Jnr Ranks is a DJ/Producer from the Capital city with a dread reputation.
Having grown up in and around some of the key players in the early Wellington and Porirua reggae scenes he developed a taste for dancehall music during his teenage years with the likes of Shabba Ranks, Shaggy, Bounty Killer and Beenie Man receiving heavy rotation on the old stop start mix tapes.
With his introduction to the local club circuit the wealth of musical influence and scope in both style and content increased exponentially, culminating in his decision to become a DJ and join local outfit Ebony Beats as there resident reggae specialist.
He went on to co-found Aotearoa’s first dancehall sound system – Dancehall Dons – with fellow Ebony Beats member Jason Guy-Clement aka Rainman. A collective designed to encourage artist growth and development over the years, Dancehall Dons has included members Jnr Ranks, Rainman, Voodoo Chile, Blue Dread, Don Luchito, DJ Pop Up, D. Red, Little Jah, Dreadstar Lion, the Mighty Asterix and Jules Issa and has supported local and international artists from Shaggy to Fat Freddy’s and played some of the country’s big festivals from The Gathering to the millennium celebrations in Gisborne.
Over the past few years Jnr Ranks has been working on More Fire Records in an effort to tackle the world of music production, focusing less on the DJ aspect of the music and more on production. He released his first single with vocalist Hamokane in 2006 entitled ‘Jump Rastaman’ and has recently compiled and released Aotearoa’s first dubplate LP, Crate Killaz.
The Welly massive can check him at the Crate Killaz party @ Good Luck Bar, Friday 13 June.
Big ups to Jnr Ranks for his top ten tracks for June 2008.
1. Marlon Asher – Ganja Farmer
2. Collie Buddz – Blind to You
3. Alborosie – Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner
4. General Degree – Cradle Robber
5. Micheal Rose and Capleton – Solidarity Part Two
6. Sizzla and UB40 – Red Wine to Gaze
7. John Holt and Sizzla – Police and Helicopter
8. Sean Kingston – Beautiful Girl
9. Paragons and Brother Culture – Wear You to the Ball
10. Zion High – Red Lion
