A G without tatts is like a hoopty without a chain-link steering wheel: it just doesn’t seem right.

With the release of the most street album of his career, Black Gold, we had Kutt give us a closer look at his skin graffiti.

From the rudimentary beginnings to the elaborate additions as of late, his tattoos tell the story of a man who grew into the streetwise emcee that he is today.

Right Hand – B and Angel Wings

The 3/25/o5 tattoo. It’s a pair of angel wings. Not the average looking angel wings but angel wings nonetheless with a B in the middle. And the story behind this is, if y’all have gotten the Everready disc, it’s the story that’s right on the front of it. When we were leaving Billings, Montana on the way to Spokane, our van, we slid on some black ice and our trailer took control of the van. We got to swaying back and forth and the trailer eventually ended up taking us into a ditch, putting us in a five-roll rampage. What eventually started the whole pull and the rollover stopped us as well – the trailer stopped as it landed upward and sticking position on the ground and made the van stop on all four wheels. All the windows were busted out and it was crushed on the top and on the back where I was sitting at and nobody had their seat belts on so we all looked at this like we were blessed. God had his hands over us. This tattoo symbolizes and takes us back to that day to where it keeps you humble and lets you know what could’ve happened. I got the letter B for the first letter of the word BLEST, it’s not the traditional spelling but it is a spelling: B-L-E-S-T. I got the B for it so that’s what that symbolizes. It’s in remembrance of what happened on March 23, 2005 when a van flipped over due to Black Ice on the highway, trailer taking us on a roll five times.

Right Wrist – Bracelet

It’s a bracelet, a chain bracelet with a princess tiara on the top and it says “Dreya” for my daughter Andrea. This is for her. This was like the first tattoo I got with anything having something to do with my kids on me. She was the first one. Andrea.

Right Forearm – Guardian Angel

This one here is an angel. People get it mixed up because of the styling of it. She’s holding a staff and of course she doesn’t have any legs but it’s just a cool design and it’s nothing like anybody else. She doesn’t have any clothes on or whatever but this is my angel that watches over me. I’ve got an angel of life and an angel of death. This is the angel of life that watches over me. My right arm is a little more positive than the left arm but I’ve got some positivity on the left one as well. So this is my angel of life that’s watching over me because everybody has good in them and everybody has bad in them and I want to be a walking billboard for that. I want to symbolize it. Every tattoo that I’ve got on me that we’ll go through, it all came out of my head. I didn’t just pick them out of a book.

Right Forearm – Mural

This is a mural for my two cousins. My daddy’s brothers sons are George and Chancey. They were killed a year apart from each other. Separate incidents but they were both shot to death.This is a rest in peace mural so you’ve got the big angel wings on the outside, you’ve got the halo in the middle with the “R.I.P.” and then you’ve got the cross with the horizon going through it, with George on one side and Chancey on the other side. I keep them with me as well. They were young and they got killed out here in these streets man and I wanted to have something to remember them by. Not anything really too sad but just knowing where they’re at, they’re probably looking down on me, rooting for me. I wanted to have a mural for them on my body. They were Calhouns as well. George Calhoun and Chancey Calhoun, may they rest in peace. Always.

Right Bicep – Heart

This one right here is a heart, a real heart. It’s not just one of those Valentine’s Day hearts this is a real heart. You’ve got the ventricles and all that. What it consists of is that it has the heart and then it has the mechanical wheels, kind of like the Independent Grind Tour, it’s got the mechanical wheels and it has a banner with my wife’s name in it: Angie, Angie C. and it has two wedding rings bound together on there, his and her rings and it also has a quotation on it that says “Let no man penetrate this bond.” What it means is that you have this heart and you have the wheels turning so it’s like we’re working hard to keep working. It’s a struggle and it’s hard work to keep a bond together especially when you’re getting married, let alone a relationship. This is just letting my wife know that she’s my heart and I wear her on my sleeve because I don’t have any other emotions that I do wear on my sleeve. She’s the one that can have me weak but keeps me strong at the same time. The rings being bonded together, you try to pull them apart they’re not going to come apart. You know what I’m saying? That’s why I say “Let no man penetrate this bond” because marriage is the strongest bond you can have and when you’re married it’s you against the world and if anybody can penetrate that then evidently you wanted them to. I keep this on my arm to remind me what I did, where I’m at and where I’m going.

