Janice Fyffe,
Dennis Creary,
Cherylle Ramdeen,
Rexton Gordon,
Hopeton Lindo,
Calvin Scott,
Clifton Dillon,
H. Lindo,
W. Johnson,
Sly Dunbar,
Danny Browne,
Cleveland "Clevie" Browne,
Michael Bennett,
Rod McKuen,
Jacques Brel
Worked With:
Handel Tucker,
Nadine Sutherland,
Steely,
Courtney Michael Small,
J.C. Lodge,
Tony Gold,
Bobby Dixon,
Pam Hall
Representative Albums: "Greatest Hits," "As Raw as Ever," "X-tra Naked"
Representative Songs: "Mr. Loverman," "Twice My Age," "Slow and Sexy"
Biography
During his heyday, Shabba Ranks was arguably the most popular dancehall toaster in the world. He was a massive crossover success in the U.S., thanks to an openly commercial hybrid of reggae and hip-hop, and also to prominent duet partners like Maxi Priest, Johnny Gill, and KRS-One. All of this brought him several hit singles and albums on the R&B charts in the early '90s, and made him the first dancehall artist to win a Grammy. Ranks' distinctive, booming growl of a voice earned him many imitators, and his sex-obsessed lyrics -- while drawing criticism for their unrelenting "slackness" -- made him one of dancehall's hottest sex symbols. Ranks' early success also helped pave the way for even bigger crossovers by artists like Shaggy and Sean Paul.
Shabba Ranks was born Rexton Rawlston Fernando Gordon on January 17, 1966, in Sturgetown, Jamaica. When he was eight years old, his family moved to the Kingston ghetto of Trenchtown, where Bob Marley had grown up. By age 12, he was fascinated by the sound system DJs who spun records in local clubs, and often chatted on the mic over the backing tracks. His early inspirations included Charlie Chaplin, General Echo, Brigadier Jerry, Yellowman, and especially Josey Wales. He soon tried his hand at performing as a toaster, and spent the early '80s working under Admiral Bailey at the Roots Melody sound system. Paired with a record selector dubbed the Navigator, Ranks initially called himself Co-Pilot. Under that name, he cut his first single, "Heat Under Sufferer's Feet," in 1985. He soon changed his name to Shabba Ranks, and caught the attention of his idol Josey Wales, who took the young toaster under his wing.
Wales introduced Ranks to some of the producers at King Jammy's studio, and Ranks soon began recording there, debuting with the single "Original Fresh." He collaborated with Chaka Demus, and recorded a large quantity of singles, none of which gave him a breakout hit. The 1988 single "Needle Eye Punany" marked the beginning of his notorious sexual explicitness, which he would soon ride to tremendous popularity in Jamaica. More crucial, though, was his move to King Jammy engineer/producer Bobby Digital's new studio and label, Digital B, in 1989. Having known each other for some time, the duo's chemistry was immediate, and Ranks quickly vaulted to stardom that year with a series of hit singles and an electrifying stage show (at one point, Ranks arrived on-stage via helicopter).
From 1989-1991, Ranks recorded some 50 singles, mainly with Bobby Digital but also with producers Gussie Clarke and Steely & Clevie. He scored hit after hit, including the massive "Wicked Inna Bed," "Roots and Culture," "Live Blanket," "Mama Man," and "Peeny Penny," among others. His album Rappin' With the Ladies featured covers of songs by female reggae artists, and gave him another big hit with a new version of J.C. Lodge's smash "Telephone Love"; it was also one of his first successes overseas, proving quite popular in the U.K. Gussie Clarke produced his 1989 LP Holding On, which spawned major hits in "Pirates' Anthem" (a collaboration with Cocoa Tea and Home T), "Twice My Age" (a duet with Krystal), and "Mr. Loverman" (a new version of Deborah Glasgow's "Champion Lover"). He also cut several other tracks with Cocoa Tea and Home T, including "Who She Love," "Stop Spreading Rumours," and "Your Body's Here With Me." A subsequent album, Golden Touch, proved to be another U.K. success.
Ranks' burgeoning popularity led to a major-label deal with Epic in 1991, and it was clear from the start that he aspired to crossover stardom. His Epic debut, As Raw as Ever, featured a high-profile duet with the then-hot Maxi Priest, "Housecall." "Housecall" made the Top Five on the R&B charts, sending As Raw as Ever all the way to number one on the R&B album listings. Another duet, "The Jam" -- this time with rap legend and reggae enthusiast KRS-One -- topped the hip-hop singles chart in 1992. As Raw as Ever was awarded a Grammy for Best Reggae Album, making Ranks the first dancehall artist ever to notch a win. Later in 1992, "Mr. Loverman" was re-released as a single in the States, following its appearance in the film Deep Cover; it went all the way to number two on the R&B charts. Ranks released his follow-up album, X-Tra Naked, the same year, and notched yet another duet hit with the Johnny Gill collaboration "Slow and Sexy," his third R&B Top Fiver. X-Tra Naked also featured other minor hits: "Muscle Grip," "Ting-a-Ling," and a duet with Queen Latifah, "What 'Cha Gonna Do?"; it also won Ranks his second straight Best Reggae Album Grammy. Ranks was so popular that two compilations of his earlier Jamaican hits, Rough & Ready, Vol. 1 and Mr. Maximum, both charted in the U.S. in 1992 as well.
