Cutty Ranks Interview German version / English version

Text + Photos: Benjamin Poljak

12 th of October 2007

It was already cold outside, I had the chance to speak personally to veteran DJ Philip Thomas aka Cutty Ranks after a Dubplate session in Berlin. It took place in an old factory site, which was modified to a studio. In the old days they repaired locomotives and railway wagons in that factory. Today you can find a heap of leisure facilities, a skate park and clubs. I was the first in the studio, so I took place on an old couch and waited. It didn't take long and a well known engineer boarded the building. Somow is a half of the Berlin Record Label Rebelcuts. Rebelcuts cooperates with Topline events, which makes the thickest bookings of the city. Shortly afterwards the master himself entered the studio followed by a set of Soundboys. I introduced myself and mentioned I liked to interview him after the Dub-session. During the recording one thing was clear to me. The man is a bit impatient. When the recording system wasn't as how he want's it, he quickly became loud and uncomfortable. The poor Somow! After completing the work, I let him have a moment in silence and then we started with the interview.

Pullupmp3: You started in the age of 14 with DJing?

Cutty Ranks: No, I've started before that. I started at about 11 years old. I started young in the business. I used to work with PA Soundsystem Live in Box, hard work you know.

Pullupmp3: What did you wanted to be, before you wanted to be a dj?

Cutty Ranks: I used to love music from I was small, I used to listen to a lot of programs on the radio, like talent-shows.

Pullupmp3: Yeah, but you never wished to be a doctor, lawyer... did you ever had a goal...

Cutty Ranks: No. My goal was music from day one, from the early days. I used listening to a lot of tunes from daddy U Roy and Bob Marley. That is what I grown up with.

Pullupmp3: How old are you now?

Cutty Ranks: I'm now in the 40's.

Pullupmp3: 41, 42..?

Cutty Ranks: 41.

Pullupmp3: I heard you was a butcher?

Cutty Ranks: Yes. I worked in a meat-shop. Thats how I really get to a side to a soundsystem by a friend, because he wasn't just in sound-business, he was in meat-business too. So I used supply in the meetshop and thats how I get to know him, because I always was cutting the meet and singing in the market and them say we gonna get him to hear more and eventually go to a dance. I went there, hold the mic and deal with it properly, because I was family with the music before that so I just find and get a chance to be with a soundsystem.

Pullupmp3: So Cutty Ranks was djing in a young age while cutting meat?

Cutty Ranks: Because in the end of the day you have to understand... that you have many people come up in the music-business who have other profession. Because you have to put food on the table, you have to eat and if that music business not paying you anything in that time so you have to find another job to survive and a butcher is a good way, because you have meet every time... and you are making the money in the same time so it was good.

Pullupmp3: Music is for you the only way to express yourself?

Cutty Ranks: Yes because that is the level where it reach. Now I'm more dynamic. You know in the music business now I look at a bigger picture, I don't look at the music from a money stand behind, I look at it more from a way to express myself to put that message out there what is happening in the ghetto, what is happening in a global level with the people, corruption, lawlessness, discrimination, racism, poverty, slavery, and all the rest of bad things in the world what is happening right now. You can just put it in lyrics and just put it on a record and try to enlighten other people who are not seeing. Because it is not every person on this planet seeing what is going on and then some people seen it and doing anything about it or probably they cant do anything about it because they are just a minority, you see. I can do something about it probably not everything but at least I can expose it.

Pullupmp3: Which special meetings do you remember?

Cutty Ranks: Well I meet a lot of people. I meet somebody recentness inside I come in a store, he is an african. Aah.. he is a... I forgot his name, but he do sculptures, work with kids, I met him in switzerland. He is an artist and he is very extremely good. I looked at some of his work...

Pullupmp3: But you cant remember his name?

Cutty Ranks: No I'm just forgot his name, I'm just one man, I have so many things on my mind. I have his name probably in my briefcase on a peace of paper.... he is very good. I meet a lot of other people, people who are smart people.

Pullupmp3: What was so great to meet him?

Cutty Ranks: You know how I meet him? I meet him in a very funny way because I was searching for a barber to cut my hair and I couldn't find any. Somebody hooked me up with him and said he can cut hair and you can imagine a man who is an artist is a barber in the same time. He was not a bad barber, he was good. You see. And from you meet the person he have just that energy and that nice vibes about him and he is very very respectable you know, and every person speaks hail I of him he seems like a nice person. Sometimes you see people and you know that they are ok. You just feel a vibe around.

