MUSIC
Welcomed Into His Sexy, Wild Club
“Less Is Moor” is Zebra Katz’s belated new introduction
Zebra Katz releases his debut album, “Less Is Moor,” on March 20.
BY STEVE ERICKSON
Zebra Katz’s “Ima Read” burst onto the
hip-hop scene in 2012, becoming a
fashion runway staple and receiving
remixes from Busta Rhymes, Tricky,
and many other artists. An ice-cold dis track
aimed at nameless enemies of Katz and guest
Njena Reddd Foxxx, it queered the tradition of
rap battle rhymes. While insults like “Ima take
that bitch to college/ Ima give that bitch some
knowledge” could be taken at face value — its
video is set in a school, with Katz playing a
teacher — the song was inspired by “Paris Is
Burning” and the ballroom scene’s concept of
“reading” as slicing a rival to size. The song’s
brilliance, hand in hand with Katz’s own minimalist
production and smoothly menacing
voice, was recognizing its intersection with hiphop’s
more macho competitive boasting.
Katz has been defi ned by “Ima Read” and its
place in a moment in music history eight years
ago when a group of openly LGBTQ rappers —
himself, Le1f, Mykki Blanco, Azealia Banks,
Angel Haze — suddenly got attention from the
media and record labels. None of them went on
to become stars. Banks came closest, with her
debut single “212” charting in Europe, but her
own homophobia and addiction to starting ugly
social media feuds torpedoed her career and
pissed off fans.
ZEBRAKATZ.COM
Since then, the hip-hop landscape has
changed. Without becoming completely taboo,
homophobia has lessened, and artists like out
lesbian rapper Young M.A. and Brockhampton
(featuring gay rapper Kevin Abstract) have had
hits. We’ll have to see what the future holds for
Lil Nas X after he came out while “Old Town
Road” was in the middle of its historic reign at
#1.
Katz was actually a fi ctional character created
by artist Ojay Morgan for a performance
back in 2007. He was intended to portray “the
dark prince of the catwalk,” as Katz described
his persona on “3rd Dgre.”But the success of
“Ima Read,” released years after it was recorded,
enabled Morgan to give up his day job and
pursue music full-time. Making a splash with
one’s fi rst single can be a curse rather than a
blessing; music history is littered with one-hit
wonders. Although he signed to Diplo’s Mad
Decent label and released the underwhelming
“DRKLNG” mixtape in 2013, followed by sporadic
bits of new music and guest appearances,
his debut album never arrived until this year. I
don’t know why a full project took so long, but
singer Poppy, who released two albums for Mad
Decent Records and then left the label, has described
it as a tax write-off for Diplo.
“Less Is Moor,” released on his own label, is
Katz’s second shot at an introduction. Beginning
and ending with instrumentals, it’s structured
as though we’re entering a debauched
nightclub. Katz abandons the beautiful simplicity
of “Ima Read” for an industrial/ noise
rap sound. “Intro To Less” starts with a sung
“Zebra fucking Katz” tag (used throughout his
music), a spoken word sample in French using
his name, huge-sounding Gothic synthesizers,
and a drum machine doing its best impression
of a machine gun. The outro “Exit 2 Void” takes
us out of his world with the same level of dissonance.
“Ish” gets the album off to a more conventional
start. It’s the closest we get to a banger, even
with fuzzed-out electronics. Katz celebrates a
night going wild in the club, rapping “all I want
to do is keep the dance fl oor jumping… shake
your ass to the bass like you’re starting something.”
Its video depicts Katz dancing his heart
out and twisting his body for the pleasure of a
voyeuristic audience that seems to be expecting
violence to break out. “Been Known” is even
more dance-oriented, but the rest of “Less Is
Moor” balances a desire to seduce the listener
with challenging sonics.
The production on “Less Is Moor” is full of
colorful detail. “Lousy” punctuates its moody
grind with feedback shards. “Zad Drumz” lives
up to its title by starting off with ferocious
drum’n’bass beats. “No 1 Else” uses a sample
of a choir, then breaks the meditative vibe by
suddenly throwing jarring sound effects where
most songs would place a snare drum.
“Necklace” is a lovelorn ballad with sung vocals
over guitar, leaving out percussion. Unfortunately,
it’s too fragmentary to have much
impact, and Katz isn’t convincing in territory
closer to R&B singers like Maxwell.
Katz is not shy away about expressing his libido.
Most of “Less Is Moor” takes us on a sexually
charged journey. “In In In” relates Katz’s
adventures in the fashion world, nodding to gay
singer/ songwriter Arthur Russell’s disco classic
“Is It All Over My Face?” “Zad Drumz” goes
even further, describing drug-fueled hedonism
as percussion fades in and out over a looped
moan.
“Lick It N Split” wonders “how you make that
dick split,” quickly passing the mic to British
rapper Shygirl. She and Katz ride the uptempo
beat without breaking a sweat.
With “Less Is Moor,” Katz stakes on a claim on
a body of work and personality as an artist, not
just one song and a place in a “queer rap” scene
that was largely a media construction. Unlike
Katz’s previous mixtapes, one comes away from
this project with a clear sense of who he is.
ZEBRA KATZ | “Less Is Moor” | ZFK Records |
Drops Mar. 20 | zebrakatz.com
March 12 - March 25, 2 28 020 | GayCityNews.com
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