Rexton Rawlston Fernando Gordon otherwise known as Shabba Ranks was born January 17, 1966 in Sturge Town, St. Ann, Jamaica. Many may know him as a popular Jamaican reggae and dancehall entertainer. However, Shabba was one of, if not the most popular DJ in dancehall, and it was due to his contribution to the genre which helped to gain success and recognition in the U.S for dancehall.
Being one of the most famous deejays of the late 80’s to late 90’s, Shabba was the artist who brought the dancehall, reggae-styled of music to the international forefront. Shabba Ranks is known for his powerful and strong sexual lyrics, which were perceived as “slackness” by many Jamaicans back then. This didn’t stop him as Shabba Ranks husky-rough vocals made him an instant hit when he started out in the market. This allowed him to gain much respect and recognition from around the world.
At the age of 8 years, Shabba Ranks and his family relocated to the inner-city of Kingston, in an area known as Trench Town. He grew to love the music scene and was captivated by various sound systems by the age of 12. During this time, he started to follow other deejays, where he would express his lyrical skills to the delight of the crowd. His early motivations came from previous entertainers in the business, such as, Charlie Chaplin, Brigadier Jerry, Yellowman, and above all Josey Wales. After gaining much momentum, he started to establish his liking to this genre of music, dancehall.
Shabba Ranks performed in the early 80’s with Admiral Bailey on the legendary Roots Melody Sound System. The pair went on to release their first single called “Heat Under Sufferer’s Feet” in 1985. At this time, his most favorite mentor Josey Wales saw the talented Shabba Ranks and took him under his wings, where he taught young Shabba more about the entertainment business.
After this link up, Shabba was introduced to King Jammy’s producers at the studio, where he started his recording. Releasing his first single on the King Jammy’s Labe, called “Original Fresh”, Shabba Ranks went onto teaming up with the versatile DJ known as Chaka Demus. The duo recorded a huge collection of singles, but unfortunately none rewarded him with the ultimate break he wanted.
In 1988, Shabba Ranks released the infamous sexual song called “Needle Eye Punany”, this song was regarded as being explicit. This, however, manifested his remarkable reputation in Jamaica and to the rest of the world. With this new fame, Shabba Ranks made a dramatic move and joined the Bobby Digital crew on their Digital B Label in 1989. This illustrious move made Shabba Ranks one of the most sought after entertainer during this time, even more than his then rival, Ninja Man.
Producing about fifty singles, with hits like “Ma-Ma Man”, “Wicked Inna Bed”, “Live Blanket” and the explicit “Peeny Peeny”, Shabba transformed the new emerging genre of dancehall into what it is today. This which took him to stardom. He then released his first album name Rappin with the Ladies; this album featured songs by female entertainers, such as J.C. Lodge with the fabulous hit “Telephone Love”.
This hit song brought Shabba to the centre of international fame, especially in London. Shabba Ranks later released the album called Holding On which produced sensational hits and featured collaborations with Cocoa T and Home T. This album featured songs like “Pirates Anthem”, “Twice My Age”, “Trailer Load A Girls”, “Caan Dun”, and “Mr. Loverman”. All of these hits provided him with further recognition on the international arena. He continued to work with Cocoa T and Home T where they produced other hits like “Stop Spreading Rumors”, “Who She Love” and “Your Body’s Here With Me”.
Shabba Ranks never stop working hard to achieve his goals in life, so following that range of hits; he released the Golden touch album. The album was a major one for his fans, especially those in the United Kingdom. With his fame escalating to great heights, Shabba Ranks sign a recording deal with Epic Records in late 1991. With this new popularity, Shabba teamed up with Maxi Priest and produced the hit single called “House Call”.
Shabba’s first debut album with Epic Records, Raw as Ever, saw the musical genius excelling into the top five on the R& B Charts. This album earned him a Grammy for the Best Reggae Album in 1992. Shabba Ranks was the first dancehall entertainer to win such an award.
Shabba’s success did not stop there he went on to release another album called Xtra Naked in the same year. This new album saw him teaming up with Johnny Gill, to produce the smash single “Slow and Sexy”. With other songs like “Ting-a-Ling”, and “What Cha Gonna Do” (with Queen Latifah) on the Xtra Naked Album, he earned his second Grammy for Best Reggae Album in 1993.
In 1994, Shabba Ranks released another album titled Family Affair; this was the soundtrack for the Addams Family Values show. Yet again, Shabba Ranks produced his third album with Epic Records called A Mi Shabba in 1995. Even though it did not do so well, songs like “Let’s Get It On”, “Ram Dancehall” and “Shine Eye Gal” were all hits to his fans.
Despite all of his hardcore, rude boy lyrics, Shabba was a mama’s boy, and he often spoke about his mother and the hardship that they faced growing up. Sometime in the 80’s soon after he began making money, he bought his mother a house to show her his appreciation and love for her.