Adam Calhoun

American rapper and singer (born 1980)

Adam Calhoun

Birth name| Adam Bradley Calhoun
Born|  (1980-09-05) September 5, 1980 (age 44)
Chicago, Illinois[1]
Origin| New Lenox, Illinois
Genres|

* Country rap[2]
* Midwest hip hop

Occupations|

* Rapper
* singer
* songwriter
* comedian
* YouTuber

Years active| 2017–present
Website| officialacal.com

Musical artist

Adam Bradley Calhoun (born September 5, 1980) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and YouTube vlogger. He is active as a social media personality and has released a number of albums.[2] His most successful album was a collaborative project with Tom MacDonald, titled The Brave, released in 2022. The same year, he released another album named Country Rap Tunes. A sequel to The Brave, entitled The Brave 2, was released the following year.

## Music career

[edit]

Calhoun started his music career performing with country rap singer, Chris Hosier. They released a single "Salute the Brave" in 2017,[3] which reached No. 46 on Hot Country Songs.[4] and they also released an album Made in America that year. He ended his collaboration with Hosier and started a solo career in 2018, and released AmerAcal.[5] Later in the year he released his second album The Throne.[6] A track in the album, "Racism", drew criticism for use of the n-word and stereotypes about white and black people.[7] In a collaboration with fellow American country rapper/singer Upchurch with the song "Back N Forth", Calhoun notably raps about men wearing women's dresses.[8]

He released an EP Crazy White Boy with Demun Jones. During their "Crazy White Boy Tour", their shows in Sacramento, California, were scheduled in the same weekend as the Sacramento Pride, which led to protests because of his social media posts on gay and trans people and song lyrics described as "racist".[9] It resulted in those shows being cancelled.[10][11] Other shows similarly faced protests and another show in Oklahoma City was canceled.[12][13]

On July 18, 2019, Calhoun released his third solo album, War. The album was the second best-selling country album and the third best-selling rap album of the week,[14][15] with 3,200 copies sold.[16]

Calhoun has also collaborated with a number of other artists, including Upchurch on Hooligan released in 2019,[17] and Struggle Jennings on Legend, released in 2020.[18]

In 2022, Calhoun collaborated with Tom MacDonald to release an album, The Brave. The album was the best selling album the week of its release in March 2022, with 16,000 copies sold in the U.S.[19] In September 2023, Calhoun and MacDonald released the album, The Brave II.[20][21]

## Personal life

[edit]

Calhoun has an adult son, Tamen, with a former girlfriend. He also has a daughter, Grae Millie, born in September 2021 and a son, William, born in March 2024, with his wife Margie.[22][23][24]

Calhoun served time in prison for punching an on-duty police officer.[22]

Calhoun has a YouTube channel with over 1.82 million subscribers as of November 2024, where he often expresses his political and social views, including his support for the former U.S. president and president-elect Donald Trump.[2]

## Discography

[edit]

### Albums

[edit]

Title  | Album details  | Peak chart positions  | Sales

|
|
|

[25] | US
Country
[26] | US
Heat
[27] | US
Indie
[28] | US
R&B/HH
[29] | Can
[30]
Made in America
(with Chris Hosier) |

* Release date: December 1, 2017
* Label: Redneckin Records
* Formats: Digital download

| —  | —  | 6  | 46  | —  | —  |
AmerAcal |

* Release date: March 13, 2018
* Label: ACal
* Formats: Digital download

| —  | 13  | 1  | 4  | —  | —  |

* US: 11,600[16]

The Throne |

* Release date: November, 2018
* Label: ACal
* Formats: Digital download

| —  | 21  | 1  | 4  | —  | —  |

* US: 7,800[16]

War |

* Release date: July 18, 2019
* Label: ACal
* Formats: Digital download, streaming

| —  | —  | 2  | 8  | —  | —  |

* US: 3,200[16]

Hooligan
(with Upchurch) |

* Release date: November 25, 2019[31]
* Label: ACal / RHEC
* Formats: Digital download, streaming

| 160  | —  | —  | 3  | —  | —  |
Billy G.O.A.T. |

* Release date: March 24, 2020[32]
* Label: ACal
* Formats: Digital download, streaming

| —  | —  | 8  | 47  | —  | —  |
Legend
(with Struggle Jennings) |

* Release date: June 9, 2020[18]
* Label: ACal / Angels & Outlaws
* Formats: Digital download, streaming

| —  | —  | 18  | —  | —  | —  |
Pressure |

* Release date: January 22, 2021[33]
* Label: ACal
* Formats: Digital download, streaming

| —  | —  | 7  | —  | —  | —  |
Outlaw Shxt
(with Struggle Jennings) |

* Release date: April 30, 2021[34]
* Label: ACal / Angels & Outlaws
* Formats: Digital download, streaming

| —  | —  | 4  | —  | —  | —  |
The Brave
(with Tom MacDonald) |

* Release date: March 4, 2022[35]
* Label: Self-released
* Formats: Digital download, streaming

| 14  | —  | —  | 4  | 9  | 83  |

* US: 16,000[19]

