HERITAGE: Shabba Ranks And Maxi Priest Come Together To Perform "Housecall" For 'In Living Color' (1991)

HERITAGE: Shabba Ranks And Maxi Priest Come Together To Perform "Housecall" For 'In Living Color' (1991)


September 14, 2020

By the early '90s, dancehall legend Shabba Ranks had already secured his cultural legacy thanks to his 1990 hit "Dem Bow" and its enduring influence on dancehall and reggaeton. A year later and he was invited on to perform "Housecall" (taken from his 1991 album As Raw As Ever) on Keenan Ivory Wayans' In Living Color, the variety show that launched the careers of the Wayans Brothers, Jamie Foxx, David Alan Grier and Jim Carrey.

Joining him for the performance was Lewisham-born Maxi Priest, an artist who made his own lasting impact on reggae and dancehall thanks to his blend of reggae and R&B often called 'reggae fusion'. Together, the pair fit together perfectly with Maxi's soothing tones contrasting against Shabba's fast-paced delivery. Apart from anything else, this was an important and relatively rare chance for a British artist and a Jamaican artist to make themselves heard on a primetime American TV show.




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