Shabba Ranks

Born in Sturgetown, Jamaica, before moving to the Kingston ghetto of Trenchtown, Gordon developed an early interest in music through listening to sound system DJs in local clubs. On top of listening to a solid diet of Charlie Chaplin, Brigadier Jerry, Joesy Wales, and General Echo, the musician solidified his interest by working at the Roots Melody sound system under the watchful eye of Admiral Bailey. Originally performing under the moniker Co-Pilot, it was soon changed to Shabba Ranks, and the musician released his debut single “Heat Under Sufferer’s Feet” in 1985. The single soon made its way to Josey Wales who subsequently became Gordon’s mentor and introduced him to producers at King Jammy’s studio.

Gordon’s first studio recording was the single “Original Fresh”, after which the musician released a collaborative album with Chaka Demus in 1988. Despite not producing any hits, the full-length “Rough & Rugged” introduced Gordon’s influential rapping and toasting style to a large audience. Also in 1988 he issued the single “Needle Eye Punany”, which, laden with sexually explicit content began the wave of success Gordon would ride for decades to come. In 1989 he moved to Bobby Digital’s label and studio, Digital B, in what would prove to be a fruitful relationship, with hit singles in spades.

Over the next few years Shabba Ranks success skyrocketed aided by the popular singles “Trailer Load A Girls”, “Housecall”, “Mr. Loveman”, “Slow And Sexy”, “I Was A King” among a host of others. Gordon’s album “Just Reality” was subsequently released in 1990 and has been considered one of the most influential albums in the development of the reggaeton genre. The full-length “As Raw As Ever” followed in 1991, peaking at No. 51 on the UK Albums Chart and later winning the musician his first Grammy Award for Best Reggae Album.

The albums “Mr Maximum” (1991), “Rough And Ready Volume 1” (1992), “X-Tra Naked” (1992), and “Rough And Ready Volume 2” (1993) were subsequently released cementing Gordon’s position as an extolled reggae musician. The rapper went on to release the full-length “A Mi Shabba” in 1995, spawning the hits “Ram Dancehall”, “Let’s Get It On”, and “Shinedown”, however by this point interest in the Shabba Ranks’ music had begun to dwindle. In 2007 Gordon appeared on the Busta Rhymes single “Clear the Air” featuring Akon, after which he released the single “None A Dem” in April 2011.