Sluggy Ranks

Jamaican dancehall vocalist Sluggy Ranks emerged amid an expanding dancehall scene during the 1990s that prioritized cultural roots along with uplifting themes rather than the preoccupations with sex and violence that defined many "slack" performers. Born in Kingston, he spent his formative years in the Ray Town neighborhood and attended the same primary school attended by Wayne Wonder. His recording career began in the mid- to late '80s when he traveled to the United States to lay down tracks that launched a string of Jamaican hit singles, among them "95% Black 5% White" and his signature track "Ghetto Youth Bust." Both numbers were later revisited for his 1994 full-length release Ghetto Youth Bust, an album overseen by King Jammy and distributed domestically via Profile Records. Although the bulk of his most notable work throughout the decade appeared chiefly on singles that remained largely out of reach for American audiences, he also completed projects such as Just Call Sluggy and the 1999 set My Time.