1994 brought Ranks another decent-sized hit in the Addams Family Values soundtrack contribution "Family Affair," a rap/reggae version of the Sly & the Family Stone hit. He completed his third Epic album, A Mi Shabba, in 1995, and it produced several minor hits in "Ram Dancehall," "Let's Get It On," and "Shine Eye Gal." However, it didn't match the phenomenon of its predecessors, and Ranks fell mostly silent afterwards. He did return to Jamaica to record some more material for King Jammy during the late '90s, some of which was released on the hodgepodge album Get Up Stand Up in 1998. However, no new major-label offerings appeared, and Sony issued several compilations around the turn of the millennium. ~ Steve Huey, All Music Guide
Allmusicmusic journalist Steve Huey states - "During his heyday, Shabba Ranks was arguably the most popular dancehall toaster in the world". "He was a massive crossover success in the United States, thanks to an openly commercial hybrid of reggae and hip hop commonly known as reggae fusion, and also to prominent duet partners like Maxi Priest, Johnny Gill, and KRS-One". "All of this brought him several hit singles and albums on the U.S. R&Bchart in the early 1990s, and made him the first dancehall artist to win a Grammy Award". "Ranks' distinctive, booming growl of a voice earned him many imitators, and his sex-obsessed lyrics — while drawing criticism for their unrelenting "slackness" — made him one of dancehall's hottest sex symbols". "Ranks' early success also helped pave the way for even bigger crossovers by artists like Shaggy and Sean Paul".[1]
When he was eight years old, his family moved to the Kingston ghetto of Trenchtown.[1] By age 12, he was fascinated by the sound systemDJs who spun records in local clubs, and often chatted on the microphone over the backing tracks.[1] His early inspirations included Charlie Chaplin, General Echo, Brigadier Jerry, Yellowman, and especially Josey Wales.[1] He tried his hand at performing as a toaster, and spent the early 1980s working under Admiral Bailey at the Roots Melody sound system.[1] Paired with a record selector dubbed the Navigator, Ranks initially called himself Co-Pilot.[1] Under that name, he recorded his first single, "Heat Under Sufferer's Feet" (1985).[1] He soon changed his stage name to Shabba Ranks, and caught the attention of Josey Wales, who introduced Ranks to some of the record producers at King Jammy's recording studio.[1] Ranks began recording there, debuting with the single "Original Fresh"[1] He collaborated with Chaka Demus, but his early output did not generate a hit.[1]
"Needle Eye Punany" (1988) marked the beginning of his notorious sexual explicitness, which he would soon ride to tremendous popularity in Jamaica.[1] More crucial, though, was his move to King Jammy engineer/producer Bobby Digital's new studio and record label, Digital B, in 1989.[1] The duo's chemistry was immediate, and Ranks quickly came to stardom that year with a series of hit singles and an electrifying stage show. From 1989 to 1991, Ranks recorded some 50 singles, mainly with Bobby Digital but also with producers Gussie Clarke and Steely & Clevie. He scored hit after hit, including "Wicked Inna Bed", "Roots and Culture", "Live Blanket", "Mama Man" and "Peeny Penny," amongst others.[1]
His album Rappin' With the Ladies (1988) featured covers of songs by female reggae artists, and gave him another big hit with a new version of J. C. Lodge's "Telephone Love"; it was also one of his first successes overseas, proving quite popular in the UK.[1] Clarke produced Holding On (1989), which spawned major hits in "Pirates' Anthem" (a collaboration with Cocoa Tea and Home T), "Twice My Age" (a duet with Krystal), and "Mr. Loverman" (a new version of Deborahe Glasgow's "Champion Lover").[1] He also cut several other tracks with Cocoa Tea and Home T, including "Who She Love", "Stop Spreading Rumours" and "Your Body's Here With Me".[1] A subsequent album, Golden Touch was another UK success.[1]
The stylistic origins of the genre reggaeton may partially be traced back to the 1991 song "Dem Bow", from Ranks' album Just Reality. Produced by Bobby Digital, the "Dem Bow" riddim became so popular in Puerto Rican freestyle sessions that early Puerto Rican reggaeton was simply known as "Dembow".[2] The Dem Bow riddim is an integral and inseparable part of reggaeton, so much so that it has become its defining characteristic.[3]