Country Rap Tunes |

* Release date: October 7, 2022[36]
* Label: ACal
* Formats: Digital download, streaming

| —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  |
The Brave 2
(with Tom MacDonald) |

* Release date: September 22, 2023
* Label: Self-released
* Formats: CD, Digital

| 62  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  |
Pale Horse
(with Mesus) |

* Release date: September 13, 2024
* Label: Self-released
* Formats: Digital

| —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  |

### Extended plays

[edit]

Title  | EP details  | Peak chart positions

|
|

Heat
[37] | US
Indie
[38]
Crazy White Boy
(with Demun Jones) |

* Release date: February 11, 2019
* Label: ACal
* Formats: Digital download

| 1  | 10

### Singles

[edit]

Year  | Title  | Peak chart positions  | Album

|
|
|

Country
[4] | US
R&B/Hip-Hop
[39] | US
Digital
[40][41] | CAN
Digital
[42][43]
2017  | "Salute the Brave"
(with Hosier)  | 46  | —  | —  | —  | Made in America
2020  | "The Patriot"[44] | —  | —  | —  | —
2021  | "Pictures"[45] | —  | —  | —  | —
2022  | "Gumbo"[46] | —  | —[a] | —  | —
"Ramble On"[48] | —  | —[b] | —  | —
2023  | "American Flags"
(with Tom MacDonald)[50] | —  | 43  | 2  | 8
"Your America"
(with Tom MacDonald)  | —  | —[c] | 9  | 20

