The Cataracs | |
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Background information | |
Origin | Berkeley, California, U.S. |
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Years active | 2003–2014 |
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Past members |
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Website | thecataracs |
The Cataracs were an American hip hop record production project and duo formed in Berkeley, California, consisting of David Benjamin Singer-Vine (born March 9, 1988) and Niles Hollowell-Dhar (born October 6, 1988). The duo started out as an independent group, during their years at Berkeley High School. The two were first signed to the label Indie-Pop. Singer-Vine left the group in August 2012 with Hollowell-Dhar continuing on with the name The Cataracs by himself. Hollowell-Dhar also released materials starting in 2014, under the name of Kshmr.
The duo met in their second year attending Berkeley High School. Singer-Vine was featured in a rap CD that was being passed around campus. When Hollowell-Dhar eventually heard the CD, he subsequently created a response. However, the "diss" response brought the two together and they soon became friends. In 2003, the two joined to create what is now The Cataracs (named after the phrase "Who smoke 'til your eyes get cataracts" from Snoop Dogg's song "What's My Name Pt. 2"). [1] In the summer of 2006, they released their first album, Technohop Vol. 1. In August 2006, the group joined with The Pack to make the single "Blueberry Afghani". The song soon became a hit and was chosen as a "Download of the Week" by 106 KMEL and many music sites such as The Fader , UK's Hip Hop Connection and XLR8R praised it. [2]
Singer-Vine attended Columbia College Chicago. Hollowell-Dhar is also a member of Pi Kappa Phi fraternity at San Francisco State University. But in order to pursue their dreams and career in music, they both decided that they would have to leave school. The duo then packed their bags and moved to Los Angeles where they began working on their music full-time, creating songs like "Club Love" and "Baby Baby", the latter which went on to be featured on the hit reality series Keeping Up with the Kardashians in early 2010. [3] By 2007, they released their second album, Technohop Vol. 2, and in 2008 they released their third album, The 13th Grade. [4]
In their new location, they discovered Manteca, native Dev, a singer who posted much of her work on Myspace. Dhar asked if she would like to sing for them, which led to the song "2Nite." The Cataracs, along with Dev, signed to the Indie-Pop label, which also features musicians such as Young L. [5] They were later signed to a major label, Universal. [6] Through Universal, they began producing music for artists such as Far East Movement and Glasses Malone. As artists, The Cataracs received recognition through their 2010 single "Club Love", which received air play at clubs and on many different radio stations. Despite such accomplishments, the Cataracs have had their most mainstream success with the song "Like a G6" which was written by Singer-Vine/Dhar and produced by Dhar, [7] and also went on to peak at #1 on the Billboard charts. [8] The chorus for the song is sampled from lyrics in the song "Booty Bounce" by Dev, which they also produced. They were featured on two of Shwayze's songs on his 2010 mixtape Love Stoned. The duo also produced songs for albums such as The Pack's new album, Wolfpack Party .
In early December 2010, they collaborated with Snoop Dogg on the song "Wet". It became the lead single for his 2011 album Doggumentary . They produced "Kick Us Out" for pop trio Hyper Crush. In an attempt to bolster their fanbase, and get people more acquainted with who they are, they released Gordo Taqueria. This will serve as a 2012 EP leading up to their major debut release in the near future. Unlike much of their previous work, this album excludes samples or appearances from labelmate Dev.[ citation needed ]
On August 23, 2012, Hollowell-Dhar informed on the Cataracs Facebook page that Singer-Vine had left the group. [9] The note goes on to say that "The Cataracs, as of 2 weeks ago, have taken a new form. David informed us of a pretty big decision: the decision to follow his heart and put music down." Hollowell-Dhar went on to produce solely while keeping the name The Cataracs. The first show without Singer-Vine took place on August 25 at Cornell University. In 2016, Singer-Vine (under the name Campa) and Felix Snow formed Terror Jr with a lead singer that goes by the alias Lisa. [10]
In late 2012, Hollowell-Dhar, continuing under the name The Cataracs, released songs produced by himself and collaborating with artists such as Martin Solveig, Trevor Simpson, and Borgeous. He primarily focused on his EDM output, while still occasionally doing vocals in songs like "Big Dipper" featuring Luciana, "Ready For The Weekend" featuring Icona Pop, and "Alcohol (Remix)" featuring Sky Blu of LMFAO.
Early in 2013, The Cataracs released two music videos on Vevo: "Alcohol (Remix)" featuring Sky Blu, and "Missed U 2" featuring Petros. The latter was the first Cataracs video not to have vocals by Hollowell-Dhar. Also in 2013, The Cataracs collaborated with Martin Solveig on "Hey Now", and produced the song "Slow Down" for Selena Gomez's debut album Stars Dance.
