The Internet has changed what is possible in our world. New technologies have been tested. The way we discover new tastemakers in film and music has been changed. The very limits of original creative content has been shattered and redefined.
And a guy rapping about his cat got 10 million views on YouTube.
Sparta, aka Mean Kitty, the fiercest feline in the vlogosphere, first hit the scene in September 2007. When Cory “Mr. Safety” Williams, already a prominent YouTube vidmaker, decided to kill two birds with one stone and simultaneously document his new kitten’s aggressive biting problem and his fab new pad in Sherman Oaks, he did so with a little rap called The Mean Kitty Song. The video was an instant and enormous hit, scoring more than 3.5 million views in its first two months alone. It is the number two top favorite of all time in YouTube’s Pets and Animals section – second only to the jawdropping survival-of-the-fittest juggernaut Battle at Kruger. (And it’s actually beaten BaK for “most discussed.” Chew on that, crocodiles!)
While YouTube consumers in general do seem to just enjoy a white guy rapping (see: Bo Burnham), The Mean Kitty Song has something special to offer, both in William’s clever rhymes and in Sparta’s sheer adorableness. It’s hard to say if it’s his ridiculously sweet face or the glee with which he attacks, but either way, never has violence been so cute.
Williams was a YouTube celeb and revenue sharer for his popular sketch comedy and hilarious music stylings, but he happily broke out more Sparta-centric videos, including a backstory vlog, webisodes, and a spectacular, epic, Choose Your Own Adventure-style undertaking in which viewers hunted through 64 video choices to search Williams’ apartment and “find Sparta.” But he also longed to get the focus at his channel, smpfilms, back on his own stuff, and so in June of 2008, Sparta got booted from smpfilms, and took up residence under his own shingle.
And what does Sparta get out of megafame? Immortalization in cartoon tributes, interviews of his own, and – from his proud and appreciative papa – the occasional salmon steak.
See our previous coverage:
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Comments
Alli, December 20, 2008 at 7:52 AM
I LOVE LOVE LOVE SPARTA!!!! He remindes me of my cat tabby Sweetie! She is 1 and a half , Sweetie has a biteing problem to! When she bites us , we put her on th floor smack her butt and yell no!! Maybe it will work for you to!
courtney, December 23, 2008 at 6:29 AM
Well if Sparta is still having identity crisis just do cat stuff. Like dragging bags or playing with a mouse and my cat does play with bags and get stuck in them.So his name is jingles and i have another one named Salem and jingles is a lot like yours the same markings. Salem act’s a lot like yours he bites sleep’s in the sink which i don’t get and so does my other cat.So here’s my advice a bit like i wrote at the beginning.All you really should do is well if you have a Christmas tree and you put up decoration’s just let him whack them but be careful not to step on them .And one thing just do cat stuff do trick’s with him cuddle him. Also play with a string.That’s all i can give you .You half to do cat stuff it will probably just change him back.One more thing just try and help him let him chase moving thing’s.SPARTA AND YOU ROCK!
courtney, December 23, 2008 at 6:48 AM
hey this is my cat Salem the things he like to do is bite,sleep in my bed,hit jingles .that trick really worked thanks.hey hope to see Sparta in lot’s of video’s also hope you make success in your work.bye Sparta bye Cory aka Mr.safety.
courtney, December 23, 2008 at 6:57 AM
Can you help me my cat like’s to eat paper and he’s acting funny can you please help me anybody. here i need help from Sparta,Cory,Stephanie and Nicky nick .Please help me!
Hunter, January 17, 2009 at 7:03 AM
were do you go to find spartas channel?
ryan, February 17, 2009 at 3:38 AM
dear sparta i liked your video it was funny and the blood must be painful i am sad cause bill is not doing videos any more from ryan
katie, February 21, 2009 at 10:26 AM
sparta is so cute and his channel will be a big success.hope u get on well with ur new work.
Elizabeth, February 26, 2009 at 5:36 PM
I am a animal person.Cats are my favorite animals.I am only 8 turning 9 and like Sparta.He is the best.i have 2 cats and my boy cat Boopie reminds me of Sparta.But he does worse things then Sparta.He tears in the trash.
Claudia, March 7, 2009 at 4:22 PM
Sparta is so cute.i love cat’s dog’s and all other animal’s.Your song is so cool.Well on you tube Sparta is the best.(for me)So have fun with Sparta
Joey Bonkers, March 13, 2009 at 7:29 PM
Hey Sparta, we should hang out sometime….Compare notes on being a Ninja kitty. You see, it’s sew cool to hide and wait to jump out on my mom & dad; I scare them! And sometimes, I just get a hankering to just jump on em & bite them. Tell, Cory, you don’t have a problem, they do! It will be difficult to get togeter literally cauz I live on the Eastcoast, but maybe I’ll send some pics of me.
