-[ethereal music playing] -[phone keyboard clacking]
Live show.
I don't wait for things just to happen.
Does this place have a location on Facebook?
It does, yeah.
I know what it's like to not have.
You should be able to check-in.
-Check-in's right here? -This one. Yep.
I know what it's like to be fortunate.
I truly understand that nothing is going to be handed to me.
[exhales]
I like to create my things, I like to own my things.
Hit the-- hit the music whenever you're ready.
That's just the fire that just burns in me.
I literally have unlimited energy.
Hit it. Thanks.
[cat meows on soundtrack]
♪ Ballin' on you hard, Cattastic What, what? Yeah… ♪
Grab your cat.
I wanna see all those comments right now.
Shout-out to all my cat ladies.
This is for all my cat people out there. You know we love you.
Let's go. Come on.
-♪ Ballin' on you hard, Cattastic ♪ -[cat meowing]
♪ Yeah, I love my cats 'Cause it's drastic ♪
♪ Okay, cat lady bad Gotta have it ♪
♪ Yo, better adopt a cat 'Cause it's magic ♪
♪ Cats, cats, cats Cattastic ♪
[opening theme music playing]
[peaceful music playing]
[Moshow] ♪ Yeah ♪
♪ Got Parm on my hand Got Queen Sushi on my hand ♪
♪ Gotta love cats ♪
♪ Better get that bread Cat rap, cat rap ♪
♪ Parm in my hand ♪
♪ She like, "Daddy, yeah, you the cat man" ♪
♪ Sushi like, "Daddy, I'm on your hat I'mma stand" ♪
♪ Cat man, yeah, I fly Neverland Fly like Peter Pan ♪
♪ Cats is the brand ♪
♪ Everybody knows Moshow's the cat man ♪
[kissing]
[laughing]
[cat meows]
All right.
Growing up in the projects of Baltimore City,
I had no exposure to animals.
My mom wasn't big on animals, my dad wasn't really big on animals,
so I had no idea what I was missing.
-What? -[laughing]
My wife, MC, grew up with cats.
What are you doing?
-He's like, "The toy, the toy, Dad!" -I know, right?
And through her, I fell in love with cats.
-[warm music playing] -[cat purring]
So, I got five cats.
They all have crazy personalities,
and we're just one-- one little cat family.
Queen Sushi is like, "I'm the queen, this is-- this is my place."
[meowing]
-[MC] Aww, Savi! But play with me. -[Moshow chuckling]
-[MC laughing] -[Moshow] There it is.
You're starting to understand the whole Queen Sushi thing.
-Yeah. -[Moshow laughing]
MegaMam would always tell me, "Dad, feed me cat treats."
"Aww, Dad, you just got in the house, cool. Cat treats."
I think that's Mega.
Black Savage…
I think he would be, like, the person that's kind of like an introvert a bit.
And he would just be like, "Dad, I love you, man."
I think Lil' Parmesan is like the super pretty girl.
"Aren't I cute?"
And then you give her a pet, she's like, "But why? Like, don't touch me."
DJ Ravioli is 100% obsessed with me.
He's my rocks, my second heart, my other half.
[purring]
What you're witnessing is just straight-up real love
from me and my cats.
We just have a undeniable bond.
♪ Uh, everybody grab your cat Put them paws in the air ♪
♪ Little Parmesan killin' it She don't even care ♪
♪ We got cats over here Cats, cats ♪
You know, that-- that love and that dedication
that I have with my cat family is just…
It's-it's on a higher level. It's so much bigger than me.
♪ DJ Ravioli Do you love me? ♪
♪ Are you ridin'? ♪
♪ Say you'll never ever leave From beside me ♪
♪ Got the catnip Doin' backflips ♪
I'm just 100% with my family,
and that is the total amount of bliss that I strive for every day.
[meows]
[woman on phone] I don't think you can see me.
I can't hear you.
-Mom. Mom. -[MC laughing]
-Mom, everything is recording. -We haven't started quite yet--
I have my volume up, but I can barely hear you.
