MC Skat Kat

MC Skat Kat
MC Skat Kat with Paula Abdul in the 1989 music video "Opposites Attract"
Background information
Origin United States
Genres Hip hop
Years active 1989–1991
Labels Virgin
Associated acts Paula Abdul
The Wild Pair
Derrick Stevens

MC Skat Kat is an animated cat character who appeared with Paula Abdul in the video for her song "Opposites Attract" in 1989.

History

MC Skat Kat was created by Michael Patterson and performed by The Wild Pair duo of Bruce DeShazer and Marv Gunn on "Opposites Attract". MC Skat Kat's rap was written by Romany Malco and performed by Derrick Stevens, although Malco is often mistakenly credited for being the voice of the first rap, a story perpetuated by Abdul herself.[1] Derrick Stevens also provided vocals for the character in the MC Skat Kat solo album.

Patterson got the idea for Skat Kat from the Gene Kelly movie Anchors Aweigh, in which Kelly's character dances with Jerry, the mouse from the Tom and Jerry cartoon series. Patterson would originally play small gigs dressed in full cat attire, though soon after become a studio musician with the character becoming fully animated by members of the Disney and Warner Bros. animation team, working outside the studios between major projects, under the direction of Chris Bailey.

The character released the album The Adventures of MC Skat Kat and the Stray Mob in 1991, which was a flop. Some of the songs made references to Paula Abdul and "Opposites Attract", but Abdul did not provide vocals, except for the uncredited intro on "On the Prowl"; she did, however, make an appearance in the video of "Skat Strut",[2] the only single to be released. Despite the popularity of its music video (as it became one of the most requested on MTV), the song only reached number 96 on the Billboard Hot 100.[3]

Another single from the solo album, "Big Time", was given its own video with revised music. The song was labeled as "Big Time (Animation Mix)" on the Captive Sampler.[4] The video, directed by Patterson and Candace Reckinger,[5] was completed in January 1992 and appears on Patterson + Reckinger's Vimeo channel. The original animation was done by Chris Bailey, Tom Sito and Eric Goldberg, who at the time was the lead animator of the Genie character in Disney's Aladdin feature film.[6]

According to producer John Kafka, nobody was sure what to do with Skat after the videos were finished. Virgin Music and Universal Pictures talked of a live-action/animation hybrid feature film, but nothing ever materialized.

MC Skat Kat also appeared in "Yakety Yak, Take It Back", an all-star public service music video produced by Warner Bros. in 1991 for the Take It Back Foundation in 1991. The music video featured appearances by numerous celebrities, with a new version of the song "Yakety Yak" with a message about recycling.[7]

MC Skat Kat appeared in American Dad! season 13 episode 6 "Kiss Kiss Cam Cam", on February 29, 2016. He mentions being out of a job, obviously meant to poke fun at his absence from media and pop culture. He sings "Opposites Attract" with Stan, who is trying to prove that opposites do attract.[8]

The Adventures of MC Skat Kat and the Stray Mob

The Adventures of MC Skat Kat and the Stray Mob is a 1991 album from MC Skat Kat. The album came about as the result of Paula Abdul's successful "Opposites Attract" video of 1990, which was directed by Michael Patterson and Candace Reckinger. The Stray Mob consists of fictional characters Fatz, Taboo, Micetro, Leo, Katleen, and Silk, the first three of whom appeared in the "Opposites Attract" music video. Abdul's lone vocal appearance can be heard in the track "On the Prowl." Two music videos for the album were directed by Patterson and Reckinger, only one of which was released.

The only single from the album, "Skat Strut", samples Earth Wind & Fire's 1981 hit "Let's Groove", with Abdul making a brief appearance in the video. It only reached number 96 on the Billboard Hot 100[9] but fared better overseas, peaking at numbers 9 and 31 on the Norwegian and Swedish charts, respectively.[10][11] The vocal style and length in the music video differed from those from the album version.[12]

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[13]

The album was poorly received and it failed to chart. In 1999, The A.V. Club deemed it the "least essential" album of the 1990s, calling it "a product of clueless committee thinking and Milli Vanilli-style studio hackwork at its most cynical", and concluding that "never has a mass-produced album been demanded by so few."[14]

Track listing

Cover of the album's only single, "Skat Strut", which peaked at number 96 on the Billboard Hot 100.
  1. "Big Time" – 3:53
  2. "I Ain't No Kitty" – 4:37
  3. "No Dogs Allowed" – 5:28
  4. "Gotta Get Up" – 4:00
  5. "Kat in the Casino" – 4:36
  6. "On the Prowl" – 4:06
  7. "Skat Strut" – 3:41
  8. "Kat Stories" – 4:02
  9. "So Sweet So Young" – 3:47
  10. "I Go Crazy" – 3:21
  11. "New Kat Swing" – 4:03
  12. "Skat Kat's Theme" – 4:39

References

  1. ↑ Romany Malco interview, Wendy Williams Show, October 29, 2013.
  2. ↑ MC Skat Kat featuring Paula Abdul – Skat Strut. YouTube. 20 September 2007. Retrieved 12 March 2016.
  3. ↑ "Billboard". Books.google.com. Retrieved 12 March 2016.
  4. ↑ "The Official Paula Abdul Fan Site". Paula-Abdul.net. Retrieved 12 March 2016.
  5. ↑ MC Skat Kat - Big Time. Vimeo.com. Retrieved 3 December 2016.
  6. ↑ John Kafka. "Animated Film Clips". Archived from the original on September 29, 2011. Retrieved 23 March 2016.
  7. ↑ "Take It Back Foundation". Joliejones.com. Retrieved 30 January 2018.
  8. ↑ ""American Dad!" Kiss Kiss Cam Cam (TV Episode 2016)". Retrieved 13 June 2017.
  9. ↑ Inc, Nielsen Business Media (12 October 1991). "Billboard". Nielsen Business Media, Inc. Retrieved 30 January 2018 – via Google Books.
  10. ↑ Norwegian Top 20 Singles Chart Norwegiancharts.com. Retrieved February 14, 2008
  11. ↑ Swedish Top 100 Singles Chart Swedishcharts.com Retrieved February 14, 2008
  12. ↑ "Animation". Web.archive.org. 19 September 2008. Retrieved 30 January 2018.
  13. ↑ "The Adventures of MC Skat Kat and the Stray Mob – MC Skat Kat and the Stray Mob – Songs, Reviews, Credits – AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 30 January 2018.
  14. ↑ Keith Phipps; et al. (December 22, 1999). "Least Essential Albums of the '90s". The A.V. Club. Retrieved January 7, 2016.
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