More crucial, though, was his move to King Jammy engineer/producer Bobby Digital's new studio and label, Digital B, in 1989. The 1988 single 'Needle Eye Punany' marked the beginning of his notorious sexual explicitness, which he would soon ride to tremendous popularity in Jamaica. Wales introduced Ranks to some of the producers at King Jammy's studio, and Ranks soon began recording there, debuting with the single 'Original Fresh.' He collaborated with Chaka Demus, and recorded a large quantity of singles, none of which gave him a breakout hit. He soon changed his name to Shabba Ranks, and caught the attention of his idol Josey Wales, who took the young toaster under his wing. Under that name, he cut his first single, 'Heat Under Sufferer's Feet,' in 1985. Paired with a record selector dubbed the Navigator, Ranks initially called himself Co-Pilot. He soon tried his hand at performing as a toaster, and spent the early '80s working under Admiral Bailey at the Roots Melody sound system. His early inspirations included Charlie Chaplin, General Echo, Brigadier Jerry, Yellowman, and especially Josey Wales. By age 12, he was fascinated by the sound system DJs who spun records in local clubs, and often chatted on the mic over the backing tracks. When he was eight years old, his family moved to the Kingston ghetto of Trenchtown, where Bob Marley had grown up. Shabba Ranks was born Rexton Rawlston Fernando Gordon on January 17, 1966, in Sturgetown, Jamaica. Ranks' early success also helped pave the way for even bigger crossovers by artists like Shaggy and Sean Paul. Ranks' distinctive, booming growl of a voice earned him many imitators, and his sex-obsessed lyrics - while drawing criticism for their unrelenting 'slackness' - made him one of dancehall's hottest sex symbols. All of this brought him several hit singles and albums on the R&B charts in the early '90s, and made him the first dancehall artist to win a Grammy. He was a massive crossover success in the U.S., thanks to an openly commercial hybrid of reggae and hip-hop, and also to prominent duet partners like Maxi Priest, Johnny Gill, and KRS-One. During his heyday, Shabba Ranks was arguably the most popular dancehall toaster in the world.

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