Back in '91, I listened to a lot of Shabba Ranks. Don't look so surprised. I wasn't just about the grunge scene. A friend turned me on to Shabba and I spent a lot of time listening to As Raw As Ever and other singles from the popular Jamaican dancehall recording artist.
The other day I dropped a Shabba lyric while with a non-white friend and he winced. He told me Shabba Ranks was reggae for white people. I was shocked. I only have a white person's perspective, and I just assumed non-white people enjoyed Shabba as much as I did.
Since this enlightening discussion I've revisited my Shabba Ranks collection and I've realized two things. Firstly, it's far cheesier music than I remember it being 17 years ago, and secondly, the fact it's poppy reggae probably means it's black music for white people.
Shabba!
