by Howard Campbell
SOUTH FLORIDA – Reggae Grammy Award Winner Shabba Ranks has some classic hits that are fan favorites and sure to get a crowd on their feet when he performs at the Miramar Cultural Center on Friday, May 12th.
Peenie Peenie
Produced by Robert “Bobby Digital” Dixon, this jamming ‘nursery rhyme’ announced Shabba Ranks in 1987. His first big hit.
Twice my Age
A monster hit from 1989 with singer Krystal, about a young lady who finds love with a much older man. A radio and dancehall hit in Jamaica and the Diaspora. Produced by Gussie Clarke.
Wicked inna Bed
One of many Shabba bedroom boasts, this midtempo hit took New York City by storm in 1990. Another Bobby Digital production.
Just Reality
Shabba shows a more sober side on another collaboration with Bobby Digital. From 1990.
Serious Times
A three-the-hard way monster with singer Admiral Tibet and Ninjaman. Shabba is at home with his ‘bredrin’ on another 1990 hit produced by Bobby Digital.
Trailer Load A Girls
From the Grammy-winning As Raw As Ever album. This Clifton “Specialist”/Steely and Clevie-produced single from 1991 salutes the ladies.
Love Punaany Bad
Hardcore 1992 rub-a-dub, directed by Bobby Digital with Steely and Clevie playing the ‘riddim’. A dance favorite, from Kingston to Brooklyn and London.
Housecall
‘Shabba!’. That refrain from Maxi Priest and Shabba’s smooth vocal made this a pop hit in 1992. MTV could not resist the video as the deejay waded into mainstream waters. Produced by Clifton “Specialist” Dillon and Mikey Bennett.
Mr. Loverman
Shabba guested on Champion Lover, a song by Guyanese-British singer Deborahe Glasgow in 1989 for Gussie Clarke. Here, he teams with Chevelle Franklin on his biggest commercial hit, peaking at number 40 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1992. From the Grammy-winning Xtra Naked album.
Slow And Sexy
Another track from Xtra Naked, it hears Shabba teaming with singer Johnny Gill and producer Clifton “Specialist” Dillon. A R&B hit that reinforced his popularity with African-Americans.
