Minnesota man voiced MC Skat Cat in Paula Abdul's 'Opposites Attract'

MINNEAPOLIS (KMSP) - Today in music history, Paula Abdul's album "Forever Your Girl" made it to number one after 64 weeks on the charts in 1989.  And there's a Minnesota connection to one of the most popular songs on that album, “Opposites Attract.”

Derrick Stevens is a pioneer of the local hip hop scene and one of the first rappers to perform at First Avenue.  Back in the mid-80's, Stevens was a rapper who went by the name Derrick Delite. When Paula Abdul's producer heard him doing an announcement on KMOJ radio, he asked if he would rap a few verses for her song.

"My initial response was I really couldn't wrap my head around it,” Stevens said. “A cartoon cat dancing in a music video with Paula Abdul and I'm going to play the voice of this cat, okay."

The video with Stevens voicing the animated cat "MC Skat Kat" became a staple on MTV and later went to number one on the Billboard hot 100. It even spawned a solo album for MC Skat Kat, with Paula Abdul making a video appearance in the single Skat Kat Strut.

"It’s ancient history that I have a fond memory of, that I look back fondly on,” Stevens said.

For the last 10 years, Stevens has been the production director at The Current.

"It’s something I'm never going to forget about,” he says. “It’s something that’s part of pop culture.”