Pullupmp3: Where do you come from - from country or city?

Cutty Ranks: Born in the City.

Pullupmp3: Kingston.

Cutty Ranks: Yeah. Born where a lot of people don't show any pity and it aint no pretty.

Pullupmp3: In 1991 you released 3 lps. "The Stopper", "Lethal Weapon" and "Retread".

Cutty Ranks: "The Stopper" released in 1991. "Retread" was recorded before that but it was released later.

Pullupmp3: Aah... they kept it a bit and released it later.

Cutty Ranks: Yeah.

Pullupmp3: 1992 "From Me Hard" and four years later "Six Million Ways to Die". Why does it took so long to release the next one?

Cutty Ranks: Yeah, because in those days when you sign with a major label in the united states, they never understood how to market Reggae-music or Dancehall at that time so they just slow up your career. A whole heap of different little ups and downs what I never really talk about and that is the thing what slow me up. Then after that, you know... once gets the speed slower and they cut down your speed right there, eventually you gonna have people with dirty mind and all kind of different elements who wanna get you from before that just find an opportunity to try to hold you. I'm a resistant person, I just never give up ...after that dice I come out with another album.

Pullupmp3: Ok. I wondered, what happened? Why it took so long to release the next LP?

Cutty Ranks: These record company shelf... they never put the right promotion behind it, they never give me a music video and we had that in the contract and I get a lawyer and take time to pressure on them, eventually they release me from the contract, because I don't voice for nobody else. That is what slows me down in that time. Then after I free up off the label, then me and my manager have to get off. Bad company. Then we had the other elements in the music business, bad-mind... we tried everything to fight for in a very needed way. when you get in a unseen fight... it's not easy.

Pullupmp3: Can you give the younger artists an advice?

Cutty Ranks: Well, sometimes you give some of these newcomers an advice and some will take it and some don't, so who don't take the advice eventually I see a lot of them who never want to listen, eventually the same thing will reach them. Now they start to learn from their own mistakes.

Pullupmp3: What about your label Masterlock?

Cutty Ranks: Selfdefense is my label but Masterlock was two of us in that business and eventually the next person was a function in right by work it to push the thing to another level and all of these things so eventually with us I just back down it. Now I have a new label.

Pullupmp3: Which one?

Cutty Ranks: The name of my label is philip music. It is a record-label gonna publishing things. Philip music a publishing limited. This is a limited label and also a trade mark. This is the label I'm planing to release my stuff and I have a new album to come out also on that label, what I'm doing right now is trying to get a deal. The name of the alum is "Still Hard", because I'm still hard. Ha, ha, ha. This album is very good. Lots of good tracks. Tracks with message, tracks with gangster-lyrics, not in a bad way but hardcore enough. We have all kind of tracks. We have Dancehall, Roots, Lovers Rock, Hip-Hop, different stuff on it.

Pullupmp3: I know you sang a lot of bad man lyrics and it seems that you keep it distance?

Cutty Ranks: I still sing badman lyrics, but look. the more you grow the more experience you have. Now.. how I really terms my gangster lyrics what I have, I more base it on what I see, happenings around in the neighborhood. What happens to the kids in the street, what is the cause of it and the oppression what is happening on there. You know. Log off education, poverty and a lot of thinks, you know. The people been oppress and it's not just jamaica it's all over the world. Just look at burma. What about the monks them there. Them are oppressed and been shot in the street!? Same thing is happening in jamaica. Kids been oppress, get shot in the street, just the same, you see and look. A lot of these politicians, they can do something about it, but they wont. First of all you have to understand this and you tell me from wrong. Without crime, the cops don't have no work, the government not gonna make no money, the judge not gonna get pay either and the politician who make anything out of it. Right? So it seems like crime pay. But who gets payed?

Pullupmp3: Not me.

Cutty Ranks: Not me and not you. But crime do pay. Everybody come and put it on tv "Crime don't pay" - but crime pay! Because the judges get pay, the cops get pay, politicians get pay. All of it. So crime pay. No matter how you slice it and dice it. So look... why I terms it and look at it that way is because the system set it that way, They design the system that way in order to force people into crime, because if you get a kid, if you see a kid and you don't educate that kid from that kid small and teach him the way how to live or teach him to fish, eventually if you don't teach him to fish, he gonna come to want for your fish.

