Don Dada (150 Gram Vinyl, Download Insert)

Personnel: William "Supercat" Maragh, Heavy D, Frankie Paul (vocals); Raf Allen, Trevor Sparks, Dennis Halburton, Dave Fluxy, Leroy Mafia, Paul Jazwad Yebuah (various instruments); Danny "Axe Man" Thompson (bass); George "Firehouse" Miller (drums); Steely & Clevie. Producers: William Maragh, Robert Livingstone, Andrew Harpaul. Engineers include: David Kennedy, Coline Bolby, Michael McDonald. There was a time, long before the mega-hit "Fly," that Super Cat ruled the dancehalls with a combination of gangsterism and roots reality. Because he grew up in the tough world of Kingston, Jamaica, Super Cat's eloquent style always had a sinister undercurrent that reflected the reality of his surroundings instead of merely glorifying them. Though he would go on to influence the development of ultra-violent gangster rap, Cat himself always blended humor and love into even his most hardcore songs. DON DADA, one of Cat's strongest full-length albums, starts with the first of two collaborations with hip-hop's Heavy D, "Dem No Worry We." This catchy single gives way to "Ghetto Red Hot," one of the biggest underground hits of 1992. That balance between pop and hardcore is Super Cat's style to the bone. How fitting that one of the bonus tracks is "Nuff Man a Dead," which reads like a who's who of fallen reggae stars; within a year, Super Cat would be forced to shoot another singer in self-defense, demonstrating yet again that Cat was as real as they came, and not a wanna-be gangster like most of the hip-hoppers who followed in his path.