on B.L.E.V.E. and seems on the verge of blowing up bigtime. All he needs is more exposure, a slightly tighter selection of beats, and one big video on a Viacom owned network."[20]

Feature Presentation (2006–07)

He self-released his Flamez Mixtape on September 18, 2007.[27] Calhoun's second studio album, Feature Presentation, was released through Strange Music on October 7, 2008.[28] The album saw features from his label mates Tech N9ne, Krizz Kaliko and Skatterman & Snug Brim once again, and also featured several other local rappers. The album has production from Michael "Seven" Summers, Wyshmaster, Matic Lee and Young Fyre.[28] The sophomore release reached No. 60 on Billboard's Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums in its first week of release,[29] as well as charting at No. 19 on the Top Heatseekers chart.[7] Rap Reviews gave the album a positive review and a score of 8/10.[30] A music video was shot for the album's single "Bunk Rock Bitch," and was released on January 15, 2009, with features from Tech N9ne and Krizz Kaliko.[31][32]

Raw and Un-Kutt and first EPs (2010–12)

On May 26, 2010, XXL premiered the video for Calhoun's new single "Naked (Boom Boom Room)" on their website.[33][34] Kutt Calhoun released his third album, Raw and Un-Kutt, on June 8, 2010.[35] Singles from the album included "Naked (Boom Boom Room)" and "Get Kutt," with features from Brotha Lynch Hung, E-40, Joe Budden, Tech N9ne, and Too Short among others.[36] The album debuted at No. 170 on the Billboard 200 chart in its first week of release.[6] It also reached No. 6 on the Top Heatseekers chart and peaked at No. 15 on the Top Rap Albums chart.[8]

Calhoun released his Red-Headed Stepchild extended play through Strange Music on August 7, 2011.[37] The EP reached No. 23 on Heatseekers Albums[8] and No. 52 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart.[5] He released his EP Kelvin on October 2, 2012, again through Strange Music.[37] Charting higher than its predecessor, the EP reached No. 8 on Top Heatseekers, 41 on the Independent Albums chart, 28 on the US R&B chart, and 21 on the Top Rap Albums chart.[8]

Black Gold (2013)

Calhoun released his fourth album, Black Gold on February 26, 2013, as what would be his last release on Strange Music.[9] The album was supported by two singles: "Self Preservation" and "I Been Dope," and features guest appearances from Krizz Kaliko, Brotha Lynch Hung, Tech N9ne, and Ron Ron, among others.[38] The album debuted at number 1 on the US Billboard Heatseekers Albums chart and at number 120 on the Billboard 200,[10][11] with first-week sales of 4,300 copies in the United States.[12] It also peaked at No. 13 on the Independent Albums chart, among other rankings.[8]

Meeting with a largely positive critical response,[13][14] the publication HipHopDX wrote that "Black Gold revels in its ability to highlight the unique approach of Strange Music while still sounding refreshingly conventional. At 35 years young, Kutt Calhoun is picking up traction when other rappers would be given the checkered flag. Underappreciated or not, that’s something that won’t go unnoticed."[14] Like HipHopDX, David Jeffries of AllMusic also gave the album three and a half stars out of five, praising Calhoun's sense of humor in the lyrics.[13]

Black Gold Ent. and Kuttin Loose (2014–16)

External videos
video icon Kutt Calhoun - "Self Preservation" ft. Krizz Kaliko - VEVO (February 5, 2013)
video icon Kutt Calhoun - "On My Own" ft. Demond Jones (October 19, 2015)

Calhoun decided to form his own imprint in 2014, and he split from Strange Music shortly afterwards[15] on amicable terms.[3] Calhoun went on to found Black Gold Entertainment, and in July 2015 he announced plans to release an EP under the label titled The Kuttin Loose EP.[16] Kuttin Loose was released on July 10, 2015 through Black Gold Entertainment[17] and distributed through Empire Distribution.[18] It peaked at No. 16 on the Heatseekers Albums chart, and No. 41 on the Top Rap Albums chart.[8] HipHopDX gave Kuttin Loose a score of 3.5/5 and a positive review.[17] Wrote MetroActive, on "the Kuttin Loose EP, he demonstrates a devastating flow, razor sharp wit and some downright nasty Dirty South production."[3] Among other themes, album's single "Handz Up (Shut Shit Down)" explicitly addressed police brutality, with Kutt directing the music video himself.[3] By the end of 2015, Calhoun had embarked on his On My Own Tour.[19] On June 3, 2016, Calhoun collabed in his single called "ALIVE" with The Jokerr.[39] On July 13, 2016, Calhoun collabed in his single called "Never Know" with Automatic.[40]

Discography

Studio albums

EPs

  • Red-Headed Stepchild (2011)
  • Kelvin (2012)
  • Kuttin Loose (2015)
  • Residue (2023)

