Super Cat: Don Dada Vinyl LP

Think me come fi play? Super Cat began his career toasting on the Killamanjaro soundsystem (when he was known as Cat-A-Rock) before breaking out with the smash Si Boops Deh on Winston Rileys Techniques label (with a classicLimonious sleeve). He moved to New York in the early 90s and made an even bigger splash with his major label debut,Don Dada. A few years later, Sean Paul came along and built an even bigger crossover career for himself with a voice and cadence oddly similar to Cats;Super Cat disappeared into obscurity, but his legacy continues to shine brightest on Don Dada. With the exception of a pair of productions by Steely & Clevie (Ghetto Red Hot) and Mafia & Fluxy (Think Me Come Fi Play), the majority of the riddims are programmed by Super Cats Wild Apache crew (namely, Sir Raf Allen) and feature a handful of one-aways longside a few well known versions which make for the records brightest moments: Oh Its You turns the classic Studio One Throw Me Corn riddim into anirresistibleuptempo digi stepper; elsewhere, on Big And Ready, Cat chats some bossman talk over the Loneliness riddim with the help of Heavy D and a syrupy hook by the mighty Frankie Paul, and the infamous title track over the Father Jungle Rock riddim goes down nicely sandwiched between Little Johns Clarks Booty and I-Waynes Cant Satisfy Herin bashment juggling style. Cat channeling the classic 80s machine gun flow of Nicodemus on Coke Don is another majorhighlight of the album. Plenty of battered copies of the Don Dada 7-inch single can be found for cheap in any Caribbean record store, but the LP is the only way to hear supreme album cuts like Coke Don and Oh Its You on wax and has been practically impossible to find until now, with this first vinyl pressing in 25 years. Recommended.

• black vinyl pressing
• first time on vinyl in 25 years
• original release year: 1992
• music label: Columbia 2017

reviewed bypeanut dust 08/2017