Gappy Ranks: "I'm singing music for the world."

Before Gappy Ranks ever walked into a recording studio, I was dealing with a live band, the Ruff Cutt Band of Tony "Ruff Cutt" Phillips.  I'm very comfortable with a live band so people can expect a very interactive show, with a lot of energy and excitement overall.
Which band will back you in Reggae Geel ?
It will be the Special Delivery Band from France.
Can we expect a more rootsy show when you're performing with a band?
No, no, you know the thing with Gappy Ranks is that I am very versatile.  I bring all the music with the same emotion and passion.  All my music will be interpreted through the live band.  There's nothing a live band can't do so people will be entitled to enjoy the tracks from "Put The Stereo On" but also dancehall hits like "Stinkin Rich".
What are your roots in the music, what made you to be so versatile in the music ?
Well, I'm just coming from London City.  It's a multicultural city.  Arguably one of the most metropolitan and diverse cities in the world.  I see people from all different parts of the world in London.  And I travel a lot, this gives a reflection on my music.  I got to see the world, I got to learn more about the world and about myself.  I matured in this and in shows and my music.  Right now I am singing music for the world.  So I need to be versatile because every different part of the world has a own vibe.  In this versatility, you have to keep your morals and the same vision and emotion.
Your personal origins also brought a wide musical heritage to you ?
I've grown up in a part of London which is the reggae community in London.  My father is a Jamaican and brought the whole Studio One and Treasure Isle music with him.  That's what I used to hear when I was a kid.  My Mum's from Dominica in the West Indies.  And you know the whole West Indies embrace reggae music anyway.  Reggae has always played a big part in my life.
I was born in the mid 80's so I also got influenced by the music that was current in those days : the Run DMC's, Shabba Ranks, Cutty Ranks and such artists.  That music to was playing in my house and in my community.
For your first album, the aim was to pay a tribute to the Studio One tunes you grew upwith?
Yes of course.  I tough it was right to do so.  Because if you want to know where you're going, you have to know where you come from.  Studio One is where the reggae music come from and from there the dancehall and all the musics we're listening in the clubs today.  So doing the Studio One album first was a risk, but the producers listened to me and understood me and knew that I had that in me and the facility to do it.  And you can see now that the album is doing good around the world and critics review it and rate it good.
On your albums, why did you decide to use the auto tune ?
It's not the auto-tune that I'm using, it's a pitch controller.  But let me tell you : anyone that has come to a Gappy Ranks show knows that I deliver my songs with the same energy and level in all keys.  But you know you have to embrace the new times and what is happening now.  And also embrace what happened then.
You are building a straight link from the 60's to now.
Generations is what makes the world.  A lot of history would be lost if some generations don't do their part of sharing the history.  So I do my part too.
Can you tell us about your latest album "Thanks & Praises"?
It's a very versatile album : there's some one-drop, some dancehall, some alternative beats.  It's how Gappy Ranks is.
I called it "Thanks & Praises" because I've been thru a lot these last two years, gone to a lot of places,… In all of my doings I'm always give thanks and praises, going out to the listeners, to my family and friends, the great people I have around me and the good people I met around the world. And ultimately to the Most High.
This album is still bringing the same emotions and carrying the same love as the "Put The Stereo On" but in a different manner.
For this album, you also left the one-producer concept.
Yes I've been working with different people Macro Marco, Special Delivery, Delly Ranks produced a tune too, Bassrunner, Notice Productions.  And finally there's also music produced by my own independent  label called Hot Coffee Music.
The first album was distributed by VP and the second by Greensleeves, how do you feel about this success?
Actually VP and Greensleeves are the same people.  They're doing a great job on the promotion and distribution.  The album's promoted worldwide.  I'm just back from a tour in California.  I was also lucky to feature on a national TV on BBC UK and it was great. Music nice.
Even with the success, your music is still talking a lot about street life – street side college-  and sufferation. What does it refer to ?
It refers to my upbringing in life.  Where I was, where I'm going and where I'm at….I'm trying to send out some messages so that the people that are in the situation that I was in find it a little bit easier to cope with everyday life.  I try and send out that message to show them that it's never too late.  In this world it's so easy to give up.  And it's so easy for society to throw tumbling boxes in your way. So they are songs to uplift people.  I'm talking about my own situation, the one I was in, I am in now, and I am going to be in… 
Is it that as a youth you was spending more time on the street than at school or at home ?
Definitely.  I was very bright at school but I never left school with no degrees or no A-levels.  I have no qualification papers to show in mathematics or English or so… But I know how to present myself and I read a lot and in life I learn every day.
Were you a stubborn youth ?
I wasn't stubborn, I was just misunderstood.  It's so easy to say that this youth is stubborn or is misbehaving or has an attitude problem.  But do you ever hear them say that this youth is misunderstood?  Not everybody can understand everybody.  And everyone is different.  I think a lot of my teachers didn't know how to handle my energy and channel my energy.  That's what the youths need nowadays :  more nurturing, more encouragements and more guidance.
So who channeled your energy towards the music?
I grew up listening to all different kind of artists. Especially since I lived in London I had every type of music in the world I wanted to listen to. I was playing in bands, soundsystems and on the radio. It was a long journey, and it is still going to be a long journey...nothing started yet, I garantee. 
Which areas of the world have you been to?
Jamaica, California, New York, Miami, Atlanta,...the whole of the East-coast. Japan, the whole of Europe, I'm going to Australia next month...Bahams, Dominican Republic...
I can see you have a lot of tattoos, are they from around the world as well?
No, they're all done in London. This one is "so ghetto", if you listen to my early albums you'll hear that was my phrase! My past it tattooed, I also have my 2 daughter's names here, Rain and Miami. I've got "music"..."Give thanks and praises"...
That really should uplift the people, it comes from the heart. Some young artists loose the link with their roots.
Society makes that happen so easily...
When I interviewd Alborosie he said: "Jamaica invented Reggae music but Europe is keeping it alive." How do you see that?
That's Alborosie's opinion. He's right when he says Reggae comes from Jamaica, without Jamaica there would be no reggae music. When you do reggae, you have to do in the authentic way or else it's not going to come along. That's why you see artists like Alborosie have to go to Jamaica because a lot of those influences aren't in Italy. 
My father is Jamaican, I grew up in a Jamaican area, the Jamaican essence is really in me...that's why I know how to do the real reggae music. Jamaicans go all over the world, and wherever they go, they bring the spirit with them. Reggae music is world wide because of Jamaica. All the respect has to go back to them. It's the birthplace of my father and family, and I visited the Island many times. 
You are very close to the french scene as well, you worked with Special Delivery?
Definetely, my management is from Paris, my band Special Delivery is there to.. They are great musicians, and France is a great place for reggae music. It's a great feeling collaborating with them. Big up P, big up JP, big up the whole team! 
Thank you for your time and see you at one of the festivals soon!