Kevin Gilliam (born April 20, 1968), better known by his stage name Battlecat, is an American hip hop

record producer A record producer is a recording project's creative and technical leader, commanding studio time and coaching artists, and in popular genres typically creates the song's very sound and structure.Virgil Moorefield"Introduction" ''The Producer as ...

and DJ from

South Los Angeles South Los Angeles, also known as South Central Los Angeles or simply South Central, is a region in southwestern Los Angeles County, lying mostly within the city limits of Los Angeles, south of downtown. It is "defined on Los Angeles city maps as a ...

, California.

Biography

He started out as a battle DJ, notably competing in the 1988 New Music Seminar DJ Battle for World Supremacy and the 1990 DMC US Mixing Finals, both in NYC. He is well known for producing artists such as

Snoop Dogg Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr. (born October 20, 1971), known professionally as Snoop Dogg (previously Snoop Doggy Dogg and briefly Snoop Lion), is an American rapper. His fame dates back to 1992 when he featured on Dr. Dre's debut solo single, " ...

Tupac Shakur Tupac Amaru Shakur ( ; born Lesane Parish Crooks, June 16, 1971 – September 13, 1996), also known as 2Pac and Makaveli, was an American rapper. He is widely considered one of the most influential rappers of all time. Shakur is among the b ...

, The Game,

Xzibit Alvin Nathaniel Joiner (born September 18, 1974), better known by his stage name Xzibit (pronounced "exhibit"), is an American rapper, actor, television presenter, and radio personality. Xzibit began his musical career after the release of his ...

and

Tha Eastsidaz Tha Eastsidaz is a hip hop trio consisting of Snoop Dogg, Tray Deee and Goldie Loc. Their first appearance was on Tommy Boy Records' ''The Ride: Music from Dimension'' with Crooked Eye Q on a Battlecat-produced song called "Feels So Good" in 19 ...

along with a number of other West Coast rappers. His aesthetic is a progression from the early-'90s

G-Funk G-funk, short for gangsta funk, is a sub-genre of gangsta rap that emerged from the West Coast scene in the late 1980s. The genre is heavily influenced by 1970s psychedelic funk (P-funk) sound of artists such as Parliament-Funkadelic. Charac ...

sound pioneered by Above the Law and

Dr. Dre Andre Romelle Young (born February 18, 1965), known professionally as Dr. Dre, is an American rapper and record producer. He is the founder and CEO of Aftermath Entertainment and Beats Electronics, and previously co-founded, co-owned, and w ...

, characterized by fat synth bass lines and soulful keys. He is also the concert DJ for

. As a youth he was a member of the Neighborhood Rollin 60s crip, because of this he has also produced instrumentals for the 1993 album "Bangin' on wax" by rap collaboration

Bloods & Crips Bloods & Crips was an American gangsta rap group from Los Angeles County mostly known for their record selling song "Piru Love". History The success of N.W.A. had frustrated many in the gang community who saw the group capitalizing on the gang ...

which went Gold. In 2009, Battlecat produced a special song called "A Soldier Never Dies", dedicated to fallen Marine, Anthony Vargas. Battlecat is a DJ member of The Worldwide DJ organization, The Core DJs. The music video was directed by Paolo Ongkeko and produced by

Don Le Don Pham Le (born September 20, 1983) is an American television and music video producer. Career In 2008, he co-founded the production company Northern Five Entertainment and produced the original pilot episodes for the action web series ''Th ...

. One of the video's leads was portrayed by Sonny Ayon.

Discography

*1988: "D.J. N-Effect" *1999: ''Gumbo Roots'' *2009: ''G' & Sexy Vol. 1''

References

External links

* American hip hop record producers Businesspeople from Los Angeles American hip hop DJs Living people Maverick Records artists Record producers from Los Angeles Crips 1968 births {{US-hiphop-bio-stub