'Shabbamania' at a performance in London's Tower Records and a shooting at one of his gigs made it clear he was too big for the reggae market.[4]
He secured a recording contract with Epic Records in 1991.[1] His Epic debut, As Raw As Ever, featured a duet with Maxi Priest, "Housecall", which made the Top Five on the U.S R&B chart,[5] sending As Raw as Ever all the way to number one on the R&B album listings.[1][6] Another duet, "The Jam" with KRS-One flew high in the R&B chart in 1992.[5]As Raw as Ever was awarded a Grammy for Best Reggae Album, making Ranks the first dancehall artist ever to notch a win.[1] Later in 1992, "Mr. Loverman" (memorable for the cry; 'Shabba!') was re-released as a single in the U.S., following its appearance in the film, Deep Cover; it went to number two on the R&B chart.[1][5] The track was his biggest UK hit, peaking at #3.[7] The ailing Deborahe Glasgow whose 'Champion Lover' is the sampled female vocal was replaced by the more marketable Chevelle Franklin in the video.[4]
Ranks released his follow-up album, X-tra Naked, the same year, and had another duet hit with the Johnny Gill collaboration "Slow and Sexy," his third R&B Top Five success.[1][5]X-Tra Naked also featured other minor hits: "Muscle Grip," "Ting-a-Ling," and a duet with Queen Latifah, "What 'Cha Gonna Do?"; it also won Ranks his second straight Best Reggae Album Grammy.[1] Ranks was so popular that a couple of compilation albums of his earlier Jamaican hits, Rough And Ready Volume 1 and Mr. Maximum, both charted in the U.S. in 1992 as well.[1][6]
In 1993 Ranks scored another hit in the Addams Family Valuessoundtrack to which he contributed a rap/reggae version of the Sly and the Family Stone hit "Family Affair".[1] His third album for Epic, A Mi Shabba, was released in 1995, however it fared less well.[1] He was eventually dropped by the label in 1996. He did return to Jamaica to record some more material for Digital B and King Jammy during the late 1990s, some of the latter being released on the hodgepodge album Get Up Stand Up in 1998.[1] Epic went on to release a 'Greatest Hits' album, entitled Shabba Ranks and Friends in 1999.
Having released five albums for a major record label, Ranks remains one of the most prolific dancehall artists to break into the mainstream, which critics have noted as a testament to his popularity.[8] Although recently less active, Ranks remains a respected talent in Jamaica.[4]
Ranks lives in New York and made a partial comeback in 2007, when he appeared on a song called "Clear The Air" by Busta Rhymes, which also featured Akon.
Controversy
In 1992, during an appearance on British Channel Four music show The Word, he defended Buju Banton's "Boom Bye Bye" (Inna batty bwoy head) and advocated crucifixion for homosexuals, and was subsequently condemned for his comments by presenter Mark Lamarr who said Shabba was "talking crap".[9] Homophobic lyrics are present in a number of Shabba Ranks songs, including "No Mama Man" and "Wicked inna Bed". There was also a paternitylawsuit in Jamaica for the man who recorded Best Baby Father.[4]
Discography
Singles
1989 "Peanie Peanie" - Shabba Ranks
1990 "Roots & Culture" - Shabba Ranks
1991 "She's A Woman" - Scritti Politti featuring Shabba Ranks - UK Number 20
1991 "Trailer Load A Girls" - Shabba Ranks - UK Number 63
1991 "Housecall" - Shabba Ranks Featuring Maxi Priest - UK Number 31, U.S. Number 37
1992 "Just Reality" - Shabba Ranks
1992 "Love Punaany Bad" - Shabba Ranks
1992 "Mr. Loverman" - Shabba Ranks - UK Number 23 - U.S. Number 40
1992 "Slow And Sexy" - Shabba Ranks featuring Johnny Gill - UK Number 17, U.S. Number 33
1992 "Shine & Crisis" - Shabba Ranks
1993 "I Was A King" - Eddie Murphy Featuring Shabba Ranks - UK Number 64
1993 "Mr. Loverman" - re-issue - Shabba Ranks - UK Number 3
1993 "Housecall" - remix - Shabba Ranks featuring Maxi Priest - UK Number 8
1993 "What'cha Gonna Do" - Shabba Ranks featuring Queen Latifah - UK Number 21
1993 "Family Affair" - Shabba Ranks featuring Patra and Terri & Monica - UK Number 18, U.S. Number 84
1995 "Let's Get It On" - Shabba Ranks - UK Number 22, U.S. Number 81
1995 "Shine Eye Gal" - Shabba Ranks (featuring Mykal Rose) - UK Number 46
1996 "Heart Of A Lion" - Shabba Ranks
1997 "So Jah Say" - Shabba Ranks
2009 "Love You No More"Shabba Ranks ft. Bob Sinclar
