Shabba Ranks

The Olympic Velodrome in Carson was transformed into an outdoor temple of reggae worship on Sunday for "California Reggae Splash," nine hours of booming bass lines and syncopated drumming that had the dreadlocked crowd gyrating in a festive, party atmosphere. Booths around the perimeter sold reggae-related paraphernalia, from Bob Marley and Peter Tosh T-shirts to posters and incense to CDs, cassettes and videos.

The Olympic Velodrome in Carson was transformed into an outdoor temple of reggae worship on Sunday for "California Reggae Splash," nine hours of booming bass lines and syncopated drumming that had the dreadlocked crowd gyrating in a festive, party atmosphere. Booths around the perimeter sold reggae-related paraphernalia, from Bob Marley and Peter Tosh T-shirts to posters and incense to CDs, cassettes and videos.

* * * Shabba Ranks, "X-tra Naked," Epic. Playing it safe and smart, this follow-up to Shabba's hit debut, "As Raw as Ever," sticks to a winning formula--the reggae star's rugged basso rap booming out X-rated lyrics over spare drum tracks sweetened with choice samples. A few calls for justice and brotherhood are sprinkled amid the naughtiness, and a sultry match is made with soul crooner Johnny Gill on "Slow and Easy."

If Maxi Priest is the new reggae generation's romantic seducer, Shabba Ranks is the reigning king stud. But in his sold-out first show at the Strand in Redondo Beach on Friday, the Jamaican dancehall deejay spent too much time pushing the persona at the expense of the music. True, boasting has been integral to both dancehall and rap, and Shabba's aggressively sexual stance may be the reason behind his American success and catalytic role in the dancehall/hip-hop link.

If Maxi Priest is the new reggae generation's romantic seducer, Shabba Ranks is the reigning king stud. But in his sold-out first show at the Strand in Redondo Beach on Friday, the Jamaican dancehall deejay spent too much time pushing the persona at the expense of the music. True, boasting has been integral to both dancehall and rap, and Shabba's aggressively sexual stance may be the reason behind his American success and catalytic role in the dancehall/hip-hop link.

Matt Robinson went to New York in 1982 to attend college, but he may have had his most educational experience on a Brooklyn street corner. "When I would visit friends in Brooklyn, I'd see one guy on the corner of Flatbush and Hawthorne with his (boom) box playing whoever was the cool hip-hop thing," said Robinson, 30, now an independent record producer who founded the underground dance club Funky Reggae when he returned to L.A. in 1986.

Cast Change: Dancehall reggae star Shabba Ranks won't be part of the Bobby Brown concerts Friday and Saturday at the Forum as advertised because Ranks collapsed at a video shoot about two weeks ago and was ordered by doctors not to continue the tour, a spokesman for the performer said Wednesday. Brown will be joined at the shows by TLC and Mary J. Blige as scheduled.

Ranks Dropped: Grammy-winning reggae singer Shabba Ranks has been dropped from this evening's "Tonight Show" after complaints to producers by the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation. Ranks had made anti-gay remarks, including support of violence against gays, on a recent British television appearance. An NBC spokeswoman called the cancellation a "human rights" issue.

Dancehall reggae music was a sidelight in Shabba Ranks' headlining set Friday night at the Hollywood Palladium. The real star was sex. The steamy Jamaican rapper-singer tantalized the audience with crude lyrics and suggestive moves, topping things off with a strip tease and some of the tawdriest taunts this side of Hustler magazine. Judging from the ecstatic squeals of the female fans, his strip routines scored big.

* * * Shabba Ranks, "X-tra Naked," Epic. Playing it safe and smart, this follow-up to Shabba's hit debut, "As Raw as Ever," sticks to a winning formula--the reggae star's rugged basso rap booming out X-rated lyrics over spare drum tracks sweetened with choice samples. A few calls for justice and brotherhood are sprinkled amid the naughtiness, and a sultry match is made with soul crooner Johnny Gill on "Slow and Easy."

Matt Robinson went to New York in 1982 to attend college, but he may have had his most educational experience on a Brooklyn street corner. "When I would visit friends in Brooklyn, I'd see one guy on the corner of Flatbush and Hawthorne with his (boom) box playing whoever was the cool hip-hop thing," said Robinson, 30, now an independent record producer who founded the underground dance club Funky Reggae when he returned to L.A. in 1986.