Katastrophe (rapper)
Encyclopedia
Rocco Kayiatos, best known by his stage name
Katastrophe, is an American hip-hop rapper and producer
.
Based in the San Francisco Bay Area
, he began competing in poetry slams
in 1997. After winning the 1998 Youth Speaks poetry slam, he went on tour with Sister Spit
's Rambling Road Show tour. By age 19 Kayiatos had poems on four compilation cds. He is widely credited as the first openly transgender
singer in the hip-hop genre and he often incorporates his being a trans man
in his work.
the title song to the feature film Sugar High Glitter City, directed by Shar Rednour (who broached the project to Katastrophe on a Sister Spit tour) and Jackie Strano; the soundtrack was nominated for an AVN Award but lost to Snoop Dogg
.
Katstrophe and Schaffer then formed hip-hop group The End of the World along with Ricky Lee; Schaffer subsequently began performing solo as Schaffer the Darklord.
Katastrophe started making beats
in 2002. He raps about lives lived outside the mainstreams of education, gender, and culture. He uses his struggle as a trans man and his contested place in contemporary queer
and hip hop culture to discuss larger issues of community, space, privilege, sex, and self-worth
.
He was named Producer of the Year by Outmusic Awards for his debut album Let's Fuck, Then Talk About My Problems on the Sugartruck Recordings label, released in 2004. Kayiatos released a second album entitled Fault, Lies and Faultlines on the Cherchez La Femme label in 2005, and a third full-length release, The Worst Amazing, was released in October 2009 on 307 Knox Records. In 2008 he wrote, produced, directed, and starred in a multimedia
show, HomeMade SuperHero. He also performs with Jenna Riot as the music act Ice Cream Socialites.
He is featured in the documentary film
s Poetic License, Pick Up the Mic
, Enough Man, and Riot Acts.
He was described as one of the most accomplished rappers in the Homo hop
documentary Pick Up the Mic.
His video for the song "The Life" was on MTV networks
LOGO
top ten Click List
for 12 weeks. His music has been featured on Showtime's soundtracks for the contemporary series The L Word
, as well as several short films
. Kayiatos is the subject of a forthcoming biopic entitled The State of Katastrophe. He has toured in the U.S. and Europe.
Stage name
A stage name, also called a showbiz name or screen name, is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers such as actors, wrestlers, comedians, and musicians.-Motivation to use a stage name:...
Katastrophe, is an American hip-hop rapper and producer
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
.
Based in the San Francisco Bay Area
San Francisco Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a populated region that surrounds the San Francisco and San Pablo estuaries in Northern California. The region encompasses metropolitan areas of San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, along with smaller urban and rural areas...
, he began competing in poetry slams
Slam poetry
A poetry slam is a competition at which poets read or recite original work. These performances are then judged on a numeric scale by previously selected members of the audience.-History:...
in 1997. After winning the 1998 Youth Speaks poetry slam, he went on tour with Sister Spit
Sister Spit
Sister Spit is a lesbian-feminist spoken word and performance art collective based in San Francisco, signed to Mr. Lady Records. They formed in 1994 and disbanded in 2006. Founding members included Michelle Tea and Sini Anderson, Other members included Jane LeCroy and poet Eileen Myles...
's Rambling Road Show tour. By age 19 Kayiatos had poems on four compilation cds. He is widely credited as the first openly transgender
Transgender
Transgender is a general term applied to a variety of individuals, behaviors, and groups involving tendencies to vary from culturally conventional gender roles....
singer in the hip-hop genre and he often incorporates his being a trans man
Trans man
A trans man, transman, trans guy, or FTM is a transgender or transsexual man: a person who was assigned female at birth, but who identifies as male....
in his work.
Music career
In 2001, he recorded with Mark SchafferSchaffer The Darklord
Mark Schäffer , better known by his stage name Schäffer the Darklord or STD, is a New York City-based musician who is active in the Nerdcore hip-hop scene....
the title song to the feature film Sugar High Glitter City, directed by Shar Rednour (who broached the project to Katastrophe on a Sister Spit tour) and Jackie Strano; the soundtrack was nominated for an AVN Award but lost to Snoop Dogg
Snoop Dogg
Calvin Cordozar Broadus, Jr. , better known by his stage name Snoop Dogg, is an American rapper, record producer, and actor. Snoop is best known as a rapper in the West Coast hip hop scene, and for being one of Dr. Dre's most notable protégés. Snoop Dogg was a Crip gang member while in high school...
