"Big Cat"

Big Cat had a humble beginning. His teenage parents, who made some unwise choices in life, wisely left him in the care of his paternal grandparents at the age of four. This decision proved life changing for him.

This child, Andre “Big Cat” Catlett, was no average child. He excelled in school mostly because of his grandmother's desire and drive for him to do well. Having only completed the tenth grade herself, his grandmother worked hard everyday to provide better educational opportunities for Andre and the other children she was rearing while also caring for her paralyzed husband. Music was a primary function of Andre's upbringing. This was a favorite pastime of his. It opened his eyes to a whole new world and shed light on how words were meant to come together. Early in life, music served as shelter from a lot of storms that came Big Cat’s way. Songs, poems, you name it, he wrote it.

During his teenage years his concentration on music was temporarily sidelined by his desire to excel in sports; but his abilities in creative writing caused many of his English teachers to convince him to seek higher education. Big Cat was known in his school as that dude who was always doing something with music. Whether singing, or writing rhymes, Big Cat stayed sharpening his craft. At times he would even ghost write poetry for the not so gifted brothers trying to snag the girl. (for a small fee of course). Blessed with athletic ability as well, Big Cat attended college on a football scholarship. Seems he was on the right path and would soon be able to grant his grandmother her desire of seeing him doing well. However, his college career was cut short by tragedy. In July 2000, Big Cat was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer called Thymoma. Doctors found multiple tumors in his chest cavity and performed surgery to remove them. The tumors were benign
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With a new lease on life, Big Cat again started chasing his dreams. He wrote Rhythm and Blues for many local artists. He also wrote and recorded his own material. He completed one group album and one solo album in 2001 and 2004, respectively. Along with his musical endeavors, he continued to exercise his skills with the pen. Big Cat wrote and co-wrote five screenplays. One of the screenplays he wrote on his own placed thirty third among five thousand entries in a national screenwriting contest. In addition to writing music and screenplays, He continued to work on his collection of original poetry that dated back to his early teen years. Surely his successes and good health would propel him to acclaim. One hoped. But, tragedy reared its ugly head again. The tumors had returned and this time they were malignant.

In 2005, surgery was performed to remove Big Cat’s thymus gland. Although the tumors were in a different side of his chest this time around, they were still in his chest cavity. Doctors thought it too risky to perform surgery given the location of one of the tumors. So, in lieu of surgery, numerous sessions of chemotherapy were ordered. Once again, Andre's cancer was in remission. Big Cat was on the grind again producing one of the biggest urban concerts in the area history, The 540 Musicfest feat. Lyfe Jennings, Jagged Edge, Raheem Devaugn, & Selena Johnson. Also while enjoying this period of good health, Andre met and married Patrice, the love of his life. After their honeymoon, he was stricken anew. He endured chemotherapy again, but within six to eight months that one inoperable tumor was active again. Though the tumor was growing slowly, nevertheless it was still growing. Doctors at one hospital considered removing three sides of the tumor, but the small portion of the tumor that was very close to Big Cat's spine was of paramount concern. He decided to travel to find a hospital willing to completely remove this tumor that would eventually paralyze him and/or take his life. He found Georgetown Hospital in Washington, D.C. just in time. Big Cat made contact with the cancer center at Georgetown Hospital and arranged for a formal introductory appointment. The tumor, on the other hand, did not have time for formalities. He woke up on January 8, 2008 just fine, but by nightfall he was paralyzed from the waist down. He lay in the hospital bed contemplating having to live the paralytic existence his grandfather lived for so many years. But, by God's Grace and the hands of very skilled surgeons, Big Cat had the use of his legs again. This was nothing short of a miracle and we all know miracles tend to give birth to revelations.

Through an eight-year battle with cancer, Big Cat has come to grips with his mortality. He believes when one looks back on the life one has lived; one can only base ones worth on what one leaves behind. Because Big Cat has been blessed with so many opportunities at life, he has gathered his lifelong collection of thoughts expressed through his poetry to leave behind as one more thing for the world to consider in judging his worth. He ho