Just wanted to drop u a line cauz we have sew much in common, being Mean Kitties and all! Listen, stay loose, keep cool, & keep stalkin….
Yours,
Joey
jacqui, March 14, 2009 at 1:47 PM
I thought I saw at the end of a Sparta video that he has leukemia? I hope this is not so. We will pray for you Sparta, we LOVE YOU!! Please reply to let us know. Thank you , and thank you for bringing us Sparta. Jacqui
maiyah, March 26, 2009 at 10:32 PM
can you post your wedding on youtube?
Zech, March 31, 2009 at 10:28 PM
This cat is the biggest thing since……….THE DAWN OF TIME!!! GO SPARTA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
corbin, April 5, 2009 at 9:32 AM
My Cat Got Lost… Go Sparta(oh crap)
corbin, April 5, 2009 at 9:40 AM
anyway…did loki help?
corbin, April 5, 2009 at 9:51 AM
What Dose Sparta Mean?
savanna, April 6, 2009 at 6:46 PM
hey your kitty is so cute i have a kitty to!!!she bits to!!!!aouch, aouch!!!!!her name is sabrina!!!i love her!!!she is simeas cat!!!she doesent like it when i pick her up but i do it anyway!!!pritty kitty!!!and i have a cat her name is orieo she is a black and white cat……she lets her play with her!!!i love her 2!!!message me sometime!!!!??????/love u sparta!!!
savanna, April 6, 2009 at 6:48 PM
((((((((((((((((((((llllllllllllllllllllllllooooooooooooooooooovvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvveeeeeeeeeee yyyyyyyyyyyyyooooooooooouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu))))))))))))))))))))))) (((((((((((((((((sssssssppppppppppaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrttttttttttttaaaaaaaa!!!!!!!!!!!!!)))))))))))))))))
savanna, April 6, 2009 at 7:18 PM
hey why dont u get his teeth took out???????it mite help????just his sharp ones!!!!?????or get them rubed down so they wont be sharp!~!!!~~~
Melissa Holland, April 9, 2009 at 3:59 PM
I Love Spart and you guys. Your episodes and the songs are the best. Your really good at making movies. Spata remineds me a lot of my cat Kieko (Which means adored) (Hint Spoiled very spoiled cat) and my old cat Smokey who died when he was a year and 8 month old. He died of Feline Leukemia. Smoke was the smartest cat ever, he also decided to chose me as his chew toy. He would drink from our bathroom sink faucet and drank out of the toilet. Kieko is our biggest cat, weighing in at 16 pounds of muscle. We spoiled him to much and he grew up big and not the brightest of the bunch. He demands to have fresh water if the other cats drink from the dish or it is over 5 minutes old. He use to sleep in the sink and now demands that you cuff your hands under the water so he cam drink from your hands. He also picks fights with us and the other cats. I tried training him and so far I got him to learn sit and thats all. But my other cat checkers I got trained like a dog. I got 3 indoor cats and 3 outdoor cats. If you would like to now more about them and make a page for Sparta you can go to Catchannel.com. My cats names are Chess, Checker (Who are twin sisters), clue and kieko. I don’t have a page set up yet for Mira and Leo yet. I will soon though. When you sing up look my name up or my cats name up. You can vote for others, and your self and people can vote for you. Using these votes you can win and be cat of the day or month. You would most likely win both. Well good luck with Sparta!
Melissa Holland, April 10, 2009 at 4:25 PM
You wanted to know what that chattering was that Sparta was doing. I don’t really have an answer but my cat checkers does the same thing when see sees something out the window.
corbin, April 12, 2009 at 6:30 PM
he is probably being playfull (ask.com)than(how to stop cats from biting)for hellp
corbin, April 12, 2009 at 6:33 PM
2#he probably wants atention
Laura, May 5, 2009 at 10:25 AM
I love Sparta, he’s so cute! I used to have a cat called Callie but she died. She was black and white and tomorrow would be her birthday if she still was alive. I might feel a bit sad tomorrow though. Well I love Sparta and the mean kitty song!
shelby schipper, May 10, 2009 at 6:27 AM
Sparta you are doing good.I am sorry about the other cat.I bet you loved it verry much.From;SHELBY
not telling, May 12, 2009 at 4:31 AM
l loved sparta am going to name my cat that one i get one 4 myslef
Anna, May 16, 2009 at 9:25 PM
On the find kitty thing it will not work. what do we do?