.
Katstrophe and Schaffer then formed hip-hop group The End of the World along with Ricky Lee; Schaffer subsequently began performing solo as Schaffer the Darklord.
Katastrophe started making beats
Hip hop production
Hip hop production is the creation of hip hop music. Though the term encompasses all aspects of hip hop music, it's most commonly used to refer to the instrumental, non-lyrical aspects of hip hop. This means that hip hop producers are the instrumentalists involved in a work...
in 2002. He raps about lives lived outside the mainstreams of education, gender, and culture. He uses his struggle as a trans man and his contested place in contemporary queer
Queer
Queer is an umbrella term for sexual minorities that are not heterosexual, heteronormative, or gender-binary. In the context of Western identity politics the term also acts as a label setting queer-identifying people apart from discourse, ideologies, and lifestyles that typify mainstream LGBT ...
and hip hop culture to discuss larger issues of community, space, privilege, sex, and self-worth
Self-esteem
Self-esteem is a term in psychology to reflect a person's overall evaluation or appraisal of his or her own worth. Self-esteem encompasses beliefs and emotions such as triumph, despair, pride and shame: some would distinguish how 'the self-concept is what we think about the self; self-esteem, the...
.
He was named Producer of the Year by Outmusic Awards for his debut album Let's Fuck, Then Talk About My Problems on the Sugartruck Recordings label, released in 2004. Kayiatos released a second album entitled Fault, Lies and Faultlines on the Cherchez La Femme label in 2005, and a third full-length release, The Worst Amazing, was released in October 2009 on 307 Knox Records. In 2008 he wrote, produced, directed, and starred in a multimedia
Multimedia
Multimedia is media and content that uses a combination of different content forms. The term can be used as a noun or as an adjective describing a medium as having multiple content forms. The term is used in contrast to media which use only rudimentary computer display such as text-only, or...
show, HomeMade SuperHero. He also performs with Jenna Riot as the music act Ice Cream Socialites.
He is featured in the documentary film
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
s Poetic License, Pick Up the Mic
Pick Up the Mic
Pick Up the Mic is a documentary film, released in 2006, which profiles the underground LGBT hip hop scene and homohop, which is a subgenre of hip-hop that includes gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender rappers, DJ's and hip-hop artists. The film was directed by Alex Hinton.The documentary had...
, Enough Man, and Riot Acts.
He was described as one of the most accomplished rappers in the Homo hop
Homo hop
Homo hop is a genre of hip hop music performed by LGBT artists and performers. It has been described as "a global movement of gay hip-hop MCs and fans determined to stake their claim in a genre too often associated with homophobia and anti-gay lyrics."...
documentary Pick Up the Mic.
His video for the song "The Life" was on MTV networks
MTV Networks
MTV Networks is a division of media conglomerate Viacom that oversees the operations of many television channels and Internet brands, including the original MTV channel in the United States...
LOGO
Logo (TV channel)
Logo is an American digital cable television channel owned by Viacom's MTV Networks division. Launched in June 2005, the channel's programs are geared towards the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender community...
top ten Click List
The Click List: Top 10 Videos
The Click List: Top 10 Videos is an hour length music video show that airs on the television channel Logo. Viewers vote for their top ten favorite videos at and each week the winners are counted down in a new episode. An episode usually includes Indie and big label LGBT artists such as Rufus...
for 12 weeks. His music has been featured on Showtime's soundtracks for the contemporary series The L Word
The L Word
The L Word is an American co-production television drama series originally shown on Showtime portraying the lives of a group of lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people and their friends, family and lovers in the trendy Greater Los Angeles, California city of West Hollywood...
, as well as several short films
Short subject
A short film is any film not long enough to be considered a feature film. No consensus exists as to where that boundary is drawn: the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes or less, including all...
. Kayiatos is the subject of a forthcoming biopic entitled The State of Katastrophe. He has toured in the U.S. and Europe.