Zebra Katz - "Ima Read"
Normally during PRIDE month (June) I do my best to post only or mainly LGBTQIA+ Artists. In light of the civil unrest around the nation and the injustices that have been forced upon the Black Community through years of enslavement, systemic racism, widespread oppression, and a set of generational socioeconomic traps, I thought this year it would be important to spotlight just how many QUEER BLACK ARTISTS changed and shaped the world through music, arts, culture, and activism.
So this June I will spotlight all Queer Black Artists to show you one more way in which we should be grateful for to the Queer Black Community and how without them we would not have the world or nation that we love so much. We should be grateful and proud.
BLACK LIVES MATTER + PRIDE (LGTBQIA+ Allies)
Ojay Morgan, better known by his stage name Zebra Katz, is an American rapper best known for his 2012 single "Ima Read". He is part of a wave of queer hip hop artists who emerged in the 2010s, who were influenced by elements of the LGBT African American ball culture other artists in the same movement include Mykki Blanco, Cakes da Killa, House of LaDosha, and Le1f.
The single "Ima Read", which took off when fashion designer Rick Owens used a repeated loop of the song to soundtrack his 2012 show at Paris Fashion Week, was released on Jeffree's, Diplo's imprint for the Mad Decent record label. Its video was directed by RUBEN XYZ. It has been described by The Guardian as "queer rap's crossover hit", and has been widely remixed by artists as diverse as Tricky, Azealia Banks, Gangsta Boo, Grimes and Busta Rhymes.
Zebra Katz was originally created while Morgan was studying at Eugene Lang College in New York City, growing out of a performance art piece called "Moor Contradictions". He subsequently worked on songs and videos as a hobby while working as a manager for a catering company, and began to pursue music more actively when he started garnering wider attention following the Owens show.
Morgan conceives of Zebra Katz as "the dark rapper, the dark villain, the dark lord of the fashion world". The single "Ima Read" is an allusion and tribute to Paris Is Burning, the influential 1990 documentary film about ball culture.
Morgan has since released two mixtapes, Champagne (2012) and Drklng (2013). He has performed many concerts in the United States and the United Kingdom, both solo and as an opening act for Azealia Banks.
In 2015, he released a collaborative EP with Leila, titled Nu Renegade.
His debut solo studio album, Less Is Moor, was jusr released a few months ago in 2020, and it is FIRE!
So today, with a b*^@# on read, I’m choosing Zebra Katz’s “Ima Read” as my, change that tune, slap that look right off your face, don’t step up unless you want to be sat down, song for a, not today karen, one too many times, you are the part of the “we” that needs adjustment, Thursday.