Words by DJ Gravy—
When Sean Paul and Konshens performed “Want Dem All” on the newly relaunched Arsenio Hall Show the other day, it got us thinking, hmmmmm. “Mr. Let’s Get Busy” (that’s Arsenio, for you young’uns) had a whole heap of reggae artists on his original show back in the day. But this clip of big, dutty, stinkin Shabba Ranks and R&B singer Johnny Gill performing their combination tune “Slow And Sexy” definitely takes the cake.
The performance might impart nostalgia to you old heads, but it’s all about the interview. Gill takes Arsenio’s seat behind the desk and gets the interview going, starting off by asking Shabba, “What the hell are you saying?!” They talk about why women love Shabba so much, his collab with Eddie Murphy, the meaning of “Bedroom Bully and how he managed to cross over to American audiences. As dancehall fans, most of us know what Shabba was saying, but how about what he was wearing?! Even in dancehall, no one could pull that off other than Rexton Rawlston Fernando Gordon, aka Shabba Rankin’.