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Pulse

The Catalyst

The setting is Berwick—aka "Black Bexley," as the Catalyst calls it—the East Side neighborhood bordered by James Road and the Livingston freeway exit.

"I was watching Cartoon Network at home. This voice with a lisp comes on my telephone. 'What's up, Baby Pa?!'" the Catalyst said, recalling his first phone call from East Coast hip-hop pioneer Kool G Rap.

That phone call started a relationship that eventually led to the Catalyst's induction into G Rap's Queens-based crew, Five Fam Click. The Columbus emcee is also in Copywrite's crew ODOT, and in Thought Set with Envelope.

The Catalyst, aka Beau McNaboe, has a booming voice, a quick, dark wit, and a perfect rhyme scheme that will pretty much impress any fan of NYC's grimy rap.

That was made clear back in 2005, when a video clip of the Catalyst rapping at the DITC Big L Tribute show in Manhattan was posted to Real-HipHop.com. The Catalyst found himself being judged against freestyles from other known rappers—and he beat out mixtape king Papoose and Flipmode Squad's Lord Have Mercy in online voting.

As a member of the ODOT crew, he's appeared on two national releases, Cruise Control (Nature Sounds) and Jakki Tha Motamouth's God vs. Satan (Babygrande). He was on Sickamore's Ignorant Shiii mixtape, a Joey Fingaz tape and the latest DJ E-V tape, The ODOT Takeover.

The Catalyst's crew Thought Set also released a single, "Move," on the British label DMB Records.

But the net voting, freestyles and cameos—and an appearance on Copywrite's next mixtape—aren't enough for the Catalyst in 2007. He's currently recording a solo album, and he plans on releasing a solo mixtape this year.

—Wes Flexner

January 25, 2007