Kutt Calhoun

For underground rappers landlocked in no-coast Missouri, the breakout success of Tech N9ne did more than lead Kansas City out from under the shadow of neighboring St. Louis, home to the likes of Nelly and Chingy. Because N9ne, now an L.A. resident and the driving force behind Strange Music Inc., has never forgotten his Midwestern homies -- including cocksure hype man and label signee Kutt Calhoun. A former member of the Deuce Click with Big Krizz Kaliko, who shares tonight's N9ne-headlining bill with Potluck, Calhoun debuted last year with the Bay-influenced B.L.E.V.E. (a long-winded firefighting term that stands for Boiling Liquid Expanding Vapor Explosion). If opener "Bring Da Flames" is any indication of Calhoun's combustible flow, his adoring Wonder Bread demographic should be toast in no time. Spouting nursery-rhyme bunk about mackin' chicks, walkin' with a limp and keepin' it "Keebler," this K.C. native seems poised to spread his ever-evolving gangsta notoriety well beyond the barbecue curtain.