Super Cat is one of the true originators of the conscious 'reality' movement in modern dancehall culture. With his hardcore lyrics and roughneck staccato delivery, Super Cat takes dead aim at the politicians and drug lords of the world, exposing the hypocrisy and injustice that make us all want to 'Cry Fi De Youth.' Born William Maragh in 1966 at his family’s home in Kingston, Super Cat grew up in the same tough Seivright Gardens neighborhood as Daddy U Roy and Prince Jazzbo, just around the corner from the Colonel himself, Josey Wales. Raised by an African mother and an East Indian father amidst the political and social upheaval of early '80s Jamaica, he was no stranger to the violence and sufferation of Kingston ghetto life. He began his musical career with the Soul Imperial Hi-Fi sound system at the age of seven, hanging around a club known then as the Bamboo Lawn.
He soon began helping out the Soul Imperial Hi-Fi crew, carrying records and watching others perform, before eventually spinning records himself as a teenage apprentice to Early B. From there he began to chat on the mic and eventually went on to work with sound systems like Crystal Blue Flames, Supreme Love, Studio Mix, King Majesty and finally Kilimanjaro. Known then as Cat-a-rock, he replaced the late Jim Brown as principal DJ with Killamanjaro in 1980. A year later he voiced his debut tune, ‘Mr Walker’, in combination with Bruck Back for Winston Riley. His road to fame was brought to a brief halt, however, when he was incarcerated in the General Penitentiary. Upon his release though, encouraged by fellow performers like Early B., Barrington Levy, Don Carlos, Yellowman and Tenor Saw, Super Cat immediately returned to the music he loved. It was Early B., who gave Super Cat the nickname the 'Wild Apache.' Early B., also known as 'the Doctor,' used to say the 'Wild Apache will do the wounding' and that he would 'do the operation.' Supercat eventually struck out on his own and his first single as ‘Super Cat’was, appropriately enough, "Wild Apache." The song was a hit in Jamaica and is credited for being the first reggae song to use sampling.
In 1985 the singles, 'Ride And Shut Off' and his contribution to the notorious Sleng Teng rhythm 'Trash And Ready' set the wheels of Super Cat's career in motion. These singles were followed by his number one smash hit 'Boops', also produced by Winston Riley. 'Boops' told the story of a 'sugar daddy' and his girls and spawned an incredible series of response singles. 'Boops' and the more conscious''Cry Fi De Youth' along with the singles mentioned above were all featured on his 1986 debut album 'Si Boops Deh,' which also featured the dancehall classic 'Vineyard Party.' The single 'Boops' was such a huge hit in Jamaica that the expression entered the slang lexicon of the people where it still remains to this day. The song was based upon the popular Toots & the Maytals '54-46' rhythm, which was also used earlier by the Ethopians on 'Train to Skaville' and Marcia Griffiths on 'Feel Like Jumping.'
Super Cat soon used his newly found fame as a performer to begin work as a producer and began releasing 45 singles on his own Wild Apache label by artists such as Nardo Ranks, Junior Demus, Selvin Wonder, Junior Cat (his brother) and Tumpa Lion. Many of these singles eventualy found their way onto a set of compilations distributed by VP Records called the "Wild Apache All Star" series. In 1988 he released the album 'Sweets for my Sweets' which was soon followed by the first triple-team DJ album in history, which featured Nicodemus and Junior Demus, 'Cabin Stabbin.' His own success continued with to brew with the 'Don Dada' single in 1990, which served as a warning to the then up-and-coming DJs of the time including Shabba Ranks, Ninjaman, and Cutty Ranks that the Cat was still number one. In 1992 Super Cat was one of the hottest reggae artists in the world at that time and he soon secured a deal with Columbia Records, This partnership resulted in the release one of the first true dancehall albums in the United States on a major label, the classic album 'Don Dada.'. This album was the 'real deal' and propelled Super Cat to stardom with the huge underground anthem ‘Ghetto Red Hot’ (which featured a music video and a popular Bobby Konders remix) and other big hits like ‘Them No Worry Me’ with Heavy D, and ‘Big and Ready’ with the veteran singer Frankie Paul. His song ‘Dolly My Baby’ even appeared on the soundtrack of the Disney movie ‘Cool Runnings,’ and the remix of that tune featured both Sean 'Puffy' Combs and the Notorious BIG. Super Cat pioneered the hip hop/reggae connection and was named Dancehall Artist of the Year by the Source Magazine in 1993. Super Cat even spread his influence into the pop market when he worked with Kris Kross, notably on the ‘Jump’ remix and also on their “Alright’ single and video. Whilst maintaining a career with Columbia he also ventured further into production work on his own Wild Apache label, releasing the album 'The Good, the Bad, the Ugly & the Crazy' in 1994.
He continued to voice his own recordings including his version of Fats Domino 's 'My Girl Josephine' performed with Jack Radics from the movie soundtrack Prêt À Porter (Ready to Waer). The song was featured on the Super Cat's own 1995 release 'The Struggle Continues' which also included an appearance from Sugar Minott and U-Roy for the vintage reggae-styled 'A Class Rub A Dub' and featured a hip hop style collaboration with producer Eric Sermon on the hit song 'Girlstown.' More recently, Supercat teamed up with Sugar Ray in 1997 on the #1 smash hit song 'Fly' which helped push their full-length album to multi-platinum success. In 2001 he was featured on the hit song 'Video' by Grammy winner India.Arie. He collaborated with India.Arie on her hit song "Video" in 2001 and with Jadakiss and the Neptunes on "The Don Of Dons" in 2003. 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. In 2005, Super Cat performed at Club Amazura with Shabba Ranks, Frankie Paul and many others. He is currently rumored to be building a new music studio and lives on Long Island. The struggle continues....
James 'Ras J' McGurk
Albums:
Si Boops Deh (Techniques 1986)
Sweets For My Sweets (VP 1988)
Cabin Stabbin (Wild Apache 1991)
Don Dada (Columbia 1992)
The Good The Bad The Ugly And The Crazy (Wild Apache 1994)
The Struggle Continues (Columbia 1995)
Reggaematic Diamond All-Stars (2004)
