Shabba Ranks

Dancehall/ragga vocalist Shabba Ranks (1966- ) was born Rextown Rawlston Fernando Gordon in St. Ann, Jamaica. His rasping, loosely phrased toasting over DJ riddim announced his arresting and significant style, showcased to good effect on his VP release Rappin' With The Ladies (1990). This contained the song for which he is best known in the UK, Mr. Loverman, which was a top 30 hit in 1992 and again in 1993, reaching number 3 in the charts. He signed a contract with Epic Records in 1991, for which he released five albums, and worked with rapper KRS-One and mainstream reggae artists Dennis Brown and Maxi Priest.

Ranks promoted his sexuality and manliness through his lyrical content, which led to the song Slow And Sexy (from X-Tra Naked) being banned by some radio stations. Ranks was a guest on Channel 4's live music programme The Word in 1992 along with white rapper Marky Mark, and the two were scheduled to perform together at the end of the show. A video feature highlighting the apparently homophobic content of ragga music, citing examples of Shabba and then rising star Buju Banton, ended with an examination of Banton's current release Boom Bye Bye which appeared to condone the shooting of batty boys (Jamaican slang for homosexuals), as did Ranks' own Wicked Inna Bed.

Co-host Mark Lamarr then asked Ranks if he was a fan of Banton's, at which Ranks went off on something of a tangent, to booing and protests from some of the studio audience: "Most definitely for them that forfeit the law of God Almighty, you deserve crucifixion, most definitely. I live by the concept of the Bible, which is the righteousness of every human being, and the Bible states that man should multiply. The multiplication is done by a male and a female." At this point, Lamarr, who had been growing angry during this digression, shouted, "That's absolute crap and you know it!" and continued to berate Ranks while the audience cheered and applauded. Marky Mark was asked to comment and refused to condemn Ranks' comments. At the end of the show, Lamarr stated to camera that he could not find it in his heart to forgive Ranks, and the show ended with Ranks performing while Mark waited to join him.

The show was repeated the following night, when most of the above had been edited out and the Ranks solo replaced with him and Mark singing together, filmed after the Friday show had ended. Since then, circulated clips of the incident appear to have been toned down: in any case, the press (mainly in America) slammed Ranks (who subsequently apologised), and Banton (who was unrepentant) received death threats. Contrary to common belief, however, this did not affect Ranks' popularity in the UK, where re-releases of Mr. Loverman and Housecall in 1993 made it his most commercially successful ever, with X-Tra Naked winning a Grammy Award as Best Reggae Album.

He was dropped by Epic after 1995's A Mi Shabba, and has released no orginal studio material since then, although he is rumoured to be working on a new album. He currently resides in New York City.

Links To Peel
Although John seems to have been aware of Ranks fairly early on on his career, he neglected to play much material from his most popular albums, mainly concentrating on his collaborations with other Jamaican artists. Although he does not appear to have commented on the Word appearance on his shows, it is clear from his comments on other artists who recorded homophobic material that he would not have approved of some of Ranks' material and indeed he disappears from Peel's playlists altogether towards the end of 1992.

Festive Fifty Entries

 * None

Sessions

 * None

Other Shows Played

 * 29 August 1989 (with Home T and Cocoa Tea): 'Stop Spreading Rumours (12")' (Greensleeves)
 * 04 December 1989 (with Admiral Tibet): 'Tell Me Which One (7")' (Music Works)
 * 06 December 1989 (with Admiral Tibet): 'Tell Me Which One (7")' (Music Works)
 * 27 December 1989 (with Home T and Cocoa Tea): 'Pirates Anthem (Skull & Crossbones Mix) (LP-Holding On)' (Greensleeves)
 * 03 January 1990 (with Home T and Cocoa Tea): 'A Nuh Me Seh So (LP-Holding On)' (Greensleeves)
 * 15 March 1990: 'Man Pon Consignment (7")' (30 Headley Ave.)
 * 05 January 1991: 'Build Bridges (LP-Goldenville)' (Greensleeves)
 * 17 February 1991: 'Dem Bow (Compilation LP-Reggae House Music Vol. 3)' (VP)
 * 24 February 1991 (with Admiral Tibet and Ninjaman): 'Serious Time (7")' (Digital-B)
 * 31 March 1991 (with Admiral Tibet and Ninjaman): 'Serious Time (7")' (Digital-B)
 * 23 February 1992 (with Material): 'Reality (CD-The Third Power)' (Axiom)
 * 16 May 1992 (with Dennis Brown and Maxi Priest): 'Fever (LP-Blazing)' (Greensleeves)
 * 06 June 1992: 'Ting A Ling (12")' (Shang)
 * 13 September 1992 (BFBS): 'Man Pon Consignment (7")' (30 Headley Ave.)
 * Best Of 1992 Vol 4: 'Ting A Ling (12")' (Shang)
 * Peel Festive Period 1989-1990 (with Home T and Cocoa Tea): 'Pirates Anthem (Skull & Crossbones Mix) (LP-Holding On)' (Greensleeves)