Honestly, it says at the bottom. It says, "Start video."
And there's a red X, and then, when I click on it,
it says, "Unable to access camera. Allow Zoom to access your camera."
Wait a minute, I can see you and myself.
[Moshow] I grew up with not a lot.
You know, being in the projects, I was growing up in a place
where they told me that I wouldn't make it to the age of 16.
I've seen five deaths in my life,
uh, just from the environment that I was put in.
And I don't say that in a proud way.
I'm just saying that that's what I've seen.
When a lot of my friends wanted to hang out on the corners
and get into, like, mischief, I was the person that was like,
"Come on, guys, let's just hang out. I got my PlayStation in the house."
So, just being a nerd just saved me,
from not feeling like I had to prove a point.
I've always been a good kid in school, so I went to my mom one day and I say,
"Hey, Mom, if I just do a really good job in high school, once we graduate,
would you mind moving out of here so I can have a better chance at life?"
And I graduated from high school, I stayed out of trouble,
and that summer, she kept her promise, and we moved to the county.
My grandmother always taught us, "When children speak, you listen,
because they're telling you something important."
And I didn't realize how much it bothered you
that we should've been in a better environment
to give you more of a chance to be able to be the best "you" you could be.
[Moshow] ♪ I can't really love it 'Cause you know I love my cats ♪
♪ And they really love me back Cat ladies like… ♪
I had this epiphany one day where-- I'd been rapping for some time.
♪ I can't lie I can't… ♪
I was rapping about things that I saw, and it wasn't me.
♪ I'm too sick I'm starting to feel like a nuisance ♪
♪ They all wanna give me their two cents I'm blasting away that Hadouken ♪
♪ Always love your cat ♪
♪ And never declaw I'm so raw… ♪
I knew that I'm not hardcore. You know, I'm not gangster.
I don't wanna hurt anyone, I got a lot of love for people,
and I know that I loved cats, and I said, "You know what?"
"I'm just gonna focus on-- I'm gonna just be myself."
♪ DJ Rav, you ready? We're in the building, man ♪
♪ You know how we get down Got all the cats in town ♪
♪ It's how it go around ♪
[laughing]
♪ DJ Ravioli chilling in my lap ♪
♪ I got cats up on my hat I got cats in my hat ♪
♪ I'm the cat man ♪
♪ Rolling, get the back hand ♪
♪ Yeah, she is that fad ♪
♪ Cat ladies, he cooling the fan ♪
This is who I am.
Love me or not.
And I just put that into my music,
and I just stepped out in front of the world and just was myself.
♪ Ooh! Meow, meow, meow ♪
[laughing]
♪ Yeah, uh ♪
♪ I'm like Meow, meow, meow ♪
♪ She like Meow, meow, meow ♪
♪ I'm like Meow, meow, meow ♪
♪ Do you, do you get down? Come in… ♪
♪ We up in Portland Clear, no distortion ♪
♪ High on we scorching DJ Ravioli so important ♪
♪ Aye ♪
♪ Got a bunch of cats, yay Rolling in the park while I rap, yeah ♪
♪ I'm the cat man Give me that, aye ♪
♪ Where my cat lady is she at, yay ♪ [laughing]
You have now entered the cat rap and family relaxation time.
[relaxing music playing]
I met my cat lady in college.
[MC] We went to York College of Pennsylvania.
It was just a--
One of those intermediate classes you had to take. Like, arts and things.
So, we both ended up in theater together.
He came in, turned around, I saw him, and I was like,
"Oh, my God, he's so cute."
And he was just really friendly and warm and, you know,
sometimes the really good-looking ones aren't always super nice and friendly.
But he was, he was so kind and sweet, and I really like that about him.
[Moshow] Once we started dating, we hit it off really well.
We hung out all the time,
and we would go visit her parents on the weekend.
Sometimes, I would stay the night, and I would have to do projects.
My major was Information Systems Development,
so I had to code a lot downstairs.
And she had a black cat named Queenie who would just watch me code all night.
First month, she would just be very far away.
Second month, she got closer.
