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 |
MC Skat Kat is an animated cat character who appeared with Paula Abdul in the video for her song "Opposites Attract" in 1989.
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 and performed by Derrick Stevens, although Romany Malco, who did the majority of the writing for the M.C. Skat Kat & the Stray Mob album, is often mistakenly credited for being the voice of the rap on Opposites Attract, 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 franchise. 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 on Kings Records. [2] Paula Abdul made an appearance in the music video of the only single "Skat Strut". [3] The single peaked at No. 80 on the US Billboard Hot 100 in late October 1991, [4] and stayed on the chart for four weeks. "Skat Strut" reached No. 11 on the New Zealand Pop Singles chart, No. 9 on the Norwegian Pop Singles chart, No. 28 on the Dutch Pop Singles chart, No. 31 on the Swedish Pop Singles chart and No. 64 on the UK Singles Chart. [5] [6] [7] [8] [9]
MC Skat Kat also featured 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. The music video featured appearances by numerous celebrities, along with Bugs Bunny, Melba Moore as both herself and the voice of a butterfly character, and Dr. John as himself and the voice of Yakety Yak, for a new version of the song "Yakety Yak" with a message about recycling. [10]
MC Skat Kat later appeared in American Dad! season 11's sixth episode "Kiss Kiss Cam Cam", on February 29, 2016. [11]
MC Skat Kat makes a cameo appearance alongside Abdul in the 2022 film Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers . [12] In the 2023 TV series The Muppets Mayhem , Abdul is seen wearing an MC Skat Kat t-shirt.
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 cartoon characters Fatz, Taboo, Micetro, Leo, Katleen, and Silk, the first three of whom appeared in the "Opposites Attract" music video. 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. Unlike the "Opposites Attract" video, the animation on the "Skat Strut" music video used digital ink and paint. It only reached number 80 on the Billboard Hot 100 [13] but fared better overseas, peaking at numbers 9 and 31 on the Norwegian and Swedish charts, respectively. [14] [15] The vocal style and length in the music video differed from those from the album version. [16]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |    [17] |
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." [18]
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Album | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US [4] | AUS [19] | NLD [6] | NZ [8] | NOR [7] | SWE [9] | UK [20] | |||
| "Skat Strut" | 1991 | 80 | 82 | 28 | 11 | 9 | 31 | 64 | The Adventures of MC Skat Kat and the Stray Mob |
Paula Julie Abdul is an American singer, dancer, choreographer, actress, and television personality. She began her career as a cheerleader for the Los Angeles Lakers at the age of 18 and later became the head choreographer for the Laker Girls, where she was discovered by the Jacksons. After choreographing music videos for Janet Jackson, Abdul became a choreographer at the height of the music video era and soon thereafter she was signed to Virgin Records. Her debut studio album Forever Your Girl (1988) became one of the most successful debut albums at that time, selling seven million copies in the United States and setting a record for the most number-one singles from a debut album on the Billboard Hot 100 chart: "Straight Up", "Forever Your Girl", "Cold Hearted", and "Opposites Attract". Her second album Spellbound (1991) scored her two more chart-toppers – "Rush Rush" and "The Promise of a New Day". With six number-one singles on Hot 100, Abdul tied Diana Ross for the third-most chart-toppers among female solo artists at the time.
Forever Your Girl is the debut studio album by American singer Paula Abdul. It was released on June 21, 1988, through Virgin Records. The album was Abdul's breakthrough into the music industry after being a choreographer for high-profile clients including Kate Bush, The California Raisins, George Michael, ZZ Top, Duran Duran and most notably Janet Jackson. At the time of the album's release it was the most successful debut album of all time and was the first time an artist scored four US Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles from a debut album. It is currently certified 7× platinum by the RIAA.
Mazarati was an American R&B, rock and funk band, formed in the mid-1980s and was active until 1989. The band had seven members and was produced by the former Prince and The Revolution bassist Brownmark. Originally hailing from Minneapolis, they became defunct as a group in 1989. The band's sole hit was a song called "100 MPH", which was written and co-produced by Prince.
Michael "Boogaloo Shrimp" Chambers is an American dancer and actor, known for his role as "Turbo" in the 1984 film Breakin' and its sequel, Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo, in which he is credited as "Boogaloo Shrimp". Chambers, along with his Breakin' series co-star Adolfo "Shabba Doo" Quiñones and other dancers from the films, were prominently featured in the music videos for Lionel Richie's "All Night Long" (1983) and Chaka Khan's "I Feel for You" (1984).
"Straight Up" is a song by American recording artist Paula Abdul from her debut studio album, Forever Your Girl (1988). The song is a mid-tempo dance-pop song with influence from new jack swing. Written and produced entirely by Elliot Wolff, the song was released as the album's third single on November 22, 1988, by Virgin Records.
"Opposites Attract" is a song by American singer Paula Abdul from her debut album, Forever Your Girl (1988). It was written and produced by Oliver Leiber. Vocals on the song, in addition to Abdul, were provided by Bruce DeShazer and Marv Gunn, also known as the Wild Pair. "Opposites Attract" was the sixth and final single from the album in November 1989 and achieved success in many countries, including the United States, Canada, and Australia, where it was a number-one hit. Lyrically, the song is about a couple who love each other despite being different in almost every way possible.
