MC Skat Kat - History

History

The idea of Skat Kat came from the Gene Kelly movie Anchors Aweigh, in which Kelly's character dances with Jerry, the mouse from the Tom and Jerry cartoon series. He was animated by members of the Disney animation team, working outside the studio between major projects, under the direction of Chris Bailey.

MC Skat Kat was created by Michael Patterson and performed by The Wild Pair duo of Bruce DeShazer and Marv Gunn on "Opposites Attract". He was also voiced by Romany Malco for the first rap of the song and by Derrick 'Delite' Stevens for the second rap, the latter of whom would provide vocals for the character in the MC Skat Kat solo album.

The character released an album entitled The Adventures of MC Skat Kat and the Stray Mob in 1991, but the release of the album flopped quickly after being issued in that same year. Some of the songs made references to Paula Abdul and Opposites Attract, but Abdul did not provide vocals, except for the intro in "On the Prowl", in which she was uncredited; she did, however, make an appearance in the video of "Skat Strut", the only single to be released. Despite the popularity of its music video (as it became one of the most requested on MTV), the song never made an impact on any US Billboard chart.

Another single from the solo album, "Big Time," was given its own video with revised music. The song was labeled as "Big Time (Animation Mix)" on the Captive Sampler. The video was completed in January 1992, but it remains unaired as of today. Most of the original animation was done by Eric Goldberg, who at the time was the lead animator of the Genie character in Disney's Aladdin feature film.

According to producer John Kafka, nobody was sure what to do with Skat after the videos were finished. Virgin Music and Universal Pictures talked of a live-action/animation hybrid feature film, but nothing ever materialized.

MC Skat Kat also appeared in "Yakety Yak - Take it Back", a Public Service Announcement produced by the Take It Back Foundation in 1991. The music video featured appearances by celebrities including Pat Benatar, Natalie Cole, Charlie Daniels, Lita Ford, Quincy Jones, B.B. King, Queen Latifah, Kenny Loggins, Randy Newman, Tone Loc, Ozzy Osbourne, Brenda Russell, Barry White, Stevie Wonder and a special appearance by Bugs Bunny in an updated version of "Yakety Yak" retooled with a message about recycling. It premiered on MTV on April 10, 1991 (National Recycling Day), appeared as a trailer at AMC movie theaters, and was distributed on VHS and CD. It was later shown occasionally on Sesame Street during the early 1990s, although no Sesame Street characters were present. The video also appeared once on Nickelodeon in 1995.