The third month, cats sneak up on you, man.
She was just in my lap.
Come on, buddy.
Yeah.
And before I knew it,
I was making sure Queenie had a spot to sit on the bed,
asking Queenie if she wanted to watch a movie with us.
Like, this right here, like, this ain't…
This is like, uh-- This is cat energy right here.
Just after a while, he's just ready to go home and just chill with the others.
-They're all inseparable, so… -Mm-hmm.
-He gets antsy. -Yeah.
[MC] Misses them.
[Moshow] When Queenie sat in my lap, it was just like, poof.
Cat fever just took over.
[chill music playing]
[MC] Let's go!
[Moshow] When I first started this, I really didn't have any support.
People would say things like, you know, "Cat rapping, like, that's not a thing."
When we lived in Maryland, when he said he wanted to be an artist
or that he was an artist, people were like,
"Okay, but, like, what do you do for real?"
And he's like, "That's what I do."
-You know his habit. -This one's you.
[Moshow] I had this epiphany one day where I said, "Hey, babe, like, you know,
you're not happy here, I'm not happy here."
"We got three cats."
"Let's just save up some money and move across the country
and start a new life, and we need a fresh start."
And, uh, we moved across the country with my three cats at the time.
-That was Tali… -[meowing]
-…Queen Sushi, and MegaMam. -[meowing]
We land here in Portland. We moved into the place.
I immediately hit the ground running.
♪ Uh, ravioli chilling, yeah Yeah, we got it for the thrill, yeah ♪
♪ Ravioli on chill, yeah Ravioli got a thrill, yeah ♪
♪ I'm gonna do my thing ♪
♪ Got these cats Hold up, he just need a snack ♪
♪ Yeah, that's a cat attack ♪
♪ Oh, my God, I swear Just please don't judge me ♪
♪ Yeah, I got all these cats I'm feeling lovely ♪
♪ Uh, Sushi… ♪
Ravioli just wants me around him 24/7.
[kissing]
He doesn't want me to record without him.
♪ We got cats in the building… ♪
He stands next to the studio room and meows sometimes,
and I take it as him saying,
"Yo, you was chilling for two days, you should make some music."
♪ Look, I got a whole cattitude ♪
He's always the one that wants me here in the studio,
and, um, this is what he does every time we come up in here.
He just, uh, sits in my lap, you know, not forcing him.
If I was, you know, he would be running away right now,
but this is how we record, and this is how we lay our vocals down.
-Ain't that right, buddy? -[purring]
♪ Yeah, we got a whole cattitude Yeah, we got a whole cattitude ♪
♪ Yeah, I'm calling it cattitude, uh ♪
All right.
[sighs]
Is that okay?
What did you think, Rav?
[laughing]
DJ Ravioli's a Devon Rex, and their skin gets dirty.
He has only the first coats of hair, so he doesn't have the full coat.
So, oil and stuff builds up on his fur as well.
Which is why he has to get a bath,
which is why, you know, people saw me do the "Cat Bath Rap" freestyle.
♪ Hey, I should've picked up Where I left off ♪
♪ Or creeped up where I crept off ♪
♪ Or stepped up where I stepped off I'm feeling like I'm fresh off ♪
♪ Fresh off that Gotta give my son a bath ♪
♪ Can you add it up? Can you even do the math? ♪
♪ And he's a special cat So he does need a bath ♪
♪ So I don't want no hate Can you please clear the path ♪
♪ Cat people love you Walk up to you, hug you ♪
♪ Me and Ravioli right here Nothing above you ♪
And everyone went nuts.
And we will leave you with new music from Moshow the Cat Rapper.
♪ We got cat emotions ♪
[crowd] ♪ We got cat emotions ♪
He's like, "Yeah, I rap about cats."
And Portland's own famous cat rapper.
[Moshow] It just went viral. It was on all of the main channels.
[reporter] …but his music sends a message from the heart.
You celebrate cat day every single day, don't you?
Yeah, every day is Caturday for me.
It was just everywhere around the world. It was in France, everywhere.
