PHILLIP MLYNAREarlier this week we blew your minds with our post about rappers cats, which included the bombshell that the so-called Snoop “Dogg” actually owns a pair of kittens.
But of even greater controversy was our reporting on hip-hop superproducer Just Blaze's cat, called Rags Lauren. After our story went live, he tweeted that some of the information contained within was incorrect. The idea of leaving even a single stone unturned in our quest for the truth about hip-hop cats left a bitter taste in our mouths, so we immediately got him on the phone for the full story.
Is Rags Lauren even your cat?
We call him the studio cat. He's at the studio [Stadium Red Studios in NYC] all the time.
How did you find him?
It was a really bad thunderstorm and I was outside the studio and saw this street cat. He looked strange; he had a lot of hair missing and seemed malnourished. He was hiding behind a gate, but then he came out and kept staying by me. He wouldn't leave me alone. I'm an animal person. I love animals. So I called a friend and we stayed with him for 30 or 40 minutes in the rain. I was drenched, but I didn't want to leave because I knew he wasn't right. So we took him to the vet.
What happened there?
The vet saw that he was missing fur, he saw that he was in bad shape. He was really dehydrated and malnourished; they said he wouldn't have had more than 12 hours to live if we didn't bring him in. But the vet said he'd be okay. He had had an allergic reaction, which was why he started losing hair. He gave us his medicine. He recovered.
There's a picture of Rags lounging around in his litter box. Has he worked out how to use it yet?
Yeah, at first he definitely wasn't used to this — he wasn't used to experiencing the warmth of the studio and the food. But he's great with it now; he picked it up in a couple of weeks. Now he has a real attitude: He jumps around, gets on the console board, does what he wants.
Speaking of the console board. Has Rags ever changed the sound of a rap song?
No, he's never changed the sound of something we're recording. But we are considering putting out his work.
Do you like cats?
Since knowing Rags, I've learned to like cats more. I'm an animal person in general, but I prefer dogs. Now though, I have a new understanding of cats.
Info on Rags Lauren's Twitter scandal below!
A few months ago you tweeted that one of your dogs ate something expensive. What happened?
Ha ha, one of them ate a few diamonds. He also chewed through a very expensive pair of headphones. But what can you do?
Rags Lauren has a Twitter account that neither you, nor Rags himself, set up. Any idea who's behind it?
No, We have no idea! He's a studio cat, so it has to be someone on the inside. But, yeah, we have no idea who set that up.
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