1. ^ "Gumbo" did not enter the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, but reached number 18 on the R&B/Hip-Hop Digital Song Sales chart.[47]
2. ^ "Ramble On" did not enter the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, but reached number 14 on the R&B/Hip-Hop Digital Song Sales chart.[49]
3. ^ "Your America" did not enter the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, but reached number 1 on the R&B/Hip-Hop Digital Song Sales chart.[51]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Who is Adam Calhoun". Woman Magazine. 24 August 2021.
2. ^ a b c Hitt, Tarpley (June 6, 2019). "The Phenom and the Trump Troll: A Tale of Two Country Rappers, Forged by Social Media". The Daily Beast.
3. ^ "Singled Out: Selena Gomez, Sam Smith, Hosier and Adam Calhoun". Collegian. November 3, 2017.
4. ^ a b "Hot Country Songs". Billboard. November 18, 2017.
5. ^ "Adam Calhoun: AmerAcal". AllMusic.
6. ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Adam Calhoun". AllMusic.
7. ^ Egel, Benjy (May 28, 2019). "Sacramento bar booked anti-LGBTQ rappers during Pride weekend. Now a backlash is coming". The Fresno Bee.
8. ^ Upchurch & Adam Calhoun "Back N Forth" (Official Music Video), 15 December 2019, retrieved 2022-05-11
9. ^ Bretón, Marcos (May 29, 2019). "The fed-up 'Crazy White Boy' backlash: A racist soundtrack of our divisive times". The Sacramento Bee.
10. ^ "Controversial Musician Adam Calhoun Still Coming To Sacramento After Goldfield Cancels Shows". CBS Sacramento. May 30, 2019.
11. ^ Egel, Benjy (May 29, 2019). "Sacramento country bar cancels controversial shows after uproar from LGBTQ community". The Sacramento Bee.
12. ^ Garcia, Eddie (June 26, 2019). "Greensboro Community Reacts To Controversial Concert". WFDD.
13. ^ Yager, Peyton (June 12, 2019). "Venue cancels controversial concert after backlash online". KFOR.
14. ^ "Country Album Sales". Billboard. July 27, 2019.
15. ^ "Rap Album Sales". Billboard. July 27, 2019.
16. ^ a b c d Bjorke, Matt (July 26, 2019). "Top 10 Country Albums Chart: July 21, 2019". Roughstock. Retrieved July 31, 2019.
17. ^ Stephen Thomas Erlewine. "Adam Calhoun / Upchurch: Hooligan". AllMusic.
18. ^ a b "Legend: Adam Calhoun, Struggle Jennings". Apple Music. Archived from the original on April 12, 2021. Retrieved April 12, 2021.
19. ^ a b Caulfield, Keith (March 14, 2022). "Tom MacDonald & Adam Calhoun's 'The Brave' Bows at No. 1 on Billboard's Top Album Sales Chart". Billboard.
20. ^ "The Brave 2 is now on ALL DIGITAL PLATFORMS!". Twitter. 22 September 2023. Retrieved 25 September 2023.
21. ^ "The Brave II". Spotify. 22 September 2023. Retrieved 25 September 2023.
22. ^ a b "Adam Calhoun Credits Son for Changing His Life". Hollywood Mask. 13 May 2021.
23. ^ "Margie Naatz & Adam Calhoun's Wedding".
24. ^ The post of Adam Calhoun on instagram child's gender reveal party
25. ^ @billboardcharts (December 2, 2019). "Debuts on this week's #Billboard200 (2/2)" (Tweet). Retrieved December 3, 2019 - via Twitter.
* "Billboard 200". Billboard. March 19, 2022.
26. ^ "Top Country Albums". Billboard. March 31, 2018.
* "Top Country Albums". Billboard. November 17, 2018.
27. ^ "Heatseekers Albums". Billboard. March 31, 2018.
* "Heatseekers Albums". Billboard. November 17, 2018.
* "Heatseekers Albums". Billboard. July 27, 2019.
* "Heatseekers Albums". Billboard. April 4, 2020.
* "Heatseekers Albums". Billboard. June 20, 2020.
28. ^ "Independent Albums". Billboard. November 17, 2018.
* "Independent Albums". Billboard. March 31, 2018.
* "Independent Albums". Billboard. July 27, 2019.
* "Independent Albums". Billboard. December 7, 2019.
* "Independent Albums". Billboard. April 4, 2020.
* "Independent Albums". Billboard. March 19, 2022.
29. ^ "Heatseekers Albums". Billboard. March 19, 2022.
30. ^ "Heatseekers Albums". Billboard. March 19, 2022.
31. ^ "Hooligan by Upchurch & Adam Calhoun". Apple Music. Archived from the original on December 6, 2020. Retrieved November 29, 2019.
32. ^ "Billy G.O.A.T." Apple Music. Archived from the original on April 12, 2021. Retrieved April 12, 2021.
33. ^ "Pressure by Adam Calhoun". Apple Music. Archived from the original on January 23, 2021. Retrieved January 22, 2021.
34. ^ "Outlaw Shxt: Adam Calhoun, Struggle Jennings". Apple Music. Retrieved April 30, 2021.[permanent dead link‍]
35. ^ "The Brave: Tom MacDonald, Adam Calhoun". Apple Music. Retrieved March 15, 2022.
36. ^ "Country Rap Tunes: Adam Calhoun". Apple Music. Retrieved October 7, 2022.
37. ^ "Heatseekers Albums". Billboard. February 23, 2019.
38. ^ "Independent Albums". Billboard. February 23, 2019.
39. ^ "Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs". Billboard. August 12, 2023.
40. ^ "Digital Song Sales". Billboard. August 12, 2023.
41. ^ "Digital Song Sales". Billboard. Retrieved August 22, 2023.
42. ^ "Canadian Digital Song Sales". Billboard. August 12, 2023.
43. ^ "Canadian Digital Song Sales". Billboard.
44. ^ "The Patriot by Adam Calhoun on Apple Music". Archived from the original on November 24, 2020. Retrieved August 10, 2020 - via Apple Music.
45. ^ "Pictures - Single: Adam Calhoun". iTunes.
46. ^ "Gumbo (feat. Dusty Leigh, Brodnax & Demun Jones) - Single". iTunes.
47. ^ "R&B/Hip-Hop Digital Song Sales Chart". Billboard. September 9, 2022.
48. ^ "Ramble On - Single: Adam Calhoun". iTunes.
49. ^ "R&B/Hip-Hop Digital Song Sales Chart". Billboard. October 10, 2022.
50. ^ Toto, Christian (July 29, 2023). "Tom MacDonald Doubles Down on Aldean's 'Small Town' Rage". Hollywood in Toto.
51. ^ "R&B/Hip-Hop Digital Song Sales Chart". Billboard. Retrieved August 22, 2023.

## External links

[edit]

* Adam Calhoun YouTube channel
* Adam Calhoun website