Battlecat | |
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Birth name | Kevin Gilliam |
Origin | Long Beach, California, California, U.S. |
Genres | West Coast hip hop, G-funk |
Occupation(s) | Record producer, rapper, songwriter, singer |
Instruments | Sampler, keyboard, drums, vocoder, synthesizer. |
Years active | 1988-present |
Labels | Maverick/Warner Bros. Records |
Associated acts | Snoop Dogg, Kurupt, Tha Dogg Pound, Tha Eastsidaz, Bloods & Crips |
Kevin Gilliam, better known by his stage name Battlecat, is an American hip hop producer from Long Beach, California.
He is well known for producing artists such as Snoop Dogg, Tupac Shakur, The Game, Xzibit and Tha Eastsidaz along with a number of other West Coast rappers. His aesthetic is a progression from the early-'90s G-Funk sound pioneered by Above the Law and Dr. Dre, characterized by fat synth bass lines and soulful keys. He is also the concert DJ for Snoop Dogg.
In 2009, Battlecat produced a special song called "A Soldier Never Dies", dedicated to fallen Marine, Anthony Vargas. Battlecat is a DJ member of The Worldwide DJ organization, The Core DJ's. The music video was directed by Paolo Ongkeko and produced by Don Le. One of the video's leads was portrayed by Sonny Ayon.