JUNIOR CAT is one of reggae music's most prolific artists. An icon, Junior Cat "The Wild Indian," is known by reggae and hip hop fans across the globe for his dapper Bad Azz style that made the fellas crave and adoring ladies rave over his delivery of edgy lyrics that ricocheted through dancehalls and stages in the 90s with hit classics like: IRON GLOVES; TOP DOG; ANOREXAL BODY; and as featured in the mega-hit movie Shottas, WOULDA LET YOU GO. JUNIOR CAT is the Don that lesser deejays imitate but never duplicate.
Born Ricardo Maragh in Kingston, Jamaica, JUNIOR CAT started making his way through the rugged ranks of dancehall leagues in his early teens while hanging out in the local clubs, shops and street corners of the Cockburn Pen community. "The Pen," at the time, was the hub for the reggae industry's finest architects. Junior Cat's popularity grew when he entertained the masses with his quick witted freestyling while effortlessly "riding a riddim," without so much as skipping a beat. His climb to fame was, however, more painstaking as he was often compared to his older brother, Super Cat who was already making his way to mainstream fame. That, however, did not impede JUNIOR CAT's ambition.
After winning a local talent contest, Junior Cat extended his prowess to Sound Systems -where greats like Early B; Puddy Roots; Little Twitch and Ninja Man gathered at dances to compete with one another in support of their "Sound." Sound clash competitions began to spread throughout the island taking the artists to higher levels of fame around the world. Fans then and now pay big money to be in the presence of a Sound Clash especially when there is an artist performing live alongside the selectors. The bigger the Sound, the more exhilarating the experience. Junior Cat, a bad boy per se, quickly built a reputation for holding no prisoners on the mic with the toughest lines that made grown men run in shame and was a regular feature on what would later become the World Famous Killamanjaro Sound.
JUNIOR CAT was given his first opportunity to record a song by producer King Jammy's and that single, NEVER DIS THE PROGRAM amazingly entered the National Charts at #3. It wasn't long before he had a succession of single hits (Can't Nyam Me Out, Clappers And Bomb, Curve, Dead Man, Deportee, Figure, Inna Me Gun Mouth, Funeral Bag, Original Dog Heart, Killing Pussy, Make A Living, Nah Lef It Far, Rougher Than Rough, Sample, Slick Rick, Top Dog, Who So Ever Will May Come, and Wickedest Gun) that kept his voice steady on the airwaves which led to the recording of his debut album "Top Dog," (1992) again on the King Jammy's label. Junior Cat, as expected, was becoming a catalyst in the game.
After receiving much success from the release of Top Dog, JUNIOR CAT moved to New York and signed to his brother's Wild Apache Label. During that union, he recorded several more songs, SECOND HAND DON, DJ ORIGINATOR, and TELL THEM STOP IT, before collaborating with Super Cat, Nicodemus, and Junior Demus on Columbia Records' The Good, The Bad, The Ugly and The Crazy.
Shortly after the album dropped, JUNIOR CAT's contract with Wild Apache expired and instead of renewing, he chose to seek his own and pursued opportunities that took him on several tours throughout the hungering reggae markets of Europe, Japan and South America. He headed back into the studio to produce and record more Specials on independent labels before finally deciding to endeavor in another area of the music business and formed his own label MR. MARAGH MUSIC. He has been producing other artists as well as his own music in other countries and collaborating with giants of the Hip Hop community to create a new style of hits proving his versatility and loyalty to the art of his genre simultaneously expanding his fanbase to the younger generation.
In the last couple of years, a matured JUNIOR CAT, has eloquently expressed his Spiritual side via Conscious/Roots Reggae which highly reflects his Rastafarian faith. This connection is heard on his new album tentavely titled, Fight Back slated for a late Winter/Early Spring 2014 release. The first single, JAH WORKS, will be the first single to drop at the end of November 2013 before the height of the Holiday Season with another joint, NO ROCK AWAY shortly thereafter.
This new album features music tracks with a clean, inspirational positive flow of energy throughout but does not stray from the typical JUNIOR CAT fashion with songs about reality as relayed in NO ROCK AWAY, and MAMA (featuring singer Courtney Melody). This album is definitely a showcase of Love, Life and Greatness. The instrumentals were laid down by legendary studio musicians Sly & Robbie. While Conscious Reggae may not be what most JUNIOR CAT fans expect from the man who made a success of himself singing about violence and guns for almost two decades, it is certainly not surprising for JUNIOR CAT -an admirably devoted father and husband as well as entertainer- to maintain the highest level of integrity in any musical composition he releases to the masses and has yet to disappoint.
JUNIOR CAT lives in New York City and is preparing for several tours in the U.S., Caribbean, and Europe in 2014.
PRESS RELEASE: JUNIOR CAT'S JAH WORKS SINGLE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
WASHINGTON DC-November 26, 2013:
Some artists tried to imitate but failed to duplicate the Original Don, the One diehard Reggae & Hip Hop fans the world over have been waiting:
The Official Return of the Wild Apache
JUNIOR CAT
Mr. Maragh Music proudly presents:
JAH WORKS the first single off the much antcipated comeback CD, Fight Back (releasing Early Spring 2014) for veteran reggae artist/dancehall deejay JUNIOR CAT.
After spending the last ten years touring Europe and Japan entertaining the masses with his hardcore dancehall classics such as IRON GLOVES, ANEREXOL BODY, TOP DOG, BAD MAN SUP'M, DEAD AGAIN, and WOULD A LET YOU GO (from the movie, SHOTTAS), JUNIOR CAT (born Ricardo Maragh) returned to the studio and has been diligently working on fresh music merging his Jamaican Wit with Hip Hop icons and rising R&B artists which many reggae enthusiasts say might be his best work to date.
Jah Works, a Spiritual musical expression of Junior Cat's faith in the Almighty is one of the many tracks on exclusive beats laid down by the highly acclaimed duo, Sly & Robbie. This album is sure to inspire and energize conscious souls that love good music.
When asked about his change in tune - going from Gun Man/Gangsta to Spiritual somewhat borderlining gospel- the Kingstonian ex pat replied:
"I have always made music about reality --life as I saw it and lived it. There are many artists that sing about hard living or gangsta life, but few can truly say they actually lived the life.
Now, am older and seeing The Almighty moving all through my own life and that is the path my music takes. We cannot progress in His truth and joy if we choose to reman idle in Babylon's turmoil. I can't always lament on the bad - it's time I sing about the good and praise Him too."
Junior Cat is currently preparing for US and European tours with more worldwide dates to be announced.
JUNIOR CAT Changes Tune
FROM THE JAMAICA OBSERVER
AFTER a 10-year absence from the dancehall scene, deejay Ricardo Maragh (aka Junior Cat) is back with a new sound.
The entertainer says he has "cleaned up his lyrical content" which is evident on his latest song, Praises Non-Stop.
"This is a song that everyone can relate to. It is about giving praises to the Almighty," he told the Jamaica Observer.
Praises Non-Stop is produced by Carey Nicholas of Dadz of Dadz Entertainment and its video is directed by Simeon Hedge. According to Junior Cat, although he appeared to be missing from the scene for several years, he was still active.
"I never stopped recording but most of my songs were released overseas. Europe and Japan has a bigger market for reggae/dancehall," he said.
Some of his other recent releases are Here To Do Jah Works and Rougher Than Them.
He hopes for better treatment from disc jockeys, though he admits some of his earlier productions were not radio-friendly.
"Back in the days I used to do a lot of 'gun tunes' and that didn't go well with a lot of listeners, but now I have grown and matured enough to know that those lyrics don't necessarily make me as an artiste," he said.
Junior Cat is the younger brother of star deejay Super Cat. Some of his more popular songs are Inna Mi Gun Mouth, Dead Yuh a Go Dead and Machine Gun Kelly.
"When I was younger I just wanted a break in the industry so I aimed towards lyrics like those, but now it's all about doing love songs and roots, rock, reggae," he declared.
Junior Cat along hails from the Kingston community of Cockburn Pen. He joined the Killamanjaro sound system in 1987, working alongside deejays Early B and Little Twitch.
That year, he recorded his first song and hit, Anarexol Body, for producer Lloyd 'King Jammys' James.
Junior Cat On Comeback Trail With Spiritual Single (Jamaica Gleaner)
FROM THE JAMAICA GLEANER
One-time dancehall bad boy Junior Cat has gone 'conscious and religious'.
The younger brother of the legendary Super Cat, and who had carved his own significant niche in dancehall more than two decades ago with songs like Anerexol Body, Top Dog, and Drive-by Shooting, has a roots-rock album in the works and has released a new single described as his comeback tune, a song called Praisez Non Stop.
Produced by Lord High The Dadz and Frank Griz for Dadz of Daz Entertainment, Praisez Non Stop is being described as a spiritual and uplifting single with a great beat, incredible melodies and strong lyrics. The single follows another, called Here to do Jah Works, that was released earlier this year. The songs, he says, is a recognition that it was time to move in a different direction.
CLEANING UP
"I still deal with dancehall but man haffi clean up him ting 'cause is the Almighty we really a work for," he said in response to questions on whether he had become a Christian.
He said a video for Praisez Non Stop is currently in the works.
Junior Cat faded from the limelight but it was not for the lack of recording following his heyday when he was among the biggest names in dancehall with tunes like Cabin Stabbing with Junior Demus, Super Cat and the late Nicodemus, who passed in 1996. Cat released an album, Top Dog, in 1992. However, in the years following, not many of his songs got the kind of airplay that would have kept him in the limelight. He said sometimes he would be recording as many as 10 songs in any one month but the respective producers did not put the necessary support behind the songs that he feels would have made them into hits.
Among the songs he released over the last decade or so are Deportee in 2009 and Second Hand Don in 2010.
The album, which is due out in a few months, he says, has been in the works for about four or five years and is in its final stages of preparation. In keeping with his shift away from hardcore music, the album, titled Fight Back, will include songs of a more conscious nature. "It's going to be a roots/rock, one-drop album," he said. "Mainly laid-back music, reality and non-stop chanting."
The title, he said, speaks to the rough times he went through with his music while never thinking of giving up.
In the meantime, Junior Cat has been getting in a bit of acting as well. He reveals that he recently shot a movie in Canada with another legendary entertainer Louis Ranking. The movie is called We Run These Streets. There is no word yet on when the film is to be released.
- Leighton Levy
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Here to Do Jah WorksNEW! Junior Cathttps://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/ae-p/system/music/file/40598/1384386666.mp3https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/ae-p/system/music/file/40598/1384386666.mp3Here to Do Jah Works
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Skengdon Bring Back ReggaeJunior Cathttps://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/ae-p/system/music/file/40548/1384353532.mp3https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/ae-p/system/music/file/40548/1384353532.mp3Skengdon Bring Back Reggae
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PRAISES NON STOPPraises Non Stop is single produced by Dadz of Dadz Productions released September 2013. -
MACHINE GUN KELLYJunior Cat voicing dubplate "Machine Gun Kelly" for Wild Pitch Sound in Holland.
The Junior Cat Media Team at THE ISHMAEL TREE
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