Michael Busby, more commonly known amongst tattoo enthusiasts as Kash Busby or just Kash, is one of Houston's most popular tattoo artists.

In 1993, Busby was the first African-American to own a professional tattoo studio in Texas and one of seven in the entire United States. Kash’s Tattoo Studio is located in Houston’s Third Ward.
            In fact, demand for his style of tattoos has his appointment schedule booked through mid August. What's even more intriguing is that it's not only his artwork that's in demand, but his trademark as well – he signs his tattoos with an invisible ink that could only be seen under black light.

“Well I've never really was with signing my name on the tattoos I did, although I have known of tattoo artists who did,” Busby said. “But I always thought my work was distinctive enough. But a few years ago, there was a scratcher – an untrained tattoo artist – who called himself Cash; and believe you when I tell you this guy was doing some very unflattering work, and many of his customers would come to my studio and complain about mistaking him for me.

“So at their request, I just started to authenticate my work with an invisible signature and I guess the black-light thing kind of turned it into a phenomenon,” Busby added.

            Busby’s uniqueness has put him in the spotlight. He has been featured on 97.9 The Box’s Madd Hatta Morning Show, Fox 26’s morning program with Lloyd Gite, Channel 11’s nightly news coverage, as well as being published in the Houston Chronicle. He is a member of The National Tattoo Association and has received awards from different tattoo associations.

Although Busby has a diverse following and staff and when it comes to tattooing black skin, he is nothing less than an expert on the subject. He explains that though a lot of tattoo artists take the same approach when tattooing different skin tones and skin types. He said he learned that there is an absolute difference between tattooing white, Latino, Asian and Black skin; and the method to applying ink should be approached accordingly.

“If a hair stylist took the same approach in styling black hair as they did with White, Latino, or Asian hair, they would be out of a job pretty quickly,” he said with a laugh.

According to Busby, his tattoo artists are well trained and are eager to serve. He said he takes pride in using only the best quality inks and equipment for every client.

“I use the best of everything: glove, needles, inks, paper towels, tattoo machines, body jewelry – you name it,” Busby said. “If it has something to do with tattooing or body piercing, it's going be top-of-the-line – period. My customers don't want cheap, they want good, and so they get only that.

“I'm not the cheapest in town and I know that not everyone will be able to afford my prices, but I'm certainly not the most expensive either,” the artist added. “But what I do know is that I will always keep my standards high and surprisingly there are people that will pay well for that.”

But it's not all art with Busby. In his spare time, he admits that his favorite pastime is information absorption.

“I truly enjoy reading. It doesn't matter what it is about really – news, sports, forums, horoscopes, blogs, tweets you name it. If someone wrote it, I want to read it. That's where my inspiration comes from. It’s those thousands of words and expressions of the writer that influences my own imagination,” Busby said. “That’s art in its rawest form.”

Busby said he loves to draw and evaluate his own artwork and then compare it to other artists’ artwork.

When asked what sets his studio apart, Busby said that he changes with the time.

“I think the main thing that makes Kash's distinctive is that we are constantly evolving. There’s almost always something changing here and our customers notice the progression and can actually see where their money is being spent,” Busby said. “There is not one week that goes by where we are not implementing something to make their experience more enjoyable than the last. I think this shows our customers that we’re down to earth.”