Anna, May 17, 2009 at 9:44 AM
If Sparta ever jumps by the TV like that put the TV on a desk or something so he cant jump by it.
Mazin, May 24, 2009 at 3:49 AM
M.r Saftey why does Sparta bite you and does it make you anoyed? When Sparta is sick what do you do or what does Sarta do? You are fantastic at making videos of Sarta.
emilee, May 24, 2009 at 11:27 AM
i love the mean kitty video >} check out my youtube account meerkatlover121 :}
cat lover, June 8, 2009 at 11:43 AM
SPARTA ure soooooooooooooooo cute. i wish i could film PUZZLE and SUKI!
logan, June 12, 2009 at 3:32 PM
i looooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooovvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvveeeeeeeeeeeeeeee mean kitty
logan, June 12, 2009 at 3:33 PM
sparta i want to let you know your cute and funny and of course mean
Ella Perdue, June 19, 2009 at 5:14 PM
We love you Sparta
Anna, June 20, 2009 at 9:59 PM
i have a cat that looks the same as Sparta but it is girl and shes not that mean she is nice. Oh and my mom told me that when a cat bites you they love you so Sparta really loves you!
Anna, June 20, 2009 at 10:02 PM
oh! and my cat is fatter!!!
alexandre, July 3, 2009 at 8:15 AM
how is sparta
Kristie, July 5, 2009 at 11:54 AM
i love sparta sooo much he is soooo cutehe reminds me of what our cat used to be like and they look the same too , Ramsey, our cat used to jump and pounce on invisible things in the air !!!!! bottom line sparta is so cute!! its too bad that my cat doesnt do that anymore
Lissa, July 23, 2009 at 8:10 AM
OMG your videos are soooooooooooooo funny and cute!!!! i hope you guys have a great year
WALKER, July 24, 2009 at 12:08 PM
heyy i love your videos of sparta and you!! whaen are you making nem ones?? the videos are really addicting. hows sparta?
WALKER, July 24, 2009 at 12:14 PM
lol i ment making new videos not nem.
steven hiciano, July 24, 2009 at 2:58 PM
hi i think you should make 1 more video with sparta just for old time sake your biggest fan steven ooooo your awsommmmmmmmmmmm
o and try to say my name please.and your videos are sooooooooooooo cooll.
STEVEN HICIANO
:)
josh, August 11, 2009 at 12:06 PM
hi i am josh sparta is so coooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooool
BETHANY, August 21, 2009 at 9:26 PM
I WILL MISS SPARTAS VIDEOS I DON’T KNOW WHY HE STOPED THE VIDEOS BECAUSE HE WAS GOOD AT THE VIDEOS AND I LIKED THEM THOSE VIDEOS ARE THE BEST I WATCH THEM ALL THE ALL THE TIME BECAUSE I LOVED THEM WITCH I ALLREADY TOLD YALL ABOUT. DIDN’T YALL LIKE THEM.
BETHANY, August 21, 2009 at 9:28 PM
SPARTA WAS THE BET CAT EVEN I WOULD LIKE TO HAVE THAT CAT. KISS KISS KISS KISS!
alexis blake, August 24, 2009 at 1:03 PM
i love your videos.i am 9 i love sparta but you are a star you should get credit to! everyone says i love sparta they should love you to.
chantelle, September 6, 2009 at 9:25 AM
i love sparta you shold do more vidios there well good
Israel, September 12, 2009 at 10:11 AM
Hi my name is israel and i am eleven years old. i have a cat like sparta but he is a little smaller. and if you need sparta to stop bitting try squirtting him with water on his back everytime he bites you or steph (your wife) and if it works please make another mean kitty video and thats how you can thank me for listening to my comments
Israel, September 12, 2009 at 10:13 AM
sorry its suppose to say thank you for listening to my comments
SEAN, October 4, 2009 at 2:11 PM
the meany kitty vidios are the best vidios ever not kiding i have the same cat at my house and it seems like he did not have the same problem werid so let me know how sparta is doing if u could thanks
SEAN :- )
kimmy, November 1, 2009 at 10:36 AM
hi my name is kimmy your cat is the most funnyest cat ever. I think when sparta is good you shuld give sparta a treat.
kimmy, November 1, 2009 at 10:39 AM
sparta is the most funnyest cat ever. i think you shuld give sparta a treat when sparta is doing something good
ace, November 20, 2009 at 9:08 AM
ilovemean kitty so much . i now how to make sparta stop bitng