2. “I Was A King” with Shabba Ranks (1992)
Ten years after he lampooned post-disco rap on “Boogie In Your Butt,” and seven after he hit the studio with Rick James for the (highly lampoonable) “Party All the Time,” Eddie made one more go at a singing career—and this time he seemed to be taking himself really, really seriously. (See the shameless hippy-isms of his PM Dawn-jacking “Whatzupwitu,” the king of comedy’s surpsingly, but understandably, slept on collaboration with king of pop Michael Jackson.)
That same album, Love’s Alright, featured another high-powered collab in “If I Was a King” with dancehall’s then top shotta at that time, Shabba Ranks. Eddie even went to Jamaica to film the video, shot during his and Shabba’s performance at that year’s Reggae Sunsplash with a full Nyabinghi band.