32 years ago, Shabba Ranks‘ “As Raw As Ever” achieved certified Gold status in the US, recognized by the Recording Industry Association of America for selling 500,000 units. This album marked a significant turning point in Shabba Ranks’ career, as it became the first dancehall album to reach this milestone.
The 12-track project, released on June 22, 1991, featured the lead singles “Trailor Load A Girls” and “Housecall” (featuring Maxi Priest). The latter peaked at No. 4 on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip Hop Songs chart on November 16, 1991, and reached No. 37 on the Billboard Hot 100 on December 7, charting for a total of 15 weeks.
On the album, the Bed Room Bully declared that ‘slackness’ wasn’t invented by him, but he brought the salacious topics, mastered by his Jamaican predecessors Prince Buster, General Echo, and Yellow Man, from the underground Jamaican music scene into the hearts of Americans. Consequently, he won the Best Reggae Album at the 1992 Grammy Awards on February 25. He was also the first dancehall act to win a Grammy.
The Dem Bow artist dismissed the idea that he is a ‘slack artist’ on the track “Where Does Slackness Come From.”
“Where does slackness come from, me no know/ And a me dem waan put de blame pon, wrong bang/ Where does slackness come from, me no know/ How nobody no blame e pon Yellowman?”
“As Raw As Ever” added a new dimension to Shabba Ranks’ music, blending reggae and dancehall with hip hop on collaborations like “The Jam,” featuring KRS-One.
Shabba had the privilege of having some of Jamaica’s top musician work on the album including:
Mikey Bennett, Paul “Wrong Move” Crossdale, Michael Fletcher, Handel Tucker playing Keyboards
Earl Smith Guitars and Third World’s Stephen “Cat” Coore,Wycliffe “Steely” Johnson were on Guitars.
On bass were Danny Dennis, Danny Browne and drummers Cleveland “Clevie” Browne, Sly Dunbar, George “Dusty” Miller all played on the album.
Chevelle Franklin, Brian & Tony Gold, Dorothy Smith served as backing backing vocals on several songs.
The album peaked on the US Billboard 200 at No. 89 on November 23, 1991 and claimed the top spot on the US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart for one week on November 9, 1991. It is Shabba’s only No. 1 album to date.
