The Goats

One of the less celebrated acts within the early-’90s wave of alternative rap, the Goats formed as an interracial trio from Philadelphia that employed a live backing band years before their fellow local residents the Roots gained widespread recognition for adopting a comparable approach. Their music blended incisive, Public Enemy-inspired political rhymes with the lighthearted outlook associated with the Native Tongues collective and a dose of raucous, party-driven funk-rock energy. Oatie Kato, born Maxx Stoyanoff-Williams, along with Madd and Swayzack, assembled in 1991 and became the inaugural act signed to Ruffhouse, the Philadelphia hip-hop imprint that soon secured a Sony distribution arrangement. Their first full-length release, Tricks of the Shade, arrived in 1992 and earned enthusiastic critical notices; shortly afterward the group assembled a concert ensemble that steered their sound toward rap-rock. Oatie Kato departed soon after, citing dissatisfaction with offstage excesses, and later established Incognegro, carrying with him much of the original group’s political insight. The remaining pair introduced their live band on the follow-up No Goats No Glory, issued in 1994 and regarded by numerous reviewers as a letdown. The Goats dissolved by 1996, yet Incognegro still managed to issue its debut album before the decade closed, with Oatie Kato recording under the name MC Uh-Oh.