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'R' All Artistes listed with their Last Name, Group Name or Stage Name that begins with 'R' | Name of Artiste | Sources | Why We love Them... |
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Ranks, Cutty
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The Guiness Who's Who Of Reggae:
He first recorded for Winston Riley of Techniques Records, and then moved to Miami with Skeng Don. He further moved on to Patrick Roberts of Shocking Vibes where he made his first recording, The Bomber, a highly influential hit. Later he recorded The Stopper which became a huge international reggae in both the original and hip-hop remix versions. He has only worked with the best producers in the business, such as Sly & Robbie, Roof International and Donovan Germain, Fashion and Shocking Vibes.
Roots Rock Reggae:
* His first release was 1985's Gunman Lyrics on Techniques, followed quickly by Fishman Lyrics. He has worked with some of his favourite singers such as Ken Boothe, Dennis Brown and Beres Hammond. Reality lyrics are also prominent in Rank's work and he says he mainly focuses on the system.
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Off the microphone he is friendly and personable.
* He has always resisted the ever present temptation for Jamaican DJs to 'voice out' too many tunes for too many producers.
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Ranks, Shabba
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The Guiness Who's Who Of Reggae:
* At age 12, he studied DJs like General Echo, Brigadier Jerry, Yellowman and especially Josey Wales who took him to King Jammys. His initial notoriety for 'slackness' came with hits for Wittys Needle eye Punany. Throughout 1989, Shabba's presence dominated reggae music. His personal appearances in London resulted in riots and, in one tragic case, a shooting. He also attracted the attention of the hip-hop fraternity. He was signed to Epic Records in the late 1990. Housecall, which he did with Maxi Priest, became a major crossover hit and the first Epic album, Raw as Ever, won him a US Grammy in 1991. The follow up, X-tra Naked was equally successful.
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Shabba became the first DJ to win two consecutive Grammy Awards.
* Original.
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Rebel, Tony
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The Guiness Who's Who Of Reggae:
* One of a few dreadlocked cultural DJ of the ragga, but actually started out as a singer, winning local talent competitions as Papa Tony or Tony Ranking on sound systems. He recorded at many studios, but it wasn't until he recorded at Penthouse Studio that his true potential was realized. The Armour and Instant Death were two of his first hit singles. At the end of 1992, he was signed to Colombia Records. Sweet Jamaica, was chosen for the soundtrack of the film Cool Runnings.
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Cultural perspectives.
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Reid, Junior
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The Guiness Who's Who Of Reggae:
His first recording entitled Speak The Truth was done in 1979. He scored with tracks like Jailhouse, Sister Dawn, Pallaving Street and Give Thanks and Praise. In 1985, he was enlisted into the ranks of Grammy Award winners Black Uhuru. He inaugurated his own label, JR Productions. A duet with English dance outfit Coldcut entitled Stop This Crazy Thing, reached number 21 in the UK pop charts in the late 80s. In 1990, he made another appearance in the singles chart when he joined forces with the indie-dance band The Soup Dragons, for a version of the Rolling Stones I'm Free, hitting number 5 in that same year.
Roots Rock Reggae:
* One Blood was one of the most striking reggae anthems of the 1980s. The album itself stands as one of the best out of Jamaica in that decade.
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Commitment to display his commitment to roots reggae music.
* Cultural perspectives.
* Independent.
* Influential.
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