Jacob Lee Williams (born c.1983), better known as Gappy Ranks, is an English dancehall musician of Jamaican and Dominican descent, from Harlesden, London.
Career of Gappy Ranks
Born in Harlesden to a Jamaican father and Dominican mother, he dealt with numerous problems; including homelessness after leaving school. Once he overcame these issues, he joined up with childhood friend and fellow artist Redmann (UK), and was enlisted into the UK dancehall collective Suncycle, along with local artists such as Cash Money, Lady Chann and Naff Skrilla. Their first album titled Suncyle included Ranks’ homage to his hometown, “Harlesden”. Their second album I Am Somebody was released on the UK label Jamdown Records. Ranks left the group in 2004 and embarked on a solo career.
Nicknamed “Gappy” due to the gap between his front teeth, he initially worked under the name “Daddy Gappy”, before opting for the Cutty Ranks-influenced “Gappy Ranks”. In 2005, Gappy Ranks was featured on the Vice law entertainment mixtapes. That same year, he won the ‘Best Song’ award at London’s Silk Awards for “Little Understanding”, released by UK reggae record label Stingray Records. Also in 2005, Ranks contributed to the single “What We Do” by Kray Twinz featuring Twista and Lethal B, which charted nationally in the UK at #23. Ranks performed live at Earl’s Court in front of a crowd of 17,000 for the first Kiss 100 awards. He also played a full UK tour which brought him to cities such as Manchester, Birmingham, and Newcastle. He recorded for former UK reggae giants Jet Star Records in North West London where he became an assistant engineer, giving him time to grow and develop his love for music and network which led him to work with record label Peckings.
On 26 December 2009, Ranks’ childhood wish was granted, as he performed at the celebrated annual Sting event in Jamaica. In January 2010, with the introduction from Silverstar Sound’s DJ Gussy, Gappy Ranks joined forces with Pierre Bost; CEO of French record label Special Delivery. He began to tour across the world, starting with European countries such as: France, the Netherlands, Italy, Germany, and Switzerland. He signed a three-year deal with Greensleeves Records and in 2010, released his debut album Put the Stereo On on Greensleeves’ Peckings subsidiary. Ranks was nominated for the 2010 MOBO Award in the ‘Best Reggae Act’ category, losing out to Gyptian.
In 2011, Ranks followed up with his second album Thanks & Praise, this time on his own Hot Coffee Music label, which was distributed by VPAL Music. Retrieved 22 December 2014 Thanks & Praise included “Stinkin’ Rich” (produced by Italian producer Macro Marco), “Longtime”, (produced by Special Delivery) and the title track (produced by Grammy Award-winning UK producer Jazzwad) and featured Jamaican recording artists Delly Ranx and Russian, who is better known for his work with Vybz Kartel. Gappy Ranks has since toured and performed throughout Europe, the United States, the West Indies, and Australasia. His tour also included Japan and in March 2011, he found himself in the middle of the world’s biggest earthquake and tsunami.
The disaster killed over 20,000 people and Gappy Ranks recorded a tribute track titled, “I Was There”. Ranks returned to the UK and was featured on BBC’s Later…with Jools Holland, performing “Longtime” and “Heaven In Her Eyes”. That same year, he opened an eighteen-date tour in California, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington for Collie Buddz. He has performed at legendary venues such as BB King’s in New York, the Roxy theatre in Los Angeles, the Fillmore in San Francisco, and the Jazz Cafe in London. He has also been billed for worldwide festivals such as Summer Jam in Germany, the Glastonbury Festival in the UK, and Best of the Best in Miami.
Ranks has also acted as producer on a number of projects through his Hot Coffee Music label and has produced for recording artists such as Gyptian, Chino, Busy Signal, Delly Ranx, Bugle, Khago, Bramma, Laden, Bobby Hustle, JBoog, Chukki Star, Timeka Marshall, Torch Campbell, Exco Levi, Kim Kelly, and Reddman UK who Gappy Ranks signed to his label in 2011. In 2012, he self-produced his very own track “Wine Pon de Edge” and the “Throw Me Herbs” riddim which featured various artists as part of his Cookies EP collection. in November 2012 he headlined his own 16 date Cookies tour in the West Coast of the US, Canada, and Costa Rica, which was supported by Dynasty Records artist Bobby Hustle.
In 2013, Ranks performed at the Raggamuffin reggae festival in New Zealand, as well as his Cookies Reloaded tour 2013 of the East coast USA. June 2013 saw Gappy Ranks performing at the Sierra Nevada World Music Festival for the first time. On 17 September 2013, his third album Shining Hope was released.[7] He collaborated with Beres Hammond on a new version of the latter’s “I Surrender”.
In June 2014, Gappy Ranks collaborated with New Zealand hip-hop producer P-Money on an eight-track EP titled The Baddest; The EP was recorded at Red Bull Music Academy in Auckland, New Zealand. Gappy Ranks’ fourth album titled Generation was scheduled for release in April 2015.
Gappy Ranks Discography
“Gappy’s success in the Caribbean and beyond has reminded people here that UK dancehall/reggae artists can and should be up there with Jamaican artists,” says Gabriel Heatwave, of London reggae DJ collective the Heatwave. “In the 80s and 90s the scene in England was extremely lively and important, with artists like Maxi Priest, Smiley Culture, Bitty McLean, Papa Levi, Top Cat and General Levy earning international acclaim. Things dropped off for a while, but the success of Gappy and the current crop of UK artists is both a symptom and a cause of things being reinvigorated.”
Ranks’s rising stock abroad took him last month to Japan, a key market for any reggae artist, for what was planned as his first tour there. He had only been in the country for two hours when the devastating earthquake struck on 11 March. “It was unexplainable,” recalls the singer, who was settling into a Yokohama hotel room at the time. “The people were so calm and brave. I remember everybody on the same floor coming out of their rooms. There was a cleaner there, and through the big earthquake, he continued cleaning.” Though all but two of his dates were cancelled, a show scheduled for Osaka the following night went on as planned. Moved by the experience, Ranks penned a tribute, I Was There, and filmed a video in downtown Yokohama.
The experience has given added meaning to Thanks & Praise, the title of the album Ranks has just completed. Where Put the Stereo On was studiously retro, Thanks & Praise showcases his diversity. Tunes like the single Stinkin’ Rich, and Tun Up, a collaboration with the red-hot Jamaican producer/singer Russian, find Ranks chatting over up-to-the-minute, digital dancehall beats. Though the sound is different from his first album, it’s not exactly a departure for Ranks. As a youth in Harlesden he looked up to local dancehall DJs Sweetie Irie and Chukki Star and, for several years, he was a member of the hip-hop/dancehall crew Suncycle. It was only after he linked with Chris and Duke Price of Peckings Records in nearby Shepherd’s Bush that he found himself becoming a throwback specialist. The Prices’ late father George had been the exclusive UK distributor for Studio One and another seminal Jamaican label, Treasure Isle, giving him access to those vaults. Now, though, Ranks says he would rather reflect the full spectrum of reggae music than become a one-trick pony. “A Studio One album is not something you repeat over and over again,” he says. “Put the Stereo On is a time capsule.”
Albums
- English Weather (2006), Jet Star
- Put the Stereo On (2010), Greensleeves/VP
- Thanks & Praise (2011), Hot Coffee Music / VPAL Music
- Shining Hope (2013), Hot Coffee Music / VPAL Musuic
- Gappy Ranks Meets Dub Club (2014), Stones Throw
- Generation (2015)
- “Guide Me” (2016), Hot Coffee Music / VPAL Music
- “Pure Badness” (2017) Hot Coffee Music / VPAL Music
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