In 2014, Hollowell-Dhar began releasing music under the name Kshmr, beginning with the song "Megalodon", though he did not reveal his real identity until the following year.
Delmar Drew Arnaud, known professionally as Daz Dillinger or simply Daz, is an American rapper and record producer. As a member of Death Row Records in the early 1990s, he is credited with the label in pioneering West Coast hip hop and gangsta rap for mainstream audiences. Alongside Kurupt, he formed the hip hop duo tha Dogg Pound in 1992, with whom he has released eight albums.
Tha Dogg Pound is an American hip hop duo made up of West Coast rappers Kurupt and Daz Dillinger. They were signed to Death Row Records in their early careers and were key to the label's success.
Ricardo Emmanuel Brown, better known by his stage name Kurupt, is an American rapper and record producer. Born and raised in Philadelphia, he formed Tha Dogg Pound in 1992 along with Daz Dillinger; the rap duo has released eight albums. He also formed the hip hop group The Hrsmn in 1996, with whom he has released two albums. His debut solo album, Kuruption! (1998) was released by A&M Records and peaked at number eight on the Billboard 200.
Far East Movement is an American hip hop and electronic music group based in Los Angeles, composed of Kev Nish, Prohgress, J-Splif, Jon Street, Ray Ro, DJ Virman, and Jerm Beats. They signed with Martin Kierszenbaum's Cherrytree Records, an imprint of Interscope Records to release their 2010 single, "Like a G6" which peaked the Billboard Hot 100, making them the first Asian American group to reach number one on the chart. Their follow up single, "Rocketeer", peaked at number seven and led their third album and major label debut, Free Wired (2010). It performed moderately on the Billboard 200, while their fourth album, Dirty Bass (2012) saw a steep commercial decline, although its lead single, "Live My Life" reached number 24 on the Billboard Hot 100.
New Boyz were an American hip hop duo consisting of rappers Earl "Ben J" Benjamin and Dominic "Legacy" Thomas They debuted in the spring of 2009 with their viral hit "You're a Jerk" taken from their 2009 debut studio album Skinny Jeanz and a Mic. The song peaked in the top thirty of the Billboard Hot 100, and it was the first song to bring the jerkin' style to the national forefront. A second single, "Tie Me Down" featuring Ray J, was also successful and peaked in the top thirty in Early 2010. In May 2011, their second and final studio album, Too Cool to Care, was released. It includes the top 40 hits "Backseat", featuring The Cataracs and Dev, and "Better with the Lights Off" featuring Chris Brown. The New Boyz have also been featured on Hot Chelle Rae's song "I Like It Like That", which peaked at No. 28 on the Hot 100.
"Like a G6" is a song by American music group Far East Movement featuring fellow American musicians Dev and The Cataracs, released as the lead single from Far East Movement's third studio album Free Wired. The song was initially posted on November 4, 2009 on Far East Movement's YouTube page. "Like a G6" peaked at the top of the Billboard Hot 100 for three non-consecutive weeks, becoming the first single by Asian-American artists to do so and the first by any artists of East Asian origin since Kyu Sakamoto's 1963 single "Sukiyaki". Outside of the United States, "Like a G6" topped the chart in New Zealand, and peaked within the top ten of the charts in numerous countries, including Australia, Canada, Belgium, the Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland, Slovakia, and the United Kingdom.
Devin Star Tailes, known professionally as Dev, is an American singer, songwriter, rapper, model and radio host. She was discovered by the Cataracs and record label Indie-Pop via Myspace after Dev's friend posted a video of her singing. Dev's song "Booty Bounce" was sampled in Far East Movement's hit single "Like a G6", which reached number one in the US and sold over four million downloads in the country.
"Bass Down Low" is the debut solo single by American musician Dev. Written alongside producers The Cataracs, the song was released on November 16, 2010 through Universal Motown as the lead single from Dev's debut studio album, The Night the Sun Came Up (2011). Initially, the song was made for The Cataracs with Dev as the featured act, but she was made the main artist as they believed it would be a suitable follow-up to Far East Movement's "Like a G6", which Dev and The Cataracs appeared on. British rapper Tinie Tempah was featured on an official remix of "Bass Down Low" that was made for the song's release in the United Kingdom. Musically, "Bass Down Low" is an electro song with skittering synths and the lyrics speak of different forms of debauchery.