Right Bicep – “M.C.”

These two letters, in old english letters, this was the second tattoo that I’ve ever gotten. You can see that they’re a little bit smaller than all the rest of mine. This is the second tattoo that I ever got, I think I was 17 years old. It’s just a little M and a C. I didn’t have too much money on me and wasn’t used to tatts but I did want to get something for me: Melvin Calhoun. They also represent two letters that has to do with my profession: master of ceremony. So Melvin Calhoun, Master of Ceremonies, however you want to look at it but that’s what that represents man. And it’s all me. I’m an MC as far as a master of ceremonies standpoint and those are my initials, Melvin Calhoun.

Right Shoulder – “Frances” Tribal Lettering

Now the tribal lettering right here man I didn’t have my mom on me of course. Me and my mom have had a tough relationship since I was ten, anybody out there that’s listened to Kelvin has heard the song “Triumph”. I’ve spoken on it. Me and my mom are great now, our relationship is good. She’s one of the strongest women, if not the strongest woman, that I’ve ever met in my life. A lot of people that have been through what she’s been through I don’t think could come back how she has. She’s so strong. She’s part of the reason why I’m so strong and have made it through a lot of stuff that I’ve been through. I would love to go back and say I wish my life was a little bit different but what you’ve been through makes you who you are. So she makes me strong. A lot of women out there, even my wife now, feel like I’m so cold-hearted or so cold shouldered to a lot of things – I get that from my mom. I’ve seen her go through so much and still prevail and start over again and everything’s alright so I just got her name in tribal lettering. Her name is Mae Frances but I just got Frances. She loves it to this day. Every time I see her she tell me to pull my shirt sleeve up and show everybody. That’s my mama right there on my right arm. Like I said, all the positivity is all on this right arm, the majority of it anyways.

Left Hand – “B”

Shout out to Ren Ren piercings and tatting. So this B right here is by the homeboy Ike, known as Free, he’s the one that did this. It’s the B with the crown on top of it, on the top part of my left hand. And it has stars around it. A lot of people ask what it means and I got different reasons for what it means. Five star, I’m pretty sure a lot of people know what the five is. The B itself, a lot of people can relate that to what they’ve seen over the years with me and the crown, King B. It goes a little deeper than that too. There’s a lot of shit that this represents for me: Bunk Rock King. You’ve got the B with the crown on there: Bunk Rock King. I love beer. I won’t say that Budweiser’s my favorite beer but nonetheless I drink it. This has a lot of different things. I’ve got to get some of this stuff filled in: these flames kind of messed up and I scraped myself up on Thanksgiving playing football with my son and his uncles but yeah man this is basically like a star. I’m one of the three stars in Strange Music who helped start this whole thing. It’s a whole lot deeper than what it just looks like. People who listen to my music and see me with all the red on they’ll think one thing, a majority of people will think that, but for those of who don’t know me, as I’m accruing new fans, then I’m the Bunk Rock King man. I threw my belt up on the wire, I done hung up my Bunk Rock shoes but Bunk Rock King, you know what I’m saying man? With five stars…yeah, there’s a lot behind that but those are some of the reasons.

Left Wrist – Bracelet

Another bracelet going around with a princess Tiara on top of it and the name is Unique, not that it’s a unique name but the actual name is Unique. That’s my daughter Unique. That’s another piece of me, another lady in my life: Unique.

Left Arm – Angel Of Death

Here we go, here’s the bad guy. This is the Angel of Death. We’re all born and we’re all going to die and we all got good and bad in us. So we’ve seen the angel of life with her staff and watching over me and now you’ve got the bad side over here. I didn’t do it because I’m into the devil I did it because it’s true. I’ve done shit that’s wrong in my life and I’ve done a lot of right too. I feel like both of these keep me balanced with me knowing that “Hey, I’m not an angel and I’m not an evil person either.” That’s what this represents man. I just wanted to come up with something that is true, you know? A lot of people try and shy away from it. Even the holiest person still probably does some things that is considered a sin and not right so I know I’m far from being perfect man, but I wanted to have it on my body when I look at it and know what’s on there. It helps me feel at ease because I know that I’m not perfect – just knowing that. Then I look at the other arm and think “Hey as long as I continue to try and do more right than wrong, that’s all that matters.” So that’s what that is.

