Lauryn Hill, Kali Ranks ‘Perfect Match’ on ‘Tropical House Cruises to Jamaica’
December 23 release date for project
Published:Friday | October 28, 2022 | 12:07 AMYasmine Peru/Senior Gleaner Writer
Reggae and hip hop artiste, Kali Ranks, is brimming with enthusiasm at the upcoming release of the album Tropical House Cruises to Jamaica: The Asian Edition. When the A-list heavy Contractor Music Group and Triple Century Records production officially drops on December 23, among the songs will be Perfect Match, a collab with Kali Ranks and multiple Grammy winner, Lauryn Hill.
He shared that the song was originally recorded 22 years ago as an R&B/hip hop/reggae track, but it was remixed in 2021 as a dancehall track by Armada the producer from his label Afimi Music/ Intercept Music/UMG.
“My former A&R from Def Jam, Ms Drew Dixon, had worked with Ms Hill previously and thought we would be a good match for a record she had in mind. It was her idea. Ms Dixon has produced records for the likes of Whitney Houston and Aretha Franklin, to name a few. Yes, she put it together,” Kali Ranks explained of the original.
He has great memories of working with Hill on that project back in 1995.
“I was signed to Def Jam/UMG at one point while she was signed to Ruffhouse/Colombia Records. It was a tremendous highlight to actually sit in a studio session with Ms Hill to write and record,” the artiste who migrated from Jamaica to New York as a pre-teen said.
Raised in Brooklyn, Kali Ranks was signed to Def Jam Recording by Russel Simmons in 1994, and debuted on the sound track of THE SHOW with Kill Dem All which secured the number 89 slot on the Billboard Top 100 that year. He subsequently left Def Jam and co-founded Afimi Music. In addition to Lauryn Hill, Kali Ranks has collaborated a with Chris Brown and Canibus, to name a few.
He shared that Perfect Match gained #1 bestseller on the Itune Reggae charts in 2019 and #1 bestseller on Amazon.com. He is hoping for similar success with the dancehall version, which is on a project with which he is immensely proud of being affiliated.
HAPPY TO BE A PART OF PROJECT
“I met [executive producer] Sean Contractor a few projects back through a mutual business associate. We wanted to be a part of one of the previous releases of the Tropical House Cruises [series] with a collab with myself, Chris Brown and the up-and-coming Reggaeton Cubana, Stephanie Adler, but we were not able to get the proper paper work done in time so we missed it. However, Sean kept me in mind and decided to reach out for this one, which I was ecstatic about. I’m very happy to be a part of this iconic project,” Kali Ranks said.
In addition to Lauryn Hill and Kali Ranks, Tropical House Cruises to Jamaica: The Asian Edition features heavyweights Chris Gayle, Capleton, Sizzla, Morgan Heritage and a number of on-the-rise acts such as Backpack Shawty and Lady Marga MC.
Speaking directly to the influence of reggae music on his career, Kali Ranks said simply, “My whole essence is reggae.”
Tracing his journey a bit, he added, “I started toasting on [a] NY sound system as a DJ since I was a teen. My transition to hip hop came later, after recording my first dancehall song Name Bran in 1990 for Sassoon Production out of NY.”
Quizzed if there are any reggae or dancehall artiste who he would like to work with, whether as producer or an artiste, Ranks laughed. “That list would be too long,” he said. “But my immediate thought would come to Capleton, Sizzla, most definitely the Emperor Shabba, Skillibeng, Popcaan, Mavado, and Shenseea ... that would be my short list. I do admire and respect a great deal more artistes and pioneers too, though!”