"Wet" is the official lead single from hip-hop artist Snoop Dogg's eleventh studio album Doggumentary. The original version was produced by the Cataracs. "Wet" reached number 40 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, number 18 on the Hot Rap Songs and number 13 on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles. A remix of the song entitled "Sweat" was released by French DJ David Guetta on March 4, 2011.
"Backseat" is a song written and recorded by American hip hop duo New Boyz, American production duo The Cataracs, and singer Dev. The song was released as a single on February 15, 2011 as a digital download in the United States and served as the second single from New Boyz' second album Too Cool to Care. The song contains elements of hip-hop, rap, electropop, and dance music and contains use of Auto-Tune on some of the vocals.
The Night the Sun Came Up is the debut studio album by American recording artist Dev, released on September 2, 2011 by Universal Republic Records. Dev worked exclusively with American Electropop production duo The Cataracs and Alan De la Rosa, who helmed the production of the entire album along with co-writing songs with Dev. Production on the album took place mainly in January 2011 and continued into 2012 as the North American release date for the album was delayed from September 20, 2011 to January 10, 2012 as per Dev's request to add more songs to the album, with Amazon.com announcing that the North American release would be pushed back further to March 26, 2012.
"In the Dark" is a song performed by American singer Dev. It was written by Dev alongside the Cataracs, who produced it for Dev's debut studio album, The Night the Sun Came Up (2011). The song was released as the album's second single on April 25, 2011, through Universal Motown. "In the Dark" came about when Dev wanted to make a sexy song to show that she is a grown woman. She collaborated with American rapper Flo Rida on an official remix as she believed she would enjoy the remix when hearing it on the radio. "In the Dark" is a dance-pop song with a saxophone hook and influences of Eurodance, Latin and jazz music. The lyrics emphasize sex drives and letting the sensation of touch fully take over from sight.
A chronological listing of songs produced by The Cataracs.
Thomas Hamilton is an American pop/electro/rock musician in Los Angeles, California. He performs under the stage name Hamilton.
The discography of Dev, an American singer and rapper, consists of two studio albums, one mixtape, three extended plays, nine singles as a solo artist, as well as 12 as a featured artist. Dev was signed to Universal Republic, her debut single, Bass Down Low featuring The Cataracs, was released on December 6, 2010, later becoming part of her debut studio album The Night the Sun Came Up released in 2011, along with the hit-single "In the Dark" and the duet with Enrique Iglesias: "Naked". Dev has also released two EPs, Bittersweet July and the following second part in 2014. Both projects include the singles "Honey Dip" and "Parade".
Doggumentary is the eleventh studio album by American West Coast hip hop recording artist Snoop Dogg. It was released on March 29, 2011 on the Priority Records record label. The album was produced by Battlecat, The Cataracs, Gorillaz, David Banner, THX, DJ Khalil, Fredwreck, Jake One, David Guetta, Mike Dean, Jeff Bhasker, Lex Luger, Meech Wells, Mr. Porter, Rick Rock, Rick Rude, Scoop DeVille, Scott Storch, Warryn Campbell, Kanye West, DJ Reflex, among others.
"Slow Motion" is a single by Lee.M and J. Pearl featuring additional vocals from Iyaz and rap by Snoop Dogg. The "electro house" dance tune is the debut single of Lee Mulhern who took the stage name Lee.M and is credited to "Lee.M & J. Pearl featuring Iyaz and Snoop Dogg".
"Honey Dip" is a song performed by American recording artist Dev, cowritten by remaining member David Singer-Vine aka "Campa" of hip hop duo The Cataracs and produced by Benny Cassette with the assistance of Rayintosh. It was written by Dev as a single extracted from her EP Bittersweet July. The song was released as the first official single on November 5, 2014. "Honey Dip" is a synthpop song with rap verses before the chorus. The official video was directed by Californian rapper Kreayshawn.
Niles Hollowell-Dhar, known professionally as Kshmr, is an American musician, songwriter, DJ, record producer, former rapper, and singer. He was ranked 23rd on DJ Mag's 2015 Top 100 DJs poll and was awarded highest new entry for the year. In the same poll he elevated to 12th in 2016 and 2017, and again in 2020. He was ranked 11th in the same poll in 2021; and in 2022 in same poll he ranked 12. In July 2017, he launched Dharma Worldwide, a sublabel of Spinnin' Records. Kshmr performed live at many music festivals like Coachella, Tomorrowland, EDC, Ultra and Sunburn.
The Cataracs was an American hip hop record production project and duo formed in Berkeley, California, United States, consisting of songwriter, vocalist, and producer Niles "Cyranizzy" Hollowell-Dhar and formerly songwriter and vocalist David "Campa" Benjamin Singer-Vine.