Album: Deep Cover-Music From The Original Motion Picture/ Rough & Ready Vol. 1 (Solar/ Epic; 1992)
Songwriters: Michael Bennett, Hopeton Lindo and Shabba Ranks
R&B Peak Position: #2
"They call me Mr. Loverman/ They call me Mr. Lover"
Exploding as a superstar within the Jamaican music scene in the late '80's, the turn of the decade saw Shabba Ranks and his dancehall sound soon begin to garner worldwide mainstream attention alongside other reggae-oriented acts like Patra and Chaka Demus & Pliers. Signing to Epic Records in 1991, Ranks' first major label release, As Raw As Ever pulled off a couple crossover radio hits (the Maxi Priest duet, "Housecall" and the KRS-One collabo "The Jam") and made him the first dancehall artist to earn the Best Reggae Album Grammy. But he would be most remembered for the single that arrived the following year.
"Mr. Loverman" was originally found on 1988's Rappin' With The Ladies, an album that saw Ranks offering a new spin on records made popular by female reggae performers ("Loverman was based off of Deborahe Glasgow's sexually aggressive classic, "Champion Lover"). Re-released in a smoother Soul II Soul-like style in '92, and given a boost by it's appearance in the film "Deep Cover", the song zoomed up the charts to become his biggest hit outside of Jamaica.
"Mr. Loverman" captures Ranks as an erotica superhero rescuing the nether regions of some horny Englishwoman (played by guest vocalist Chevelle Franklin). "Thrill me with it/...kill me with it", Franklin begs, uttering Shabba's name in a peak of ecstasy sigh. Shabba is more than happy to fulfill her wishes, claiming "if a loving you looking for you buk upon the right man" in his signature gruff vocal. Promising to make her explode "just like a bomb", Ranks then proceeds to introduce her to a sex session she won't ever soon forget.
With it's sultry groove, Franklin's sirenic longing and Shabba's panty-soaking chanting (though half of it you couldn't understand), this "bump n' grind-er" with an island twist became the go-to song for many a late-night dalliance. It also led to one of "In Living Color"'s most memorable musical-based sketches, which hilariously mocked Ranks'...ummm...modest attractiveness ("...all of them say I look like an ugly Bobby Brown...").
Best Moment: "SHABBA!!"
(WARNING: The video below contains some nudity)
DL: "Mr. Loverman" (YFH)
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