The word "Shabba" refers to an African king.

The "Ranks" connotes mastery of microphone skills and styles.

The name Shabba Ranks conjures up such images as:

--a living legend, described as "reggae's Michael Jordan" --a Jamaican ghetto youth turned musical monarch --a strong, intelligent black man with a big booming voice --a two-time Grammy winner (for Best Reggae Album, in 1992 and '94) --a sex machine for the ladies and a teacher for the youth --the force that broke dancehall style reggae worldwide. A Mi Shabba is:

--the latest and greatest of Shabba Ranks' five albums on Epic Records --sure to blow minds and make waists wind --Jamaican patois slang for "I Am Shabba" --a musical adventure--ranging from classic roots reggae to the cutting-edge sounds of raggamuffin hip hop dancehall music--that can only be described as the "nowadays lick."

A brief rundown of A Mi Shabba's tastiest selections follows:

Ram Dance Hall: A triumphant boomshot from the dancehall monarch, serving notice on all pretenders to the throne over a smoking-hot digital riddim track

Shine Eye Gal: In this blistering duet with reggae legend Michael Rose, Shabba juggles lyrics inside a crucial Black Uhuru selection.

Spoil Mi Appetite: Over a merciless Bobby Digital beat, Shabba delivers a stinging condemnation of drugs like coke and crack and calls for a return to the "healing of the nation." Rough Life: The Ranks rides a bumpin' Bad Boy mix provided by New York City's young hip-hop don, Sean "Puff Daddy" Combs. The lyrics are strictly ghetto reality, a subject Shabba speaks on with the wisdom of experience.

Let's Get It On: Call it "The Return of Mr. Loverman." Shabba's in maximum mack-daddy mode, wearing plenty of protection and taking care of business over a funky groove.

Ice Cream Love: The king and queen of dancehall join forces on this power duet, their first since hooking up on "Family Affair" for the Addams Family Values soundtrack. This time, Shabba and Patra hold court over a steamy reggae favorite delivered hot 'n' fresh in a 1995 style by guest producers Naughty By Nature.

Original Woman: This tune sends 100% maximum respect to all strong women who know themselves. "Woman is the mother of civilization," sings the Ranks. "You better do all the best to them that you can." To women around the world, Shabba urges: "Don't take no disrespect from no man!"

Medal and Certificate: Shabba's in rare form here, spitting out lyrics at breakneck speed on this bubbling jump-up selection served up by Steely & Clevie's production powerhouse. After pledging to never forget his home in "sweet Jamaica," Shabba drops a few lines that are worth repeating:

If me never come from Jamaica, me wouldn't get broad Now that me broad and well super large, See me a walk with no security guard Jamaica have me back and that make me broad Jamaica is my golden security guard I tour inna Africa, me mind deh pon Yard Condition tough, it make the youth life hard Anything we make, we have to send it back a yard...

It was back home in Jamaica, or "yard" as the islanders call it, that Shabba began sharpening his lyrical skills. As a child, he enjoyed hearing the sound of his own voice echoing through the green, hilly countryside. Years later, his family moved to the Kingston ghetto of Trenchtown, birthplace of the other most important figure in the progress of reggae music: Bob Marley. In the city streets, the young man (known to his parents as Rexton Rawlston Fernando Gordon) found himself surrounded by the vibes of reggae sound systems.

At an early age, he already felt that music might be his calling. "I used to punch riddim tracks on a jukebox within a bar and sing along," Shabba recalls. "I used to take ten-cent coins, that is how I started practicing. I used to put coins in that jukebox and punch songs by Dennis Brown, Gregory Isaacs, and Leroy Smart, to name a few." At first, Shabba's parents didn't look kindly on their son's love of music. "They'd only approve of going to school," he explains, "getting an education, being like a pilot or a mechanical engineer.

"I used to call myself 'Co-Pilot' because there was a selector from a sound system that I used to chat for and his name was 'The Navigator.' He spin it on the wheel and I chat it on the mic. Josey Wales, then one of Jamaica's hottest deejays, saw the potential in this youth who had begun calling himself Shabba Ranks. "Josey Wales started telling me, 'You got talent, man. Love your voice, man. You must take it to the studios.' So I lace up my shoes and buckle my belt, and from that day until now, it's no turning back."

In 1987, Wales introduced Shabba to the legendary Jamaican producer King Jammy. Lightning struck the studio: The young deejay released a rapid succession of hit tunes that quickly established his name alongside other dancehall kingpins of the day like Josey Wales and Admiral Bailey. But there were much bigger things ahead.

When Jammy's resident engineer Bobby Digital branched off to form his own label, Shabba began pumping out hit after hit on the Digital B label. (Many of these tracks were later remixed and reissued on the Epic albums Rough and Ready Vols. I and II.) On the strength of his awesome live performances and recordings for the Jammys and Digital B labels, and for other top JA producers like Gussie Clarke, Steely & Clevie, and C. "Specialist" Dillon, Shabba secured a groundbreaking major-label deal with Epic Records in 1991.

By that time, Shabba had already made history by bringing dancehall style to an international audience--before the gold albums (As Raw As Ever, 1991; X-Tra Naked, 1992), the Grammy Awards, the world tours, and the historic collaborations with KRS-1 (the #1 rap hit "The Jam"), Maxi Priest (Housecall, which went to #4 R&B and breached the Pop Top 40), Johnny Gill ("Slow And Sexy," another #4 R&B hit), and Queen Latifah ("What `Cha Gonna Do?"). A Mi Shabba represents a new peak in this remarkable career. But Shabba maintains his humble philosophy:

"Within the line of music," he says, "some of us are prophets. Some of us are poets. Some of are teachers and some of us are preachers. Shabba just make all music. A welder chooses his welding torch and his welding rod in order to make him a man. I chose the lyrics."

The lyrics to an old Shabba favorite, "Respect," come to mind: