Kat Eyez
Katastrophic

Well I’ve been reviewing Desi albums on here ever since I started writing reviews so I thought I’d venture into something that’s different and slightly more ‘Katastrophic’!

Before you go pulling out your spell checkers to tell me I can’t spell, just keep reading why I think it’s so. When we first heard a Hindi song played mixed in with a reggae beat during the 80’s, it was catastrophic. When we first heard Panjabi MC collaborate with Jay-Z on the “Beware of the Boys” on radio, it was catastrophic. When we are getting South Asian artists beginning to jump into the mainstream market like Toronto’s own Kat Eyez (K.E.), its just ‘katastrophic’.

Coming out of late 2004, his debut release “Katastrophe”, K.E. is definitely proving the mainstream music market why Asians aren’t just the ones singing Indian tunes. Now some of us have heard and seen the some other artists jump into the mainstream market from time to time, but we haven’t really seen a rapper with a smooth flow that has the potential to make some serious noise. Well on this 17-track album K.E. shows us exactly why he’s about to do so.

Starting from track one K.E. hooks up with R&B chanteuse, Sumeet to talk about “Girlz” and this song is just downright HOT! From the flow to the lyrics to the production, all of it has been perfected and has success written all over it. The song is a laid out smooth R&B vibe topped with a smooth urban flow and the collaboration works well. If a proper video were made for this, I could see it complete with an evening drive down Yonge Street in a BMW by K.E. while Sumeet stands on top of a slow moving truck singing the R&B hooks in front of the bright lights (hey it could work!).

What’s great about this album is that we aren’t just given one style or one dimension like we would from other mainstream artists out there. On the sixth track titled “Above”, K.E. brings in some of the West Coast sound and hooks it up with the sweet voice of Renee Wynter to drop it like it’s hot. Another superb track with a tinge of dancehall, that’s got a 'hype' feel to it and is easily a club worthy song.

K.E. shows us his influences of underground & commercial rap, dancehall, Indian music and can easily hold it all up while still ‘keeping it real’ and without looking fake. On the tenth track titled “Million Bucks” K.E. gives us his thoughts on some bling. Dwight Anderson features on this last alliance of the album and he reminds me a lot of rapper Nate Dogg as they’ve got a very similar style. Another head bopping song that gets a thumbs up!

Other songs that are definitely worth checking out include “Call It What You Want”, “Take U Home”, “Dreamer”, and “Right Place”. Personally, I think that the only downside of this album is the production as not all of the songs jumped out at me. Don’t get me wrong, they’re still great beats and well produced, it just need some more of the “wow” factor to win me over on a couple of the other songs.

Even though Kat Eyez has ventured into an area that many South Asians have yet to get into, he has shown that his skill to rhyme and give each track a ‘personality’. This release is definitely a step in the right direction for K.E. and seems very promising to take it to the next level. The artwork and CD contents layout is just simple yet very effective and really gives it a proper look unlike some of the crap that gets put out.

For all those younger kids that could possibly be reading this, yeah you shouldn’t be listening to stuff that’s not for your age but hey I’m not a parent so who am I to say? Kat Eyez unites the world of South Asians and Urban music that is great to see and something that we will hear a lot more of as the years go on which in the end could be completely ‘katastrophic’. (In that case, turn it way up!!!) The first song “Girlz” is worth the price of the CD alone and is definitely going to get overplay from me. Kat Eyez’s debut album gets an overall 3 out of 5, now go check it out before it’s too late!

For more information and to get audio samples, check out www.kateyez.com and www.hangoverrecords.com.

Tracking listing:
1. Girlz (feat. Sumeet) 2. Call It What You Want 3. Hit Dis 4. No Time 5. New Whip 6. Above (feat. Renee Wynter) 7. I’m Dead 8. Rented 9. Stick Up	10. Million Bucks (feat. Dwight Anderson) 11. Take U Home 12. Gunman 13. Dreamer 14. Right Place 15. See Us Coming 16. Just Another Day 17. Morning After (Bonus Track)

Reviewed by Ankur Sood
(the Desi Underground Project)