Pullupmp3: But what about this gun lyrics, when people sing take a gun and shoot someone down...

Cutty Ranks: Well... you have some of the younger generational artists, them don't have much sense. It come back to the same thing what I'm talking about now. Them never get that proper teaching. Come on man. It is the same thing. It come back down to what an experience to you now. Is the same thing. The system bring them to that level. Most of these younger generational artists who sing like that... some of them grew up in a very, very dark environment. They grow up in that way of life, so it is just hard to get out of that system.

Pullupmp3: Ok. But I mean... artists who bring up this Gun Lyrics.. I know they don't take their guns and shoot someone down, because they are artists and not gangsters. So how come?

Cutty Ranks: Well. you have to understand... you have some artists where have cronies in the streets who shoot people. Probably for a reason. Not just get up and shoot people for nothing. But look... what you are saying to me right know where artists going around preaching gun-lyrics and say shoot people, murder them and cut them head off, I'm not supporting it either. So I totally agree with you on that. You can sing about guns, but it is the way how to sing about it and it is how you put the words together. You don't tell somebody about kill people and murder them, cut off them neck and dash them away for no reason. That is bullshit. That sounds like a one sided thing. You understand. I'm not gonna support it. I sing about gun, but I know what I'm saying. I just have a new song name gangsters paradise reloaded. I'm Saying... it is no gangsters paradise when you down in the garrison. (Garrison is a ghetto. Because down there in the ghetto is no damn paradise, you have to get out of there to find some peace and quiet. Thats the time you see paradise.) So I'm saying it aint no gangsters paradise when you down in the garrison, there is no comparison, (...that mean it can not compare with the suburb.) Aint no gangsters paradise when you are down in the ghett's, boy don't behave like you are no trap. Because if you have a trap on somebodys block, eventually somebody gonna pay attention to you. Start a focus on you, if they feel like you have a trap you gonna have a problem. There aint no gangsters paradise when you are down in the ghett's, boy don't behave like you are no trap. If you don't have no occasion around here you better leave. Don't come on the block with no tricks of your sleeve or else the thugs and the gangsters will swarm you like bees... and that is not a lie. Because you see that is happening every day. Anytime the war starts, it not go easy for thiefs. All my gangsters. all my thugs them never bow down, if you confront them, it will be a showdown. I see man dropping on the street and them go down. All the speedy gonzales better slow down. So the speedy gonzales are the young kids them want run come to shoot people for no reason, I say slow the freak down. Behave your self man. You don't need to do that. So I'm not preaching violence, I'm just talking about what is happening. You see. So I say all the speedy gonzales better slow down. Them on a mission but mission is probably impossible. If them ever try man deal with them horrible. Them say they get information but I know it is not credible. ...

Pullupmp3: This is from the new upcoming album?

Cutty Ranks: Gangsters Paradise is a grimy track. It is hard but it is reality. What is happening. What you see in front of your own two eyes I don't hear about it. It is about I see and I know because I grew up in this environment. It is just that I'm one of the fortune one get a talent from god, a gift. God give me that to elevate out from that. Stay alive and move to another level.

Pullupmp3: Are you satisfied with your life?

Cutty Ranks: Yeah. I'm satisfied with my life because life is the most pressure thing the mankind have. Life is better than money, because without life your money doesn't belong to you. Life is the most pressures thing. A man must give thanks in life every day. Give thanks to the father for health and strengths and make sure you don't sick. I see guys sick with two kids and they have all the money in the world and it couldn't help him. so it's not the money.

Pullupmp3: You believe in god?

Cutty Ranks: Yes.

Pullupmp3: But not in Selassie I as a Rastafari?

Cutty Ranks: I don't comment that on terms of Selassie I because who knows. Selassie probably can be a great power, just like how the rastamen say, because a lot of things what the rastamen speak about in the past eventually start to happen now. The rastaman them start to see in the future, look at Bob Marley for instant. A whole heap Bob Marley was seeing ... and lot of the things that manifest now. War in the east, war in the west war in the north and war in the down south. Everywhere is war, rumors of war. It's going on now. So how you think about that. I don't deal with religion. I believe there is a god and I believe in god, I believe in that god who create me, you and who let me in existence know the god who create the air that we can breath and all.

