Super Cat

A leading presence within the positive-consciousness dancehall scene, Jamaican DJ and toaster Super Cat entered the world as William Maragh inside a Kingston ghetto district called Cockburn Pen or Seivwright Gardens, the identical neighborhood that had earlier given rise to U-Roy and Prince Jazzbo. Drawn to music at an early age, Maragh began traveling across Jamaica with assorted sound-system crews while still in his teens. Originally billing himself as Cat-a-Rock, he later adopted the name Super Cat after the original choice was judged too close to the word “cataract,” and he simultaneously acquired the additional handle the Wild Apache.

His first recording appeared in 1981 as the single “Mr. Walker,” issued by the Techniques label under Winston Riley’s supervision. Further singles on multiple imprints soon followed, along with the 1985 Techniques album Si Boops Deh. After a brief period on the Skengdon label that yielded the album Boops, growing frustration with industry dealings prompted him to launch his own imprint, Wild Apache Productions. Under that banner he self-produced the 1988 album Sweets for My Sweet and oversaw numerous singles by other artists; he also joined forces with Nicodemus and Junior Demus to create Cabin Stabbin’, the first triple-team DJ album in dancehall history.

Encouraged by these accomplishments, Super Cat relocated to New York City in pursuit of wider American recognition. He obtained a Columbia Records contract and placed the track “Nuff Man a Dead” on the label’s compilation Dancehall Reggaespanol; in 1992 he delivered Don Dada, one of the earliest major-label dancehall albums to receive widespread acclaim. A string of prominent television and festival performances ensued, after which Source magazine designated him Dancehall Artist of the Year for 1993. The next year he reconvened with Nicodemus and Junior Demus, this time adding Junior Cat, resulting in the four-way project The Good, the Bad, the Ugly, and the Crazy.

Super Cat’s distinctive blend of dancehall, roots reggae, hip-hop, and R&B next surfaced on the 1995 album The Struggle Continues. Although that release performed solidly, his profile expanded further into mainstream pop territory through a featured appearance on Sugar Ray’s 1997 hit “Fly,” where his toasting took center stage. Columbia leveraged the newfound visibility in 1998 by releasing the singles compilation The Good, the Better, the Best of Super Cat.