Contents - Beth Lesser

manager that own that set that set, you find that it’s not the sound alone. He
works a Sugar industry job, molasses, and sometimes, when the sugar is in,
the work is so busy that he don’t have time fe play the sound.”
Cat’s break came when he was invited to join the big time sound, Kilimanjaro,
in Kingston. “[Papa] Jaro, him come and check me because one of
his deejays [Jim Kelly] was shot in Spanishtown.” So, Cat came on board first
with B following soon after. As a team, they fit perfectly, despite the differences
in their approach, experience and personalities. Cat said at the time,
“Me and Early B have a vibes that match and we keep the crowd more rocking.”
“Them flatten the whole 14 parishes of Jamaica,” recalls Ossie Thomas.
reCordinGS
At Kilimanjaro, Cat was still seen as Early B’s sidekick. But the release of
his 45, ‘See Boops Deh’, changed everything. No longer seen as the pupil,
Supercat’s, reputation soared internationally until it far exceeded that of his
teacher. In fact, Cat became one of the most influential deejays in the transition
from the ‘80s style dancehall to the ‘90s’ more international, cross over
style. One of his greatest fans, Sean Paul, was known to say that he loved
Supercat so much he ‘ate, slept, lived, breathed - did everything Supercat!’
Cat’s first recording, ‘Mr. Walker’, released in 1981, was a combination
style with his apprentice, Bruk Back. Bruk Back was then dating Sister Nancy
who was working with Winston Riley on her first LP, One, Two. Bruk Back
brought Cat to producer Winston Riley and the two started working together.
Although Cat recorded for several other producers in the next few years * , it
would be his return engagement with Mr. Riley, ‘See Boops Deh’, in 1985,
that would make his name.
“Boops was a gigantic hit, a massive hit,” recalls Winston Riley. “Boops
cause death, death in this country.” Winston Riley, the producer, was in
shock. “From I am in the record business, that is one of the biggest selling records
I ever experience in my life. Within two weeks, I sell 10,000. Never see a
record sell so. And, if I had the amount pressed, I could sell even more – cause
it run out for days and days and people can’t get it. I had four press pressing it.
The same thing in England, [Count] Shelly say him sell 10,000 in two weeks.”
The song became the 1986 anthem. Supercat’s tongue-in-cheek lyrics
launched an interminable string of versions and responses from artists including
Peter Metro, Horace Martin, Michael Prophet, Sugar Minott, Little John,
Mikey Jarrett, and scores of others. On the Daddy Kool reggae chart for April
1986, the top seven songs were all Boops related. :
* He also recorded for Jah Thomas, Walk-A-Thon. Early B himself produced Cat’s Ride and Shut Off
(84). Trash and Ready saw Cat riding the Sleng Teng rhythm for Jammy. Learn fe Ride was an answer
to B’s Learn fe Drive (only a scaled down version that dealt with bicycles rather than cars), and he also
recorded Under Pressure for George Phang (Powerhouse ’84).
226 | RUB A DUB STYLE – The Roots of Modern Dancehall