Kitty

Kitty Ray, born Kathryn-Leigh Beckwith and formerly known as Kitty Pryde and ♡kitty♡, is a musician from Florida, United States. She begins making music in 2010 and shares it via Tumblr. Her work moves through rap, hip-hop, trance, and synthpop, and she also takes on singing and production in later releases.

Early work and hip-hop releases

In 2011, Kitty fronts the short-lived comedy hip-hop group Jokers in Trousers. She gains wider recognition after rapper Riff Raff notices her, and the two collaborate on “Orion’s Belt” in June 2012. Her 2012 single “Okay Cupid” becomes an internet sensation and is ranked number 17 on Rolling Stone magazine’s list of the top 50 songs of 2012.

Between 2012 and 2014, she releases a run of extended plays. The first three, Haha, I’m Sorry (2012), D.A.I.S.Y. rage (2013), and impatiens (2014), are predominantly hip-hop-based.

Move beyond hip-hop

In November 2014, Kitty says she is “over hip-hop” and turns to trance on the EP FROSTBITE. Her debut album, Miami Garden Club, follows in 2017. It is crowdfunded through a Kickstarter campaign in 2015 and marks a shift to synthpop, drawing on 1980s and 1990s pop music. On the album, she moves away from being mainly a rapper and works more as a singer and producer.

Her second album, ROSE GOLD, appears in 2019. It is her first release to be entirely self-produced and reaches number 9 on Billboard’s Dance/Electronic Albums chart. In 2020, she releases the EP Charm and Mirror.

Other projects

Alongside her solo work, Kitty is a member of The Pom-Poms and Teen Suicide, the latter having been known for a period as American Pleasure Club. She performs in these projects with her husband Sam Ray, also known as Ricky Eat Acid. Between 2016 and 2018, the two also record under the names 56colors and Kit & Sam Ray.

Kitty forms her own record label, Pretty Wavvy, in 2019.