News / / 19.08.13

ZEBRA KATZ

25 seconds into Zebra Katz’ DRKLNG mixtape, which dropped earlier this year, he pierces through the dystopian stabs and buckled blasts of white noise with his sound tag – “Zebra Fucking Katz” – in a voice that sounds like Siri’s unhinged sister. 

“I decided to make a tag and I was playing around with voices”, Katz tells us. “I found that one, and it just stuck.” It’s a perfect sonic illustration of the Zebra Katz experience: menacing, ominous and full of identity. Crack spoke to the man behind the moniker, Ojay Morgan, after a year where his viral release Ima Read has continued to spiral and the Brooklyn rapper’s hybrid of underground ethos with overground flair has pushed the divides of rap music even further apart.

When Morgan’s breakout single Ima Read was used by Rick Owens during Paris Fashion Week, he was able to leave his middle management position in the catering business and enter the sphere of music he so longed to be a part of. That continued bond with the fashion world, for Zebra, is integral. “I’m very conscious of fashion and design – it’s how we go in an out of character. I use my style to go in and out of character. It’s not something I think about, but the opportunity to work with these designers, even just to soundscape their shows is a trajectory; the continued opportunity to design and collaborate.”

It’s Zebra’s tie with the fashion world and his edgy, elaborate dress sense that bred a lazy association with NYC’s ‘Queer Rap’ movement, which has been burgeoning in recent years. Mykki Blanco, Le1f and Cakes Da Killa are all alumni. It’s a brand of rap music that intimidates through sexuality and warps the misconceptions around homosexuals in hip-hop to the point of non-existence. Katz is no stranger to this ilk of MCs, but by gaining acclaim in tandem with them, he found his sound grouped into something he didn’t necessarily feel a natural association to. “I don’t see it anymore, other people see it”, he insists. “The downfall of the scene happened to be what it was titled. Calling it ‘Queer Rap’ is what limited it to just sexual preference. It was no longer about the sound or the function, it was just about sexuality and identity. That’s where my tendency to back away from it came from. It’s bigger than that, it’s so much bigger than that. It’s not Zebra Katz. I think what people hear from Zebra Katz is very androgynous and very open, I don’t think that putting the music in a category does it any justice.” It’s a case Zebra Katz has had to fight every inch for, and the fact it became such a debate speaks volumes about the attitudes so deeply rooted in rap. “It’s not about that, I’m not about that, my music isn’t about that. There’s other things to discuss and talk about.”

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There are numerous facets to the Zebra Katz persona beyond that realm of sexuality. An art school grad, Ojay openly refers to Zebra Katz as an alter-ego. One of his key focuses is ensuring that as the character gains notoriety, and that the character acknowledges it and progresses. “It’s fun to have a change, be aware of it, and let the character grow. It’s definitely the darker side of the real me” he muses. “Some people don’t really get me and I think that’s great. I love how the media picked out these images and moulded a character out of photos stored on the internet for the last 12 years, they are helping me to create the aesthetics. It’s so fun for me, to have the audience to work off for the interviews, the live shows, the shoots.” Zebra Katz is a rare case of an internet success story that evolves in parallel to the hype. After over 90 remixes of Ima Read brought the blogosphere to its knees, Katz was able to appoint Busta Rhymes to rap over the beat for his DRKLNG tape. “I’m still in shock that I can reach out to people that I love and look up to. Busta Rhymes on Ima Read?! That’s still a shock to me because that’s somebody who’s a legend in the hip-hop community.” As a muso who makes a point of ignoring genres, his list of dream collaborators are refreshingly eclectic. “Grace Jones, Fiona Apple, Childish Gambino. I’ve been in London for half a year, I’d love to work with Mike Skinner also.”

These hook ups aren’t out of reach. Word is spreading fast about Zebra Katz, and with a debut full-length in the works, it seems like the ever-evolving journey of Ojay Morgan is moving smoothly. “I’m finally back to doing a bit of my own production and the shows are always spectacular. I’ve been doing more shows in the UK than I have in America so I’m playing catch-up in the States now. We did this show in Moscow before everything got crazy there and we never imagined we’d need security! People knew every lyric, they were moshpitting. I’ve never seen that kind of response and audience reciprocation.”

This fever won’t stay isolated for long. Ima Read shed light on a tour de force in dynamic electronic hip-hop. The huge success of that track won’t eclipse the future of the Zebra Katz experience, it’s just the spotlight. “It’s been a year and a half now and I’m still just living in the moment of it. It’s what keeps me aware and focussed as an artist.” Armed with a growing following, a fierce creative streak and a little bit of a point to prove – that name best said by a demented computer voice with an expletive in the middle might be sticking around.

 

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Catch Zebra Katz on the Red Bull Music Academy stage at Tauron Nowa Muzyka Katowice, Poland, August 22nd-25th. Tickets from £30

Words: Duncan Harrison

 

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