Calicoe brags about animal fighting, then says it's not true - New York News | NYC Breaking News

Detroit battle rapper Calicoe shows off what looks like an alligator.

"We have a saber tooth tiger in the back," he says.

It's a video that seems to be going viral among anti-animal cruelty activists.

"Anybody want to fight some dogs?  I hope we don't get indicted for that," he says as he opens a gate.

And it's not just dogs.  Calicoe takes the viewer on a five minute tour of a local property.

"Pit bulls.  We've got some roosters.  We fight them, too," he says, then points to a rooster in a cage.  "That's a grand champ right there."

The video shows the rooster showing off his skills.  They pass by a dog and some more roosters.

"We've got some more fighters over here making that real money," Calicoe says.

And a little puppy.

"He a grand champ ready whenever," he says.

The camera passes by more pit bulls and again some are just puppies.

"They champions in the making, man," he says.  "Anything that got to do with gambling, put some money up, we do it."

But is it all battle rapper bravado or an illegal training ground for dog fighting?

"As a hip hop artist myself, I don't think it's necessarily the image that we should be portraying in hip hop that we fight dogs or we fight chickens or whatever that may be.  I understand that Detroit has a hustle because I used to be a part of that hustle," said Detroit rapper Hush.

He runs Detroit Dog Rescue.  He knows a lot of entertainers talk a big game, but this is nothing to joke about.

"Some of these dogs are really getting hurt.  Some of these dogs are being used as bait, and it's not fair to these animals that they're used in that sort of way," Hush remarked.

The Michigan Humane Society is taking this seriously.  Like us, they've received numerous e-mails and phone calls asking for an investigation, which they say is now happening.  The question we have is what does Calicoe have to say?

Monday we spoke with Calicoe by phone.  He says he wants everyone to know that he believes this whole thing has been blown out of proportion.

He says he is a battle rapper and this video is all about image.  Rappers talk about all kinds of things that they never do.  He says these animals don't belong to him, they belong to a friend of his who is an animal lover and that these animals are not used for fighting in any way.  He says they are well cared for.

Calicoe was out of town when we reached him by phone.  He's offered to show us the property, and we'll bring that to you when it happens.