With all the talk about who is the greatest dancehall artist of alltime, we felt it was necessary to remind all, of who did it first andarguably did it the best. Shabba Ranks did it without a light skinnedcomplexion or a flowing dreadlocks, he did it by simply being ShabbaRanks and in the end became a staple of pop culture, often parodies onTV shows such as SNL and In Living Color.The story of Dancehalland Ragga would be somewhat incomplete without mentioning Shabba Rankswho at one point was unarguably the most popular dancehall actglobally.

Inhis hey days, Shabbas blend of Reggae, Hip-Hop and R&B with hisunmistakable toasting made him the real deal, enjoying appeal faraway from his native Jamaica in countries like the U.S. where he baggedBest Reggae Album Grammys in 1992 and 1993.

Inhis prime, the 43-year-old was to Dancehall and Ragga what the likes ofBiggie and KRS-One were to Hip-hop. His 1992 hit Mr. Lover Man becamea virtual international anthem, cutting across several borders.

BornRexton Rawlston Fernando Gordon in St. Ann, Jamaica, Shabba Ranksmusical foray began at 12 when a fascination of sound systems and DJssaw him freestyle often over backing tracks. In 1976, a young ShabbaRanks walked into the recording studio where he recorded, What aHeat, which launched his career as a DJ.

Withearly inspirations like Yellow Man and Josey Wales, he spent the early1980s perfecting his act. By 1985, he recorded his first single titledHeat under Sufferers Feet and shortly after he adopted the nameShabba Ranks after an encounter with his idol Josey Wales (whointroduced him to some record producers).

Hisdebut professional single, Original Fresh was released in 1987 whileNeedle Eye Punany, released a year later, marked the beginning of hissexual explicitness, which earned him tremendous popularity in Jamaica.

Between1989 and 1991, he recorded 50 singles, including hit after hit likeLive Blanket and Mama Man. During this period, a record deal withEpic Records in 1991 gave birth to As Raw as Ever which featured duetswith Maxi Priest (House Call) and KRS-One (The Jam).

AsRaw as Ever earned him a Grammy for Best Reggae Album, making him thefirst dancehall artist to ever win one. His follow up album X-tra Nakedwon him his second Grammy and featured a duet with Queen Latifah on thetrack What Cha Gonna Do. In 1993, Eddie Murphy featured Shabba on hissingle I Was a King.

Hispopularity and success led to the release of a number of compilationalbums of his earlier Jamaican hits. A third album, A Mi Shabba wasreleased in 1995 but paled in comparison to his previous works.

Hewas eventually dropped by the label in 1996 and went back to Jamaicawhere he released a few other hits. In 1999, Epic Records released agreatest hits album titled Shabba Ranks and Friends.

Withfive albums for Epic, Ranks remains one of the most prolific dancehallartists to break into the mainstream. Although recently less active,musicwise, he remains a respected talent in Jamaica.

Hisreputation was badly damaged by his explicitly homophobic views andlyrics. This was evidenced by a notorious incident on the BritishChannel 4 programme The Word in 1992 where he appeared to advocatethe crucifixion of homosexuals and was condemned for his comments bypresenter Mark Lamarr.

On tracks like No Mama Man, a sample of such views persists: Dont give a love to a man if you nuh seh him a mama man.

Althoughvery little has been heard from him lately, he is known to collaboratewith a couple of artists from time to time and also drop a number ofsingles. Some of his current works include Busta Rhymes 2007 singleClear the Air also featuring Akon and more recently Bob SinclairsLove You No More earlier this year.

Today,Shabba Ranks remains a major influence to the likes of Shaggy, BeenieMan, Sean Paul and our own Blackky, who says his delivery and styleinspired me to create African dancehall in Nigeria.

SHABBA!!!

By Jayne Usen