Gimme Dat Ding is a split album by The Sweet and The Pipkins, released on EMI's budget record label, MFP in 1970. It is named after the 1970 song "Gimme Dat Ding" by the Pipkins. In the US, The Pipkins released a full album of the same name, consisting of the six songs here and an additional four. It charted at No.132.
Romany Romanic Malco Jr. is an American actor, rapper, and music producer. He has been nominated for several awards, including an NAACP Image Award, MTV Movie Award, and Screen Actors Guild Award. In film, he is best known for his roles in The 40-Year-Old Virgin (2005), Baby Mama (2008), Think Like a Man (2012) and its sequel Think Like a Man Too (2014), and The DUFF (2015). In television, he is best known for portraying Conrad Shepard on the Showtime series Weeds (2005–2012) and Rome Howard on the ABC series A Million Little Things (2018–2023). He is also known for writing the rap lyrics for the character of MC Skat Kat in "Opposites Attract".
"Rush Rush" is a song by American recording artist Paula Abdul, taken from her second studio album, Spellbound (1991). It was released on April 24, 1991, by Virgin Records as the lead single from the album. Written by Peter Lord and produced by Peter Lord and V. Jeffrey Smith, the song achieved success in the United States, where it topped the Billboard Hot 100, and became a worldwide hit.
"(It's Just) The Way That You Love Me" is a song recorded by American singer Paula Abdul for her debut album Forever Your Girl (1988). Written and produced solely by producer Oliver Leiber, the song was originally released in its remix form as the second single from the album on August 2, 1988, by Virgin to minor success in the States. Following the breakthrough success of her next three singles, the song was re-released on September 15, 1989, under its original version to commercial success, becoming Abdul's fourth consecutive top three entry on the Billboard Hot 100 and to date, tying with "Straight Up" as her longest charting performance on the chart. The song, however, did not replicate the same success in the UK where it managed to peak at number seventy-four on the UK Singles Chart, thus becoming her lowest charting single in the region to date.
The Wild Pair, whose real names are Bruce DeShazer and Marv Gunn, was a singing duo and voice actors who were primarily known for their 1989 hit duet with Paula Abdul, "Opposites Attract". They have also provided background vocals on her other hits, "Forever Your Girl" and "(It's Just) The Way That You Love Me."
"Yakety Yak" is a song written, produced, and arranged by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller for the Coasters and released on Atco Records in 1958, spending seven weeks as #1 on the R&B charts and a week as number one on the Top 100 pop list. This song was one of a string of singles released by the Coasters between 1957 and 1959 that dominated the charts, making them one of the biggest performing acts of the rock and roll era.
"The Promise of a New Day" is the opening track and second single from American artist Paula Abdul's second studio album, Spellbound (1991). The song was written by Paula Abdul, Peter Lord and V. Jeffrey Smith. It became Abdul's sixth and final number-one hit on the US Billboard Hot 100.
"Blowing Kisses in the Wind" is the third single from Paula Abdul's album, Spellbound. The music video featured Abdul dancing on a theater stage, ballet-style. Like her other videos, it got strong play on MTV. The song was written by Peter Lord. Back up vocals were provided by Sweet Pea Atkinson.
"Vibeology" is a song from American singer Paula Abdul's second studio album, Spellbound (1991). The song was written by Peter Lord, Sandra St. Victor, and V. Jeffrey Smith. It was released as the third single from the album in Australia, Japan, and the United Kingdom and as the fourth single in North America. "Vibeology" was first released in October 1991 in Japan, followed by an Australian release in November and a UK release in January 1992.
"Will You Marry Me?" is a song by American artist Paula Abdul, released as the fifth and final single from her 1991 album, Spellbound. The song was written by Abdul, Peter Lord, Sandra St. Victor and V. Jeffrey Smith.
"Stray Cat Strut" is the third single by American rockabilly band Stray Cats, released April 17, 1981 by Arista Records in the UK, where it peaked at No. 11 on the Singles Chart. It was taken from the band's 1981 debut album, Stray Cats. That same year, as an import, it peaked at No. 78 on the US Disco Top 80 chart.
The Pipkins were a short-lived English novelty duo, best known for their hit single "Gimme Dat Ding", which reached No. 6 on the UK Singles Charts, No. 7 in Canada, and No. 9 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1970.
The discography of American singer and dancer Paula Abdul consists of three studio albums, one remix album, five compilation albums, eight video albums, eighteen singles, and seven other appearances. Having found success as a choreographer for artists such as Janet Jackson, Abdul launched her own music career with the release of her debut studio album Forever Your Girl (1988). The album topped the Billboard 200 chart, and to date holds the record for the longest climb to number one for an album. The project spawned a number of successful singles, and is one of only nine albums to have four singles top the Billboard Hot 100 chart. It went on to earn a seven-times platinum certification from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).
Paula Abdul: Forever Your Girl was a concert residency by American entertainer Paula Abdul at Flamingo Las Vegas in Las Vegas. It began on August 13, 2019, with shows continuing through 2020. In addition to singing and dancing to her greatest hits, Abdul told various stories of her career, including her role as a judge on American Idol. The residency marks the 30th anniversary of "Straight Up".
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