Rating:
  Review Date: May 5, 2008
  Website: Kats Website
  Label: Shit-Storm Records

Kats “Katskills” Album Review
Being a fan of what I like to refer to as “underground hip-hop” seems to be getting more difficult every day now. Originally, I started following the underground because I was tired of the fakeness and the repetition in mainstream hip-hop. Back then, the underground was a place that allowed rappers to be themselves and stray from the same tired images, styles and sounds. These days, however, that is not necessarily the case.

Most of the CDs I receive from underground rappers are just as fake and repetitive as mainstream rap. They all talk about how wack mainstream rappers are – how they recycle the same songs, beats and images. They talk about how they’re the realest, the dopest, the most conscious – the best. And by the time they’re done, they haven’t really said anything, only spent twelve tracks dissing the mainstream and repping the underground.

Kats is one of the few exceptions I’ve been able to find recently. Representing New York City’s vibrant underground hip-hop scene, Kats stands out as a unique emcee with a distinctive rhyme style, an energetic stage presence, and fun, entertaining, head-nodding songs. Kats is not only unafraid to be himself, but he thrives on it, attempting to redefine the boundaries of underground hip-hop by doing it his own way. And this approach works out exceptionally in his third release, “Katskills.”

Kats apparently feels the same way I do about the underground, as he takes time out to clown on underground rappers who, as Kats would say, “keep it so real that it’s fake.” Breathe In … Breathe Out features the following verse dedicated to “conscious underground emcees”:

I hate when little wannabes wanna be real rappers/
I hate when real rappers wanna be singers and actors/
I hate when actors wanna be politically active/
I hate when politicians lie and mix in acting/
I hate the way that rap is marketed to children/
Hate a conscious rapper even more – shit ain’t real man/
Talk is cheap, ain’t even worth a dollar/
So spare me the knowledge of a phony fucking scholar/

Still, many of my favorite songs on “Katskills” are simply feel-good hip-hop tracks that either bring a smile to my face or a nod to my head. Move Out features a lyrical back-and-forth between Kats and fellow Brooklynite Domer. Here We Go, which is possibly the banger of the album, relies on a grimily bass-heavy beat that shows off a dope flow by Kats. Summertime is a great track with a show tune feel that makes me think of barbequing in the park on a hot summer day. Kats uses the track to tell a hilarious story about meeting women in New York.

I Got That and You Never Know are two energetic tracks that seem perfectly created for live performances. It’s A House Party … Dummy! is the album’s premier party track with dope verses provided by some of the elite emcees of the NYC underground. And Kats The Smut-Musical is a quick-rhymed finale laid over a piano backdrop that perfectly summarizes what appears to be the aim of the entire album – the idea of sitting back and enjoying yourself over some good hip-hop.

Overall, I was very impressed with “Katskills.” If you’re one of those hip-hop fans who is tired of the repetitiveness that has taken over both mainstream and underground hip-hop, Kats’ “Katskills” could be just what the doctor ordered. I highly recommend picking up a copy of this album. Peace.

Album Track Listing:

1. Intro
2. Let’s Go
3. Breathe In…Breathe Out Ft. Dyalekt
4. Move Out Ft. Domer
5. Here We Go
6. I’m So…
7. Say Something Ft. Folklore
8. Summertime
9. I Got That
10. It’s a House Party, Dummy! Ft. Dyalekt, Folklore, Domer, Homeboy Sandman
11. You Never Know Ft. Talia
12. Thanks for the Advice
13. Kats the Smut-Musical