ThaGataNegrra

Artist Information

Biography

ThaGataNegrra is an American alternative hip-hop artist who specializes in innovative lyrics, cleverly twisted metaphors and a funky start-stop delivery that nails the listener from the word go; an eclectic style that runs the gamut from danceable ear candy to mind-searing aggression. Her distinct flow, catlike persona, and penchant for the odd not only earned GATA her feline namesake and the tag of PunkRhyma™ , but made her a force that is undeniable.
A native of Newark, NJ, GATA showed early signs of being a renaissance woman; she was frequently found drawing, dancing, acting, crafting, or writing. Her singer/songwriter father, and mother’s passion for exposing GATA to as many cultural experiences as she could inspired GATA to express herself through several mediums.
GATA stood out from her peers as a result, and was perpetually teased, bullied, and isolated, which drove her to find solace by immersing herself in music. GATA was a fan of anything from metal to funk, but hip-hop would end up being her genre of choice. The Arts High School alumnus pounced through a few groups before landing on her feet and deciding to strike out on her own.
GATA kept busy with local shows and lending herself to other artists’ recording projects mainly for the sake of sharing what she could do. She struggled to find someone who would take her talent and her varied influences seriously. She often wrote of angry, frustrated feelings and life experiences, venting them in a fashion that fascinated and appalled those in her circle and people she auditioned for. Prospective collaborators were annoyed by and misunderstood her lyrics; they were of the opinion that girls weren’t supposed to talk “that” way—in an aggressive fashion. It was then that GATA decided she wouldn’t overhaul herself for anyone— compromise, perhaps, but not completely change.
GATA is painted as a manga/anime character of the hip-hop spectrum; her performances highlight this by featuring cosplay and visual kei style. Her musical style was colorfully described as “the bastard child of Hello Kitty and Eminem”, “infectious”, “honest”, and “full-bottle, in-your-face chick-hop”. Her influences range from Golden Era hip-hop and punk to dance and new wave. She is a founding member of The Alliance for Alternative and Eclectic Hip-Hop (AAEHH). She has been showcased at Code of tha Cuts: Project B-Girl at Vans Warped Tour, and the ING NYC Marathon, among other venues.

Instrumentation

ThaGataNegrra - Emcee/Vocalist
Peace - Dancer

Discography

"Come Show Me"
"Like I Do (You Should Dance With Me)"
"I Feel You"
"Paperdollz"
"I Like"
"Felinephunk"
currently in rotation on internet radio

DJ CANNON BANYON Presents: The Indie Top 50 Vol. 70 by Coast 2 Coast Mixtapes

Indie Castle & Independent But Major Presents Ladies First The Mixtape Vol 1

Indie Castle & Coast2Coast Mixtapes Presents Indie Castle Mixtape Vol. 3

CD, "GATA City", available at iTunes and other digital outlets worldwide

Official Website

http://www.thagatanegrra.net

Links

• ReverbNation
• Facebook
• Twitter
• MySpace
• Last.fm
• Bandcamp
• Soundcloud
• Soundclick
• PureVolume

Audio

• Felinephunk
  Listen   Download
• Paperdollz
  Listen   Download
• I Feel You
  Listen   Download
• Come Show Me
  Listen   Download
• Like I Do (You Should Dance With Me) Feat. Angel Vivaldi
  Listen   Download
• Tha Entire Transmission
  Listen   Download

Lyrics

• Felinephunk
• Paperdollz
• Come Show Me
• I Feel You
• Like I Do (You Should Dance With Me)

Video

ThaGataNegrra--Like I Do (You Should Dance With Me)

Photo Gallery

Press

• Daily Vault Album Reviews [+ Show ]
  

  Tha Gata Negrra doesn’t pretend to be a pop diva and she isn’t one. Her record GATA City does not in...Tha Gata Negrra doesn’t pretend to be a pop diva and she isn’t one. Her record GATA City does not involve any world-class producers and it certainly is not meant to be a pop record to woo the hearts of the masses. The production on the record is pretty slick; however, it is nothing compared to the chique music of mainstream pop. This album stemmed out of a house/dance music project with members of Gata Negrra’s family. But inspite of its homespun and homemade production, this debut of hers is a nearperfect hip-hop/pop candy and a party album with totally infectious tunes.
  