Left Forearm – “One Life To Live”

A majority of these tatts have been done by my guy Raoul. This is when I was staying with him, I was a roommate with him back in ’03, ’04 possibly ’05. He was giving me tattoos in house and he had a lot of people coming over and I was spreading the word for him. But my dude Raoul he did this and what it says is exactly what it is life: you’ve got one heart, you’ve got one soul and you’ve got one life to live in heaven or in hell. i didn’t put the in heaven and hell but the top half is half of a cross and the bottom half, just opposite of the cross is fire, so that’s how I feel. You’ve got one heart, one soul, one life to live in heaven and hell. It’s your choice, what you going to do? So that’s the positive I have on my left arm along with my daughter.

Forearms – Deuce Clik

I’ve got Deuce on the right forearm and Clik on the left forearm. You put it together and that’s the Deuce Clik. Deuce Clik is not only myself, BG Bulletwound, Snug Brim and Skatterman, we are the Deuce Clik. Deuce Clik is a movement in itself. It’s a Kansas City thing. There’s a lot of Deuce Clik members out here. Deuce Clik affiliates out here all through Kansas City. Blood, Crip, GDs, Deuces, Treys, whatever. It consists of all kinds man. We all got this a long time ago when we all started touring, going out to California. I forgot my dude’s name, my mexican partner’s name out there. But my esé partner put it on myself, Snug and BG. Skatter didn’t get it. He’s real real real dark (laughs) so he didn’t get it. But I don’t think he was with us at the time when we did it. Skatter was off doing something different. I can’t remember what but he wasn’t with us but yeah, we got the Deuce Clik and we got that out of the spirit of camaraderie of us being the Deuce Clik. It’s where it started from but like I said there’s a lot of Deuce Clik, Deuce affiliates out here in Kansas City and a lot of other places as well besides Missouri.

What is the background of that name?

Deuce Clik! It’s like, you’ve got gang signals or you’ve got hoods that claim certain things. Deuce is the two fingers that a lot of people recognize as the “rock and roll” sign. When you stick your tongue out and throw those two fingers up. The rock and roll song but this is actually Deuce for us. The two fingers and then you’ve got treys where you throw up that pinky finger, the one right next to it, hold your middle finger down with your thumb and then you still got your pointing finger. That’s treys. So it’s like deuce clik is this right here, it’s an inner city, it’s a hood thing, it’s a gang thing. It’s all the above. That’s where it generates from. If you see somebody doing this, just depending if you know about them or who they’re affiliated to, it can mean two different things. It can mean “What’s up? How you doing? Or do what you do” or “What’s up Deuce!”

Left Elbow – Red Bandanna

I got this when I was in Billings, Montana. Killa C used to be involved with Strange Music, him and Liquid Assassin. Killa C took me to a tattoo guy out there man and I wanted a red bandanna. I already had this up here above it but I wanted something right here. I was going to try and go all the way around but when he got right here, the shit that I felt, I was like “ahh just cut it off right there!” (Laughs) It’s a bandanna man. It just reminds me, and this is nothing that I’m ashamed of at all, but it just reminds me that when I get 50 and 60 years old I’m not going to be ashamed of this because it just reminds me of what I was affiliated to, what was in me, what camaraderie I had out of this. It don’t matter if I say I’m not a part of anything no more, I’m guilty by association and this is on my life forever. I don’t glorify it but I just say that it’s just me. People can like what they like and people don’t like what they don’t. This is just me man. This is like something that I look down on and say “This is something that was a part of my life.”

