Shabba Ranks (born Rexton Rawlston Fernando Gordon; 17 January 1966) is a Jamaican dancehall musician. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, he was one of the most popular Jamaican musicians in the world.
Fela Aníkúlápó Kuti (born Olufela Olusegun Oludotun Ransome-Kuti; 15 October 1938 – 2 August 1997), also known as Abami Eda, was a Nigerian musician, bandleader, composer, political activist, and Pan-Africanist.
He is regarded as the pioneer of Afrobeat.
In 1992, Jamaica’s Rexton Rawlston Fernando Gordon, a.k.a. Shabba Ranks came to Nigeria to perform at a concert but decided to visit Afro-beat legend, Fela Anikulapo-Kuti at his Kalakuta Shrine early in the day.
Of course he was very blunt about the purpose of his visit. Out of youthful exuberance, he promptly told Abami Eda that he’d heard about his smoking legacy and that he’d come to collect his bragging right of being the guy who out smoked Fela.
Well, there is a saying that “It is not wise to go on a drinking or smoking challenge with another man if you do not understand your own system”. Baba 70 as he’s also known, accepted the challenge and the Ganja Kings drew and puffed their smokes away while exchanging banters.
Turns out each successive wraps of blunt got bigger and bigger until Shaba Ranks passed out and fell asleep. It seems he was beaten black and blue because when he woke up he was informed he has missed his concert last night.
Cc: Music heads Africa