Chris Berg was a junior in high school when his parents gave him his first guitar and he has been making music ever since. Berg, better known by his stage name “Katastrophic,” is a local rapper who has been making waves in the music industry. The Winslow native bolstered over one million listens on Spotify in 2022 and currently his most popular song is his 2018 hit Make it Right, which currently has 2.8 million listens on Spotify.
Berg gained this success through his simple, feel-good, melody-forward rap that has mass appeal to people who wouldn’t otherwise consider themselves fans of the genre.
Berg lived in Prescott and a couple other cities around Arizona, then moved to Winslow when he was in fifth grade and has lived there ever since, now with his wife and two children.
After graduating from Winslow High School in 2013, he joined the military where he was trained to be a medic. When Berg left the military, he began working at an emergency medical technician (EMT) in the back of an ambulance, where he still works today.
This is also around the time Berg began playing guitar in his first band called Higeria, with other locals from Winslow who he had attended high school with. They performed reggae-rock music and when they broke up it allowed Berg to focus on his solo projects, which was the birth of Katastrophic.
Berg said that when he released Make it Right in 2018, that was when everything changed. He went from local EMT to MC overnight; he was being taken seriously as an artist and began receiving more offers for collaborations and gigs. The pandemic slowed Berg’s career but he said that he is excited to get back out there to play more gigs and now he has a bit more freedom in playing the kind of shows he chooses. This flexibility is what allows him to balance a busy life as a husband, father, EMT and musician.
Though he has found success in the rap genre, he aspires to expand his musical horizons. He hopes to transition to creating pop music in the future, showcasing his versatility as an artist. Berg, because of his job and family, has not taken the more traditional path to success in the music industry, which usually involves playing as many shows as possible until the right person is in the audience sees and can elevate them to the next level of their careers. Living Winslow means Berg has had to take a different strategy.
Berg built a sound studio in his home to obtain the professional sound he wants to create, teaching himself how to use all the production equipment and software in order to produce music in his home. When asked what record company he would most want to be signed to, he said he wants to make a name for himself without signing away his creativity and money to a large label. He understands that this may or may not lead to long-term success, but he said, “The appeal [of fame] is beginning to be lost on me, I am 28 years old and have two kids and these guys signed to big record labels are required to tour most of the year. All I truly want is to make enough to support me and my family.”
Berg released his first album in November 2022 with Tucson artist Roux called The Upside of Falling Down. He explained that up until this project he had only released singles because he believes it’s easier for listeners to take a chance on a single from an artist they don’t know than a full album. When asked about his process of producing singles versus a whole album he said, “You know the only reason we even put out a whole album is because when her [Roux] and I sat down to write a song we just ended up working great together and writing several songs, four or five of which are unfinished and didn’t make the album.” Although this project was his first full-length album he expects to make more projects like this in the future.
In a show of gratitude to the community that has supported him, he is filming his music video for his new song at Winslow’s Old Town Grill on Saturday, April 15, and is inviting any members of the public who would like to participate in the video to come out and be a part of it. Additional details on the event can be found on his Facebook page under his stage name. One thing that is clear when talking to Berg is that no matter what exciting places his music may take him, he will always be grateful for the community who got him there. His music can be found on Spotify and Apple Music as Katastrophic.