Every time I would see a publication, it'd be written in different languages.
I just couldn't believe how, you know, massive this thing had got.
♪ We got that Arm & Hammer coming to you ♪
I have four albums now.
♪ Got a bunch of cats And you know we gonna shine ♪
♪ Grab your cat and just be cheery Fa la la la la la la la ♪
♪ Find us up in Portland That's where we be at ♪
♪ I'm the cat king, baby I'm the cat king ♪
I am an author, I have six-- I published six books.
[humorous music playing]
So, I do more work beyond my music.
So, uh, this book right here, this is a very, very special book to me.
I hold it dearly close to my heart.
This is my iAmMoshow official coloring book.
This is the first book I ever published, and there you go.
You got me right there chilling with Black Savage around his neck.
So, after I published my first book,
I got the madness and cat fever, and I was like,
"You know what? I'm feeling cattastic. So, what do we have to do?"
"How about we do the Cattastic edition?"
So, we got the Happy Halloween edition right there.
You can see me, I'm Dracula. Got Black Savage with the vampire teeth.
He's also just chilling right back there right meow.
I think he knew that was coming up.
So, I thought, "You know what? Let's do it like a video game card
and just give them percentages and show their personality."
You ever feeling Kitty Litty? No problem.
Now, when it comes down to showing cat love, you know what you gotta do.
He's talking about getting rid of the cats.
As you can see, I have a problem with this, and I'm like, "No way."
These cats are ridiculous.
-Sushi got her own candles. [laughing] -[MC] Is it yummy?
I'm just very thankful for all of the-- the massive, like, supporters.
I don't like calling them my fans, I feel like we're all just cat family.
The love and stuff that we share in general--
I've created friendships.
If I fly to Cali, they'll pick me up.
They're here to help.
Moshow, I've got your "Beautiful Cat Lady Wednesday" shirt.
Thank you so much.
[Moshow] It could be someone that's five years old or 80.
[MC] The message that I hope we're bringing to people
is to just believe in yourself and to be yourself.
-[camera shutter clicks] -[Moshow] Boom!
Oh, get out of there.
All right, I'm gonna try to burn him. Gonna try to burn him.
-It's okay. -All right.
Here, hold on one sec. Mega wants to get under the blankie.
-Come on, Meggie. -[meowing]
-Perfect. -[purring]
Oh, yeah, here we go.
Sushi and MegaMam both are Sphynx,
so they are heat-seeking.
So, they're always gonna wanna cuddle with you, be on top of you.
[Moshow] They constantly need body heat.
They don't have any fur, so they're… they're cold.
They get cold very easily.
So, they like to be snuggled and like to chill in Daddy's lap.
-[MC] Mm-hmm. -It's what they like to do.
MC is the love of my life.
Oh, yeah.
She's my wife, she's my lady, she's my best friend.
She's my everything, honestly.
-I don't think we've done this. -No. Maybe--
It might have opened up, 'cause we just finished this level last time,
so now we're, like, level two.
We're both weird people, you know,
kind of goofy, always felt a little misunderstood,
so we just bonded over a lot of things.
[Moshow] She supported me for months when I didn't have a job,
and I was just trying to make my music.
When I told her,
"Hey, babe, this is the last time I'm gonna work at this job."
"Nine-to-five isn't for me."
She didn't fight me on it, didn't fight me on any of that.
She just always believed that I was gonna make it happen.
[funky music playing]
[MC] I take all the video footage for the most part.
I like to crochet scarves,
that matching sets for him and the cats, so…
And you can really see, like, that special relationship
that he has with them.
It's a nice way to, like, express yourself creatively, I think.
[Moshow] I'm just really in tune with who I am.
I know who I am.
I love everything about cats.
Not being around the cats is kind of weird for me.
Just everyday lifestyle for me is just me chilling with my homies.
You know, chilling with the cats.
And that is-- that is just the-- the bond and the relationship, uh, that we have.
[meows]
-[Moshow] What? -[meows]
Am I the cat god?
-[meowing] -Yeah, tell them.
In the beginning, I started with three cats.