  Although not a pop star, Gata Negrra has an attitude and an eccentricity to surely match one. On the album, she takes on the persona of GATA, a feline manga/anime character; this portrayal of has apt distinct characteristics of visual kei, as can be seen on the album artwork and her website, which proudly touts the fact that she has been described as the bastard child of Hello Kitty and Eminem. But GATA, with her canny ability to blend hip-hop, dance, and mainstream pop, and her “in character” performance on the album makes her an artist more similar to Gorillaz than to anyone else.
  
  Gata Negrra is primarily a hip-hop artist. And so the goulash of different pop music styles on this album all have a hip-hop core. Her fast start-stop emcee delivery mixed with aggressive beats makes the hardcore hip-hop cuts on the album like “Felinephunk,” “Transmission From Tha Cat Liar,” “GATA City: Kuro Neko Chaos,” and “Paperdollz,” the catchiest and best on the album. “Come Show Me,” “I Feel You,” and “I Like” are truer to the house/dance germ of the album rather than to its hip-hop proneness. “Like I Do” is the one-of-a-kind sugary pop song that doesn’t represent the rest of the album, but is still fantastic.
  
  An integral part of Gata Negrra’s image is her weirdness, which can seem a bit tawdry and offputting. Her music, however, is anything but. Gata Negrra might like to be the “Gore Goddyss” (a gore-loving everyday girl) or an anime character that wears gaudy clothes and makeup, but GATA City is an ordinary mainstream pop album – an enjoyable and a great mainstream pop album.
  
  Rating: A-

• COWBOYS & INDIES - THE INDIE MUSIC ROUNDUP [+ Show ]
  

  "Apparently you can’t just have music, you’ve got to have “the whole package”. Tha Gata Negrra (tran..."Apparently you can’t just have music, you’ve got to have “the whole package”. Tha Gata Negrra (translate: the black cat), certainly has a product to offer and somewhat of a niche to fill. On the heels of artists like Nicki Minaj and Azealia Banks, and looking like cyber-goth-meets-hello-kitty, Tha Gata Negrra is full bottle, in-your-face chick hop. Her sounds run from the fat broken rock of Felinephunk, to the booty-disco of I Like, and the club friendly swinger of Like I Do. Currently represented out of New Jersey by 3 Miles Entertainment, Tha Gata Negrra definitely seems to be aiming for mainstream pop acceptance, but she’s doing it her way."

• Feature in Indie Flava: Gata Pantera Negrra [+ Show ]
  

  Within the first five minutes of discussion with alternative hip-hop artist [ThaGataNegrra], I quick...Within the first five minutes of discussion with alternative hip-hop artist [ThaGataNegrra], I quickly learned just how interesting she is. Despite the growing popularity for caricature artists in the music industry, such as Nicki Minaj and Lady GaGa, Gata's real-life cat-woman persona has nothing to do with trying to align with her fellow artists...her stage persona is not really a persona, it's her every day self...New Jersey's real life cat woman works hard on the craft of music. Her lyrics are edgy and eclectic.

• Music Review at Indie-Music.com [+ Show ]
  

  New Jersey native ThaGataNegrra knows how to have fun. Her music is a thoroughly vibrant mix of Danc...New Jersey native ThaGataNegrra knows how to have fun. Her music is a thoroughly vibrant mix of Dance, Pop, Disco, Funk and even a bit of Rock. The songs bubble with excitement and a colorful, feel-good nature that is both infectious and raucous at the same time. A wide variety of elements come into play on the songs available for listen here including the awesome Club/Dance/Disco track "I Feel You", the fantastically crafted "Like I Do (You Should Dance With Me)" and the funkier "Come Show Me".
  