Pullupmp3: But you don't call yourself a christian or something?

Cutty Ranks: Im not a christian, I'm not a muslim, I'm not buddha either. I'm just me, I'm a human being, I like everybody as long as they tread me good, I tread them the same. I don't have no time for religion, I think religion cause a division and that is what create the problem in the world today. Too much religion, too much tribes and all kind of different things confusing the people.

Pullupmp3: Just be good?

Cutty Ranks: Just be good and life, and don't pollute the earth, help clean up the earth because of the mankind right now why the climate change so much. Sometimes it get too cold someplaces get too hot, flooding... all kind of things. Nothing go wrong with the earth, it is the people in it. It is the problem.

Pullupmp3: Poison for the earth.

Cutty Ranks: Steam is the problem. And they still not learning. Even some of my own people is not just other race... all of this race, white people, black people all of them take part in messing up the world. White people even more because they are the one who have the big industrial factories and they are the one with the money. They have all the big power and all the nuclear arsenal. Black people don't have that shit. And if you speak out about it, then you look up in the barrel of the gun. So you tell me now who is the baddest man on the earth. The whole world run by gangsters and the only person greater than all of these gangsters is god. And I think they gonna pay sooner or later. No matter how much money you have or how much power you think you have, it not gonna save you.

Pullupmp3: Lets get back to the music thing... I would like to know your top performers?

Cutty Ranks: Bob Marley was one of my great performers of all times, Jimmy Cliff, people like Burning Spears, daddy U-Roy, Josey Wales, whole heap of performers, the new ones... Buju is a good performer, Anthony B, Sizzla, Junior Gong Marley, Steven Marley, Gentleman is not bad. He is coming up in the game. Maxi Priest a long time old school artist, Ninja Man is one of my favorite performers, Capleton... Bounty Killer have nuff things going on and Vybz Kartel... Beenie Man is a good performer on stage. The only thing with Beenie Man, he getting to much mix up, always get himself whine up... a good performer.

Pullupmp3: You are closer to jamaica than me. Can you give us a tip for any newcomers we might never heard from?

Cutty Ranks: We have a guy name Pressure coming up from the virgin island. He is good.

Pullupmp3: A dj?

Cutty Ranks: A singer. And we have this guy from trinidad who sing this song named "Ganja Farmer".

Pullupmp3: Marlon Asher?

Cutty Ranks: Yes. He is good.

Pullupmp3: You call him a newcomer?

Cutty Ranks: He is new. He is for a couple of years in the business. He is new. New to the game. How much bad, tough songs he have? About five, six good tunes. We have Movado, he is a friend, Movado need to get out of the violence. Just make clean songs. He have a good voice, a nice style but he need to make sure the lyrics ...

Pullupmp3: You told him so?

Cutty Ranks: Just don't get time to talk to him. I'm busy and he is busy. next future... always try to be yourself, Busy Signal, a nice youth, Assassin, many different Artists. all I can do is give them advice and try to show them the right. Sometimes you can show them certain things because you have the experience. Who ever don't wanna listen just learn from them own mistakes. Some of them don't life to learn anything either.

Pullupmp3: Do you listen other styles of music than Reggae or Dancehall?

Cutty Ranks: ja man. I listen to many different style because it is good to listen to other music. Jazz, Hip-Hop, Soul, South beat, You ever listen to the rapper "Young Jeezy"? They call it the South Beat. Gangster time a Rap Beat. grimy, hard core, I listen to those kind of beats. I also listen to jungle, I even listen to techno... sometimes you learn stuff from those kind of beats... techno has a nice bounce... I even listen to oper. Everything. I see what you can find in there, what sounds good to you because people have many different ideas. Nice to listen to other ideas and learn stuff from it. Different styles, even the spanish reggaeton. I don't understand the words but I know they steal our style. Long time dancehall what we do.. a way... a way to make money for them... I don't think Reggaeton artists is in the business for the love of the music... money.

Pullupmp3: you allow me to write that?