Queen Sushi,
MegaMam,
Tali.
And that was the start of my three cats as my family.
They are my original cats.
Tali was the most loving cat out of all of my cats.
She went the extra mile.
If you came over, and everybody was afraid of you,
Tali was the only one that was never afraid.
And she died suddenly from, uh, heart problems, heart failure.
I dedicate this to my cat, Tali.
She was very close to me,
and my family has been split up a little bit. Uh…
She is the reason why I do a lot of this,
and-- and the reason why, um, I still keep going is for Tali.
It, uh, it ripped me apart, you know?
Especially just because they all are really tight.
So, after she passed away, we was totally, like, destroyed.
We have to talk about-- We're so, so sorry.
Just last week, you lost one of your cats, Tali.
Yes, I lost Tali.
Tali, she was a lover, she was the type of cat--
No matter if you didn't like her, she would force her love on you.
And it's really been hard. Felt like I lost a piece of my-- my life.
And, uh, I…
♪ Daddy loves you I miss you ♪
♪ I just wanna kiss you I will never diss you ♪
♪ I hope you know That the whole cat family with you ♪
♪ I hope you know, Tali That Daddy won't forget you ♪
♪ Tali, the lover I just wanna hug you ♪
♪ And when we get to heaven You know, we put nothing above you ♪
Tali was the one that sticks out immediately
because of her, um, unconditional love.
I'm dealing with a lot,
and-- and not everything, not-- you know--
Not-- not-- not everything is all peaches and cream
and everything is just easy for me, man. I'm trying, man.
And I just hope a few of y'all understand that I love and care about you…
…you know?
This is where my cat family comes into a big play of what I'm talking about,
this unconditional love that we got.
We connect with each other on a very deep level.
I love Moshow because he's awesome, and he stands up for what he wants.
Team Moshow!
I support you because you're just awesome.
♪ Moshow means no no-show ♪
Team Moshow!
These are people that go above and beyond, and that is real love.
It's not just about me.
We're like a whole unit, and we all help each other out.
-♪ Tali, yeah, I miss you ♪ -♪ Oh, Tali, yeah, I miss you ♪
♪ Now that you gone I got issues ♪
I had posted that Tali passed away, like, two weeks,
so they knew I was going through it, and I'm very open with how I feel.
-♪ I really wish that I could kiss you ♪ -♪ I wish that I could… ♪
♪ Never forget 'em if they diss you ♪
One day, I was sitting on a couch, it was late at night,
I was gaming, playing a little Final Fantasy.
And, um, I was gaming, and I got a message.
So, I check my phone and there was a picture,
and it said, "Moshow, seeing you just wake up with the cat smiling,
not even saying much, it's-- it's kept me alive."
"We know you don't like taking things, but can I please just give you this
as a token of my appreciation?"
I opened up the picture, and it was Lil' Parmesan.
It was like two o'clock in the morning, I was really crying about Tali,
and it just felt like somebody just spoke to me,
and was like, "Just have this cat."
I said yes on Wednesday, they flew her out on Saturday.
And I'm very thankful for that
because people don't have to support you, so I'm very thankful.
[uplifting music playing]
There's never a night where I sleep alone,
and I'm just very thankful that I have all of this support.
I'm with my family,
I'm with people who love me,
I'm with my animals that love me,
and that is--
The moment is in the happiness that I just look forward to every day.
I know DJ Ravioli's gonna lay
in the middle of me and my wife every night.
I know Queen Sushi's gonna lay over her head.
I know Savage is gonna be chilling right underneath the bed on my side.
-What? -[meows]
This is every night, and, you know, it's just--
It's real magical.
All right.
[meows]
I can never, like…
I can't do anything in peace.
I love you too, Sushi.
Yes, we can do this all day if you want to.
[MC] Come here.
MegaMam, found a treat!
[Moshow] What's up, buddy?
So, pretty much this is where Black Savage likes to chill.
This is his little spot right here, as you can see.
Likes me to come back here and give him a little pat. [kisses]
Likes to sleep, uh, next to--
I always call his girlfriend, Parmesan. He likes to stare at her all day.