  The songs are well produced using an arsenal of synthesizers and other keyboards as well as guitars and bass and what sound like some samples that are all alive in the mix. The lyrics are simple and fun and perfectly match the vibe of the songs. After all, you're not looking for literature lessons or poetry here are you? It's Dance music and it's supposed to be fun and that's exactly what ThaGataNegrra has come up with. This is the kind of stuff that explodes at a party or on the dancefloor, and she is to be commended for it.
  
  Fans of Donna Summer, Dee-Lite, P-Funk and Lady Gaga have plenty to look forward to here.

• I Feel (Yo)U Review at Indie-Music.com [+ Show ]
  

  "I Feel (Yo)U" is a great club/dance song from New Jersey based Alt/Hip-Hop/Dance artists ThaGataNeg..."I Feel (Yo)U" is a great club/dance song from New Jersey based Alt/Hip-Hop/Dance artists ThaGataNegrra. Although the song doesn't have many musical changes, it's club music so why would that matter? Plus, the song is actually rather funky with squealing lead guitars and pulsating bass along with some tropical percussion sounds.
  
  The vocals go from singing the infectious repeating chorus line to a sexy, conversational style. What's especially enjoyable about the song is that it has mass appeal to fans of different musical genres - you could like P-Funk, OutKast, Santigold, Donna Summer or the Chili Peppers and get groovin' to this track. --Peter Braidis

• Junior's Cave Interview [+ Show ]
  

  Junior’s Cave Golden Isles Online Magazine introduces the next stage in indie music. Meet ThaGataNeg...Junior’s Cave Golden Isles Online Magazine introduces the next stage in indie music. Meet ThaGataNegrra—Tha ORIGINAL GATA who is making a BIG splash on the indie music scene. Her style and how she entertains is something original, fresh, and fun to watch. If you want to witness a star being born, then check out the wonderful music of ThaGataNegrra.

• Introducing The Bands [+ Show ]
  

  There’s nothing else out there quite like ThaGataNegrra...ThaGataNegrra is not JUST an alternative h...There’s nothing else out there quite like ThaGataNegrra...ThaGataNegrra is not JUST an alternative hip-hop act. She is an artist. She puts her own purr on things ...that’ll leave your chest pounding to a whole new beat. There are some obvious cases on certain females in hip hop/pop that’ll be all style and no substance. ThaGataNegrra is that long awaited balance.
  

• GATA City Review by Praxilla of The Offering [+ Show ]
  

  On GATA City, the debut album from ThaGataNegrra, dance is used as a synonym of both love and lust: ...On GATA City, the debut album from ThaGataNegrra, dance is used as a synonym of both love and lust: with lyrics inspired by a current relationship, Gata does well to avoid gratuitous oversexualization on songs such as “I Feel You”, with its infectious blend of disco meets New Wave meets Freestyle vibe...[she has] a lot more than the metaphorical dance floor anthem to offer up on the album. “Paperdollz” is a personal track dedicated to not changing one’s self to meet the status quo of what men desire or expect.

• Music Review: ThaGataNeg{r}ra [+ Show ]
  

  Newark, NJ based rocker-chick, ThaGataNegra (sic), reminds me of Missy Elliot's fun style, if Missy ...Newark, NJ based rocker-chick, ThaGataNegra (sic), reminds me of Missy Elliot's fun style, if Missy was more LEFT.
  She has a colorful, wild delivery with fast pace (sic) house beats. This is what you'd like to listen to when you (sic) energy is waning or if you need to get in the mood to club hop. Her debut album, Gata City, is an instant pick-me-upper.

• Blurb on The Indie Music Review [+ Show ]
  

  In a masterful blend of hip-hop and pop, this New Jersey artist produces a somewhat eclectic blend o...In a masterful blend of hip-hop and pop, this New Jersey artist produces a somewhat eclectic blend of music that has wide appeal and has gained her a growing fan base.

Setlist

"Felinephunk"
"Like I Do (You Should Dance With Me)"
"Come Show Me"
"I Feel You"
"I Like"
"Juliet Is Bleeding"
"Paperdollz"
"GATA City: Kuro Neko Chaos"
"Anything"

Basic Requirements

Calendar