Cutty Ranks: I don't give a fu**. You know where Reggaeton create from? Me and Shabba. With "Weh dem man a who dat a come" from those beats them create Reggaeton from. With shabba Ranks, Ninja Man and the whole of them. We Reggaeton create from. First we used to go to panama. We worked there. They love our style. El general used to pirate my style. He pirate the stopper and translate it into spanish. Many other stars them pirate plus other jamaican artists were pirate in those days. They made lots of money... until the puertoricans start to catch on to that shit. Reggaeton - Come on.. They are making millions out of that. The spanish market is big. Personally I'm not against the spanish. I'm just saying the style created from us, what is the truth. It is the same thing when they say Hip-Hop music create from jamaica... old time Ska. And nobody will admit to it.

Pullupmp3: Yes. Cool Herc came from Jamaica.

Cutty Ranks: Americans will take your style and then build on on it and then they talk about it is not yours, They create it? Come on. America is the biggest thief in the world. You know that. That is something what I know. It is not that I'm against america but I'm just speaking the truths. I have a lot of friends in america. Lots of friends. It is not everybody in jamaica is a good people and it is not everybody in america is good people either. So. Same thing in europe. You have good and bad everywhere you go. One thing I can say about Reggaeton. It take our music to another level... because it break out in the spanish market. Sean Paul is a good friend of mine too. He took reggae to another level. Shabba did it. Bob Marley is the one who open the gate and then other people keep making news of it. You have lots of good reggae artists in jamaica. A whole heap of new talents. People who build beats, people who sing, a whole heap of new artists. Them just need to more organize. Jamaican producers don't organize. Them are too greedy. Greedy for money. Them don't deal with the thing as a business for real how them supposed... it is all for them self. A lot of them.

Pullupmp3: What do you think about the nowadays Soundsystem culture?

Cutty Ranks: Soundsystem get cut up in the hype too. In jamaica it reach a stage now where you have a artist paying other sound selector not to play other artist songs. And selector is taking side ..if Movado, Vybz Kartel or Bounty Killer have a beef, you have one sound playing strictly Vybz Kartel and not playing Movado... until eventually start to get serious now and have 20 or 50 cronies behind him like guys find the selector and box him down and beat him bad. All of that is happening. intimidation. it reach a stadium right now some kind like them a force them for start intimidate. Because the music business is not fair. I know nuff of them not like to hear the truth but it is the truth. A whole heap of big artists in jamaica not getting played. I like Jah Cure, I like Tarus Riley, good artists... nuff good artists down in jamaica where are not getting any play in the dancehall and they have lots of records. Because you have a set up people who form up all kind of crew, you have some people in a alliance where just alliance music play. Bounty Killer family is the Alliance. Then you have another set a man who play Beenie Man tunes which is mafia house... so everybody running against each other. Instead of come together have unity and work and build the thing to another level and make the thing more powerful like the american artists them do. Jamaican artists just sit down and fight against each other. It is all who better than who. I stay away from this things. I do my thing. I have my own circle. I don't want to be the man of the moment. When the moment gone, it gone with the man. I just wanna be a man. Anywhere you see me I'm a man. I don't want a moment. The man of the moment... when the moment leaved, leaved with the man.

Pullupmp3: Have you ever visited africa?

Cutty Ranks: No, I would like to visit africa. I just don't like the war. Every time you look on the tv you see what is going on in africa. Too much war. Time for black people to come together. Work together and build the nation instead of fight against each other. The most of them kill them one another and benefit from it. A man who spend 5 million dollars by guns and bullets and then when he killed a lot of people with that guns and bullets, he don't earn a million dollar out of it. So where is the mathematics. You know that is even anything. You just killing people just for killing same.

Pullupmp3: If you could change one thing in the world, what would it be?

Cutty Ranks: Oppression.

Pullupmp3: Do you use computers

Cutty Ranks: I don't know it good enough as my kids do.

Pullupmp3: How many kids do you have?

Cutty Ranks: Seven.

Pullupmp3: But not from one woman woman?

Cutty Ranks: No. Seven.

Pullupmp3: Do you want to say something else to the readers?

Cutty Ranks: Ya man, I want to big up all my fans just more blessings to all fans and friends more power to all of them. And just best wishes to the future, hope they have prosperity and stay strong. Just make more money and buy my music. Ha, ha, ha... Big up yourself. Blessed.

Discographie:
The Stopper (1991), Lethal Weapon (1991), Retreat (1991), From Mi Heart (1992), Six Million Ways To Die (1996), Back With A Vengeance (2001), Hard For It (2005)

Web Site:
http://www.artistsonly.com/cutty.htm