Super Cat (William Maragh), was born in Kingston, Jamaica 1966, of mixed African and East Indian descent, he lived in the tough Seivright Gardens neighbourhood, then known as Cockburn Pen. This area was a hotbed of dancehall reggae and home to ground-breaking deejays like Prince Jazzbo and U-Roy. Here he heard the latest songs by these veterans blasting from local record shops, and by the time he was eight years old, he was hanging out at local club, Bamboo Lawn, assisting the crew of the Soul Imperial sound system and absorbing the dancehall rhymes of deejays like Dillinger, Ranking Trevor and Early B The Doctor. He stared out here as Cat-A-Rock, the name given to him by Abraham Ferron aka Echo, who was one of the younger brothers of George Ferron. The same Georgie who used to "Keep the Fire Burning" in Bob Marley’s "Stir It Up". The name Cat-A-Rock was then changed by late friend, Poet Jimmy Andem to Super Cat. The name was changed to describe his stage persona of cultural assertiveness and vision as opposed to the former nickname that had sounded close to blind like a cataract! It was here also that Early B gave him the nickname, the "Wild Apache", a reference to his partial East Indian ancestry.
As a teenager he moved up through sound systems like Crystal Blue, Stereo Grav, Virgo, Soul II Soul, Tape-Tone Hi-Fi latter to become King Jammy’s Hi-Fi, Supreme Of Love, Papa Roots Hi-Fi, King Majesty, Black Scorpio, Studio Mix, and Stur Mars. Super Cat developed and honed his skills to become a very accomplished DJ, with his aggressive and conscious performances on sound systems, which earned him great popularity in the dancehall, where eventually in 1981 Winston Riley decided to take him into the studio. Here they cut 'Mr Walker' together, but the road to fame was bought to an abrupt halt when he was apparently imprisoned for a short while, though I haven't managed to find out what for. On his release, his old mentor Early B offered him the chance to get back into music 'chatting' for the Killamanjaro sound system. The sound system gave him a respectable status as he performed alongside top acts like the Lone Ranger, John Wayne and Jim Kelly. In 1985 returned to recording with singles, 'Ride And Shut Off' and his contribution to the notorious Sleng Teng rhythm 'Trash And Ready', which helped to enhance his career. This was then followed by his biggest hit 'Boops', and was taken from his debut album "Si Boops Deh". 'Boops', the story of a 'sugar daddy' was a massive hit that spawned hundreds of responses and this tune alone is enough to cement him a place in reggae history.
It was until 1990 that his next LP appeared "Sweets For My Sweets" on VP records, and spawned the number one smash of the same name. Then this was swiftly followed by "Don Dada". This LP helped gain him a place on the U.S. music scene as the album featured heavyweights in the hip hop arena such as Heavy D and The Notorious B.I.G, and was a warning to the then up-and-coming DJs including Shabba Ranks, Cutty Ranks, and with the title song a reply too many jabs made by Ninjaman.
In spite of the assertive disposition of the record Super Cat was invited to perform at the 1991 'One Love' concert in the UK, promoting as the name would suggest peace and harmony. However for Super Cat, a few weeks before the show he was in New York when one of the exponents of the Waterhouse-style, Nitty Gritty, was shot. Unfortunately being in the vicinity of the incident at the time, media speculation pointed to him as the prime suspect. This altercation resulted in his non-appearance at the show.
By 1992 his innocence was proved and he secured a deal with Columbia Records resulting in the release of 'It Fe Done' in combination with Josey Wales. Super Cat also continued with ventures into the hip hop market when he appeared alongside stablemates the young rap duo Kris Kross, notably on 'Jump Supercat Dessork Mix'. He also collaborated with the duo in 1993 for their song "It's Alright". These main stream hits helped to make him The Source magazine dancehall artist of the year in 1993. He also collaborated again with The Notorious B.I.G., featuring the then unknown artist (along with Mary J. Blige, Jesse West and Puff Daddy) on the B-side remix of "Dolly My Baby" in 1993.
Whilst maintaining a career with Columbia he also began production work under the guise of 'Wild Apache the Don Dada', named after his dancehall hit. He produced top selling singles for the likes of Burro Banton, Junior Cat, Jack Radics, Eek-A-Mouse, and others. Along with his production work he still continued to release his own recordings including his version of Fats Domino's "My Girl Josephine", which he performed with Jack Radics and was for the movie soundtrack to Prêt À Porter. He unfortunately managed to emulate the success enjoyed by Ini Kamoze who also contributed to the soundtrack of the movie. The song was featured on the Super Cat's own "The Struggle Continues" which also included an appearance from Sugar Minott and U-Roy for the vintage reggae-styled 'A Class Rub A Dub'.
Super Cat went on to have the odd break through success, and was featured on the number one hit "Fly", in 1997 by Sugar Ray from their platinum album. He has also collaborated with India.Arie on her hit song "Video" in 2001, and with Jadakiss and The Neptunes on "The Don Of Dons" in 2003. Also in 2003, he collaborated with 112 for their song "Na, Na, Na".
Following the death of his long time road manager Fred 'The Thunder' Donner in 2004, Super Cat released a multi-cd tribute album entitled Reggaematic Diamond All-Stars that featured contributions from Yami Bolo, Michael Prophet, Linval Thompson, Nadine Sutherland and Sizzla among others.
