Rastaboyz.com - The Voice of Reggae Dancehall (Vancouver, Canada)

March 2010

Delly Ranx

Delly Ranx hails from Kingston, Jamaica, the birthplace of reggae music, and there's no doubt that the music lies deep within this man. Delly got his name by shortening his first name, Delroy, and adopting Ranks from Shabba Ranks, one of his favourite artists at the time. Needless to say the name has worked well for him. Delly first gained prominence in 1993 with his hits "Gal No More Than You", and "Hotty Hotty Gal", which went number one in Jamaica for three weeks straight. A talented toaster who's known for his throaty style, tight delivery, and creative lyrics, Delly Ranx has worked with many of reggae's most famous artistes, including Dennis Brown, Elephant Man, Beres Hammond, and many others. He's produced tracks for Buju Banton's Gargamel Music, and Sean Paul. In 2006 his Redbull and Guinness riddim won him (and Stephen McGregor) the Irie FM Riddim of the Year award. In 2007 he was nominated for Producer of the Year at the 26th Annual International Reggae and World Music Awards. And yet despite the acclaim and the tours to the States, the UK and Europe (last summer he toured with Buju Banton for seven weeks hitting festivals and clubs from Norway to Spain; previously he had toured Europe with Freddie McGregor) he remains humble, and prolific. "It [the tour] was a great experience because I was on tour with Buju Banton, one of Jamaica['s] icon[s] . . . it was amazing." Far from being just a toaster or producer of gangsta dancehall riddims, Delly is well rounded, with many influences and talents. "I started out as an artiste and been in the business for awhile . . . [I'm] always just expanding my musical talents." He converted to Rastafarianism in 2005 and his Facebook messages often convey prayers and offerings of thanks and praises. Delly's spiritual side is evident on last year's sophomore release Good Profile. Rastaboyz asked Delly about Good Profile and if the many roots riddims used on it were a conscious decision, or just what he was feeling at the time. "I was just exercising another style of Delly Ranx. . . it's mostly roots music. . .Delly Ranx have a roots side as well." But the album, like the artist, is complicated. There's the Gargamel produced track "Murder", a positive message track that showcases Delly's more well known gruff delivery, and then there are the songs for the ladies, especially the sizzling "Ice Cream Love" featuring Johnny Osbourne. "There's something for all the people who like good music." We asked what the people can expect from Delly in the near future and weren't surprised to hear that the artiste is keeping busy. He just released the Shaolin Temple riddim, which is not a remake of Barrington Levy's classic but a deliciously bouncy and highly danceable new riddim. It's getting positive reviews and "all over people are jumping to it". He's going to be in New York soon, but "new album, new riddims working on, [they'll] see me in their part of the world soon."