Of course this would be his favorite spot.
No, you've never done that before. I don't know where that's coming from.
[MC and Moshow laughing]
I adopted a black cat from the Oregon Humane Society,
because I wanted to show people that black cats were cool.
I started a group "Where My Black Cat People At,"
and that has just inspired so many people to show their black cats.
Wanna adopt a black cat.
Did you know that black cats are the least to be adopted
due to bad stereotypes such as:
movies showing black cats as superstitious and bringing bad luck.
And we shouldn't be getting cats because of how they look.
You should choose your cat based off of the temperament
and how you connect with them.
And when I got Savage, I created my song "Adopt a Cat."
♪ I'm about to adopt a cat ♪
♪ If you're ever wondering Where the options at, aye ♪
-[meows] -♪ I'm about to adopt a cat ♪
♪ Got a bunch of cat love No stopping that ♪
For me, it's just always been about, like, helping and trying to educate.
[MC] She knows.
-[Moshow kissing] Got cat treats! -[MC] No, don't eat that, guys.
-Yeah, I'm gonna put the treats there. -Ravi, careful with those claws, bud.
[Moshow] I wanted to educate people
that you are really well maintaining your cats
and making sure that they're very well taken care of.
Su! [clicking tongue]
-Sushi! [clicking tongue] Sush! -Su-Su.
She thinks that treats happen in the kitchen.
Oh, she's in the bathroom.
I think she's gotta use the little Su's room.
[Moshow] I wish I could sleep in a cool cat house, you know?
My cats are living better than me in their little cat houses and stuff, so…
Just treat your cat with some love.
My plans for the future is I will try to go
as far as I can go, so…
I wanna do more work with cat adoption.
I would love to, um, attend libraries and do readings to kids.
I would love to get my message out there more.
[crowd cheering]
I wanna do more work with my community,
and I also just wanna just continue to spread my message and positivity
to as many people that's willing to listen to me.
[exhales]
[crew] All right.
Ready?
[rap music playing]
[singer] Moshow.
[cat meowing]
♪ Ballin' on you hard, Cattastic What ♪
♪ Yeah, I love my cats and it's drastic ♪
♪ Cat lady bad Gotta have it ♪
♪ What up, toy? You know what I'm saying? ♪
♪ That's how we do Mogang Cat rap ♪
♪ Ballin' on you hard, Cattastic ♪
♪ Yeah, I love my cats and it's drastic ♪
♪ Cat lady bad Gotta have it ♪
♪ I got it, I got it ♪
♪ Better adopt a cat 'cause it's magic ♪
♪ Cats, cats, cats Cattastic ♪
♪ Cats, cats Cattastic ♪
♪ Ballin' on you hard, Cattastic ♪
♪ Okay, Moshow body It is in a casket ♪
♪ Okay, my skin is black Feeling magic ♪
♪ Okay, cat lady bad She ain't ratchet ♪
♪ You love black cats You love white cats ♪
♪ You love all cats You know I like that ♪
♪ I love bald cats Sushi all that ♪
♪ Don't declaw cats Homie, you should fall back ♪
♪ Uh, look I'm a big boss like I'm Bowser ♪
♪ On my way Driving to the shelter ♪
♪ If you don't love cats Then that's weak ♪
♪ Hold up, gotta feed my cat cat treats ♪
♪ On my face, on my face ♪
♪ I got cats on my face, though On my face ♪
♪ Cat ladies all up in my place, though ♪
♪ Stop hating, homie You should lay low ♪
♪ Better adopt a cat 'cause I say so ♪
♪ Ballin' on you hard, Cattastic ♪
♪ Yeah, I love my cats and it's drastic ♪
♪ Cat lady bad Gotta have it ♪
♪ I got it, I got it ♪
♪ Better adopt a cat 'cause it's magic ♪
♪ Cats, cats, cats Cattastic ♪
♪ Cats, cats Cattastic ♪
[cat meows]
♪ Stick, stick ♪
[closing theme music playing]