The Goats were an alternative hip-hop quartet from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Their members included rappers Oatie Kato (the frontman), Madd (a.k.a. "the M-A-the-double-D", a.k.a. Maxx), and Swayzack. Madd and Swayzack are Aboriginal Americans, and their concern with Aboriginal causes is reflected in their lyrics. The Goats held that Christopher Columbus was responsible for genocidal crimes against the Aboriginal inhabitants of pre-colonial America, including the rape of innocent women by his crew. Their fury was expressed in the signature song, "Tricks of the Shade", which contains the lyrics, "Columbus killed more Indians than Hitler killed Jews; but on his birthday you get sales on shoes."

The Goats were artists on Columbia Records / Ruffhouse Records.
They developed a large cult following after the release of two well-respected albums, Tricks Of The Shade (1992) (produced by producer Joe "the Butcher" Nicolo) and No Goats No Glory (1994), on Ruffhouse Records and Columbia Records respectively; both are presently out of print, used copies circulate online and second-hand record shops.