See also

References

  1. ↑ ""The Road to Black Gold"- Interview with Rapper Kutt Calhoun". Beautiful Struggles. January 22, 2013. Retrieved 2016-03-31.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Birchmeier, Jason. "Kutt Calhoun Biography". Allmusic. Retrieved 2016-03-31.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Veronin, Nick (November 11, 2015). "Kutt Calhoun Steps Out On His Own". MetroActive. Retrieved 2016-03-31.
  4. 1 2 "iTunes - Music - B.L.E.V.E. by Kutt Calhoun". Itunes.apple.com. 2004-08-10. Archived from the original on 2015-04-05. Retrieved 2013-07-16.
  5. 1 2 "R&B/Hip-Hop Albums Chart History". Billboard.com. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. Retrieved June 17, 2010.
  6. 1 2 "Billboard 200 Chart History". Billboard.com. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. Retrieved June 17, 2010.
  7. 1 2 "Billboard - Album Chart History". Retrieved 2008-10-16.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Kutt Calhoun". Billboard. Retrieved 2016-03-06.
  9. 1 2 Paine, Jake (2013-02-02). "Kutt Calhoun "Black Gold" Tracklist & Cover Art". HipHopDX. Retrieved 2014-01-17.
  10. 1 2 Billboard 200 at Billboard.com - Kutt Calhoun
  11. 1 2 "Hip Hop Album Sales: The Week Ending 3/3/2013 | Get The Latest Hip Hop News, Rap News & Hip Hop Album Sales". HipHopDX. 2013-03-06. Retrieved 2015-07-11.
  12. 1 2 "Hip Hop Album Sales: The Week Ending 3/3/2013". HipHopDX. 6 March 2013. Retrieved March 6, 2013.
  13. 1 2 3 Jeffries, David (2013-02-26). "Black Gold - Kutt Calhoun". AllMusic. Retrieved 2013-07-16.
  14. 1 2 3 4 Ortiz, Edwin (February 26, 2013). "Kutt Calhoun - Black Gold". HipHopDX. Retrieved March 6, 2013.
  15. 1 2 3 4 "Profile of Kutt Calhoun". Facebook. Retrieved 2016-03-31.
  16. 1 2 "Kutt Calhoun Leaves Strange Music To Start Own Label". BallerStatus.com. July 10, 2015.
  17. 1 2 3 4 Garrett, Ural (August 5, 2015). "Kutt Calhoun - Kuttin Loose (EP)". HipHopDX. Retrieved 2016-03-31.
  18. 1 2 "Kuttin Loose EP". Empire Distribution. Retrieved 2016-03-06.
  19. 1 2 "Hip Hop Roots Presents". The Complex LC. 2015. Retrieved 2016-03-06.
  20. 1 2 Juon, Steve 'Flash' (October 12, 2004). "B.L.E.V.E. review". Rap Reviews. Retrieved 2016-03-31.
  21. 1 2 "Kutt Calhoun Discography". Allmusic. Retrieved 2016-03-31.
  22. ↑ "Kutt Calhoun Discography". ITunes. Retrieved 2016-03-31.
  23. ↑ "Kutt Calhoun Discography". Discogs. Retrieved 2016-03-31.
  24. ↑ "B.L.E.V.E.: Kutt Calhoun: Music". Amazon. Retrieved 2013-07-16.
  25. ↑ "B.L.E.V.E. - Kutt Calhoun | Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. 2004-05-18. Retrieved 2013-07-16.
  26. ↑ "Billboard - Top Heatseekers (West North Central) - B.L.E.V.E." Archived from the original on 2011-10-02. Retrieved 2008-10-21.
  27. ↑ "Strange Music, Inc EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: Kutt Calhoun Talks Upcoming Mixtapes and Albums [Audio] - Strange Music, Inc". Blog.kuttcalhoun.com. 2010-12-23. Retrieved 2015-07-11.
  28. 1 2 Calhoun, Kutt (October 7, 2008). "Feature Presentation". Strange Music / iTunes. Retrieved 2016-03-31.
  29. ↑ "Billboard - Album Chart History". Retrieved 2008-10-16. - Kutt Calhoun
  30. ↑ "Feature Presentation". Rap Reviews. 2009. Retrieved 2016-03-31.
  31. ↑ Bunk Rock Bitch video on YouTube
  32. ↑ Bunk Rock Bitch on YouTube
  33. ↑ "WORLD PREMIERE: Kutt Calhoun feat. Tech N9ne "Naked" [VIDEO]". XXLMag.com. Harris Publications, Inc. May 26, 2010. Retrieved May 26, 2010.
  34. ↑ "WORLD PREMIERE: Kutt Calhoun feat. Tech N9ne "Naked" [VIDEO]". XXL Magazine. Harris Publications, Inc. May 26, 2010. Retrieved May 26, 2010.
  35. ↑ "Raw and UnKutt up for Preorder. - Kutt Calhoun". Kutt.com. Archived from the original on 2011-07-13. Retrieved 2012-03-06.
  36. ↑ Archived July 13, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
  37. 1 2 "Strange Music Upcoming Releases". Coathanga Strangla (insert). Brotha Lynch Hung. Kansas City, MO: Strange Music. 2011.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  38. ↑ "Black Gold [Explicit]: Kutt Calhoun: MP3 Downloads". Amazon. Retrieved 2015-07-11.
  39. ↑ "Alive (Feat. The Jokerr) - Single by Kutt Calhoun". iTunes. 3 June 2016.
  40. ↑ "Never Know (Feat. Automatic) - Single by Kutt Calhoun". iTunes. 15 July 2016.
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