Although he has had something of a sporadic career, this lively and outspoken performer, in his attitude on politics, sex, drugs, violence, and with his messages of a conscious and positive cry for justice in the ghettos from Kingston, Jamaica, to New York City to South Central, Los Angeles and around the world has been regarded as a source of inspiration to many artists including, Apache Indian (another Indian descent reggae artist from Birmingham, in the UK), Damian "Jr. Gong" Marley, Collie Buddz, and Sean Paul to name but a few.
Presently, Super Cat is in the process of creating the Wild Apache Production facility, a recording and rehearsal studio in New York, and as a dancehall reggae DJ from groundation, he is now assembling his own sound system The Struggle Itinually.
As a teenager he moved up through sound systems like Crystal Blue, Stereo Grav, Virgo, Soul II Soul, Tape-Tone Hi-Fi latter to become King Jammy’s Hi-Fi, Supreme Of Love, Papa Roots Hi-Fi, King Majesty, Black Scorpio, Studio Mix, and Stur Mars. Super Cat developed and honed his skills to become a very accomplished DJ, with his aggressive and conscious performances on sound systems, which earned him great popularity in the dancehall, where eventually in 1981 Winston Riley decided to take him into the studio. Here they cut 'Mr Walker' together, but the road to fame was bought to an abrupt halt when he was apparently imprisoned for a short while, though I haven't managed to find out what for. On his release, his old mentor Early B offered him the chance to get back into music 'chatting' for the Killamanjaro sound system. The sound system gave him a respectable status as he performed alongside top acts like the Lone Ranger, John Wayne and Jim Kelly. In 1985 returned to recording with singles, 'Ride And Shut Off' and his contribution to the notorious Sleng Teng rhythm 'Trash And Ready', which helped to enhance his career. This was then followed by his biggest hit 'Boops', and was taken from his debut album "Si Boops Deh". 'Boops', the story of a 'sugar daddy' was a massive hit that spawned hundreds of responses and this tune alone is enough to cement him a place in reggae history.
It was until 1990 that his next LP appeared "Sweets For My Sweets" on VP records, and spawned the number one smash of the same name. Then this was swiftly followed by "Don Dada". This LP helped gain him a place on the U.S. music scene as the album featured heavyweights in the hip hop arena such as Heavy D and The Notorious B.I.G, and was a warning to the then up-and-coming DJs including Shabba Ranks, Cutty Ranks, and with the title song a reply too many jabs made by Ninjaman.
In spite of the assertive disposition of the record Super Cat was invited to perform at the 1991 'One Love' concert in the UK, promoting as the name would suggest peace and harmony. However for Super Cat, a few weeks before the show he was in New York when one of the exponents of the Waterhouse-style, Nitty Gritty, was shot. Unfortunately being in the vicinity of the incident at the time, media speculation pointed to him as the prime suspect. This altercation resulted in his non-appearance at the show.
By 1992 his innocence was proved and he secured a deal with Columbia Records resulting in the release of 'It Fe Done' in combination with Josey Wales. Super Cat also continued with ventures into the hip hop market when he appeared alongside stablemates the young rap duo Kris Kross, notably on 'Jump Supercat Dessork Mix'. He also collaborated with the duo in 1993 for their song "It's Alright". These main stream hits helped to make him The Source magazine dancehall artist of the year in 1993. He also collaborated again with The Notorious B.I.G., featuring the then unknown artist (along with Mary J. Blige, Jesse West and Puff Daddy) on the B-side remix of "Dolly My Baby" in 1993.
Whilst maintaining a career with Columbia he also began production work under the guise of 'Wild Apache the Don Dada', named after his dancehall hit. He produced top selling singles for the likes of Burro Banton, Junior Cat, Jack Radics, Eek-A-Mouse, and others. Along with his production work he still continued to release his own recordings including his version of Fats Domino's "My Girl Josephine", which he performed with Jack Radics and was for the movie soundtrack to Prêt À Porter. He unfortunately managed to emulate the success enjoyed by Ini Kamoze who also contributed to the soundtrack of the movie. The song was featured on the Super Cat's own "The Struggle Continues" which also included an appearance from Sugar Minott and U-Roy for the vintage reggae-styled 'A Class Rub A Dub'.
Super Cat went on to have the odd break through success, and was featured on the number one hit "Fly", in 1997 by Sugar Ray from their platinum album. He has also collaborated with India.Arie on her hit song "Video" in 2001, and with Jadakiss and The Neptunes on "The Don Of Dons" in 2003. Also in 2003, he collaborated with 112 for their song "Na, Na, Na".
Following the death of his long time road manager Fred 'The Thunder' Donner in 2004, Super Cat released a multi-cd tribute album entitled Reggaematic Diamond All-Stars that featured contributions from Yami Bolo, Michael Prophet, Linval Thompson, Nadine Sutherland and Sizzla among others.
Although he has had something of a sporadic career, this lively and outspoken performer, in his attitude on politics, sex, drugs, violence, and with his messages of a conscious and positive cry for justice in the ghettos from Kingston, Jamaica, to New York City to South Central, Los Angeles and around the world has been regarded as a source of inspiration to many artists including, Apache Indian (another Indian descent reggae artist from Birmingham, in the UK), Damian "Jr. Gong" Marley, Collie Buddz, and Sean Paul to name but a few.
Presently, Super Cat is in the process of creating the Wild Apache Production facility, a recording and rehearsal studio in New York, and as a dancehall reggae DJ from groundation, he is now assembling his own sound system The Struggle Itinually.
No comments:
Post a Comment