Left Shoulder and Bicep – “Kutt Calhoun” and KC Logo

Craig, I call him bubba, he used to work the lights and paint Tech’s face in the beginning before Scenario did. He drew the font for this. This type of font that you see in Raw and Un-Kutt and on B.L.E.V.E.. He drew this by hand you know what I’m saying? That’s what makes it so original. Shout out to Craig. What’s Craig’s last name? Shit don’t let me mess it up. Shout out to Craig, you know who you are. He made this font man. We were on the road with Kottonmouth Kings and I wanted to get a tattoo and these two are just one piece. The KC sign, mirrored backwards. That’s why it looks like a backwards C, K. KC. It’s just a KC symbol. Looks like it’s the Royals KC but mirrored backwards. That’s my symbol. That’s my logo. This is supposed to be fire and smoke coming up from it. It looks a little too detailed and too perfect to be fire and uh, it’s more of a tribal fire is what it is. With some clouds but that’s supposed to be the smoke man. It’s different. I ain’t seen nobody else with it. It’s still original. But yeah Craig drew this, he came up with it and it’s still so red still to this day, the ink that got used. The tattoo probably hurt the worst because the tattoo guy was so damned heavy handed, the way he was up here on my shoulder pressing and my fingers were jumping. Nonetheless it’s been in there and I haven’t had anybody have to go back over it and put any color in there, it’s been the same. I got this tattoo man I want to say around ’04.

Stomach – Missouri Outline

That was the very first one I ever got. I got that up in St. Joseph Missouri. You know in those songs where I’m talking about I was out of town selling dope and doing this and that and went out of town and had a baby, that’s on “Triumph” too. I had a baby and I have a child in St. Joseph Missouri. I love you O’Shay, that’s my boy. That’s where I got this tattoo when I was out of town doing some wrong stuff. I got this tattoo. It was supposed to be not only the just state of Missouri outline with KC midwestern in it, it was supposed to have some Show Me state stuff around it. That tattoo hurt so bad. I was holding my breath, and it’s like you can’t tense up and make a muscle because it won’t come out right. When he finished that outline and put the KC midwest thing in there I was like “Alright, thanks! Pshew!” and burned out. I never got it touc-hed up again. I probably will. I am. I’m getting my stomach right now. That’s why I’m in the gym, I’m going to get the stuff that I was supposed to get on there on there.

Chest – Red Phoenix

It’s the Phoenix. It’s a tribal type of Phoenix. Tattoo Ortiz, Colorado Springs, he did this. I think he’s in Denver now if I’m not mistaken. I wanted something that stretched from shoulder to shoulder and we were coming up with birds and we finally came up with This Phoenix. He came up with this one and he sent me this picture and I’m like “Nah…nah…nah…” but I finally liked this one and what I wanted to do was incorporate more of my kids in there so I got Malik on the right shoulder and Darius on the left shoulder, my two sons. The Phoenix is one of the birds that can rise from its ashes. It dies everyday and rises back in the morning from its own ashes. That’s why I say that in “Sleeping On Me” because that’s how I feel, no matter what I’ve been through and what I’ve gone through, you can try to beat me down and break me up into pieces, I’m going to get right back up and rise from my ashes. So with that being said, my attitude is going to be eternal. I’m not eternal, nobody is eternal, but that’s the confidence and the attitude that I have with the shit that I’ve been through in life, I’m going to keep getting up from it, just like the Phoenix bird and along with that I want to instill the same thing in my two sons. I got two more sons left Darvion and O’Shay but I got Malik and Darius on me and somewhere on me, because I still got room, I’m going to get my other two songs O’Shay and Darvion put on me too. I want to instill in all of them to have that no lose and never give up kind of attitude. You can fall but you can always get back up.

Back and Triceps – “Calhoun” and Red 7s

The infamous back piece! It says “Calhoun”. Another tattoo Raoul gave me. Yeah, he made up those letters. I didn’t want him to pick no letters out of a book, no crazy fonts out of a book, because somebody has something, somewhere with letters that are in tattoo books. He made these up from his head on the spot. They’re on my wife’s back, my oldest son Malik, he’s going to get them. He graduates this May, he’s going to get them. My brothers from my daddy’s other marriage, they’re both going to get them. My uncle’s daughter, the sister of these two that are on my right arm that I got a mural to, she has it on her back. Calhoun man, it’s just turning into a family tradition. It feels good to be a part of that. Like, I started that. It’s original, it’s authentic and you can’t have that unless you’re a Calhoun.

I got one seven on the back left forearm and a matching one on the right. 7, as everybody knows is a holy number. I believe in positives and higher power. I believe in God so 7 is very holy and I got the double 7s over. ’77 also represents what people would call your birthdate and a whole lot of shit happened in ’77 which I think makes it so unique. So much history in ’77. That’s a great year to represent. Not only that but with it being such a holy number it’s great, I love it.

• Which tattoo did you vote for?

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