Bleep

Digital formats include 2 exclusive tracks

Given that Zebra Katz has largely been out of the public eye since appearing on the 2017 Gorillaz LP Humanz, you would have been forgiven for wondering what had become of the ‘Ima Read’ artist. It turns out that the NYC rapper has been busying himself with perfecting his debut LP Less Is Moor, an album which now emerges via The Vinyl Factory.

By and large this record delivers more of the quaking industrial-influenced club-rap which has been a cornerstone of the Zebra Katz project to date. Tracks such as ‘Sleepn’ and ‘Ish’ see Zebra Katz sparring with roiling beats full of alien tones and distorted drums. Atop these soundscapes the MC doesn't so much spit bars as purr them, an inflection that gives his icy lyrics even more clout. Taken together the sound is not dissimilar to that of fellow sonic pioneer Mykki Blanco, though Zebra Katz raps with more calm and poise.

Less Is Moor also includes moments of notable sonic evolution. ‘No 1 Else’ and ‘Exit 2 Void’ push out of the club and into hellfire industrialism to recall Moor Mother; ‘Lick It N Split’ channels donk in a manner not dissimilar to Tommy Cash’s ‘X-Ray’; other tracks touch on ballroom, drum ‘n’ bass and hip-house; and most surprising of all is ‘Necklace’, a hazy ballad which sits at the centre of the LP.

After a few years out of the spotlight Zebra Katz returns with Less Is Moor, a debut LP which at once solidifies his position as a vital queer rap force and also shows more range than we have previously seen from the artist.