Showing posts with label Jahbami. Show all posts
Squeezy Rankin is one of the most controversial artiste in Trinidad and Tobago
Entertainment Macco: Tell me who is Squeezy Rankin?
Squeezy Rankin: “A rugged and different artiste, I and all doh really know…when people hear me or see me they have me down as the downtown artiste and that is who I am…the artiste who they don’t want uptown”
Entertainment Macco: How long have you been in the business?
Squeezy Rankin: “Longtime…Real long”
Entertainment Macco: Why the name Squeezy Rankin? Is there history behind this sobriquet?
Squeezy Rankin: “Since I was small I had the nickname Squeezy and I added in the Rankin…I doh know why they gave me the name Squeezy; maybe it was because I was a premature baby, I never asked. I added in the Rankin because in the era I started music in, it had certain men in the industry who had that name “Rankin” and they were running things and guess what? I wanted to run things too. I tried to change the name many times but it won’t leave me.”
Entertainment Macco: What is your given name?
Squeezy Rankin: “Anthony La Fleur.”
Entertainment Macco: I saw your video on Facebook which was directed to Khari Kill and Jah Bami, what was that about?
Squeezy Rankin: “Hear wah going on! He eh really do me nothing yuh know is the bad mind, every time somebody else getting a shine in front ah Khari he does get vex, so I decide that I eh going down that road again with him…. We do a compilation he say he thing once, he say it twice and the third time that was the last straw. It eh have nothing to do with Bami he just end up in the mix.”
Entertainment Macco: Do you feel that this was the best way to send your message to Khari and Jah Bami?
Squeezy Rankin: “That is always the best way to send the message…what you want me to do meet him and ask him wah is that one? I eh have time for that, I does deal with it straight!”
Entertainment Macco: I heard this is not the first time you have bashed another artiste? Is this true and is it just fun for you?
Squeezy Rankin: “I bash real artiste before like Garlin which was a counter attack to something he sang it wasn’t really bashing, I bash Machel for beating up the man in Zen and people was scared to call him out on it although what he did was wrong and I also bash Prophet Benjamin on a song he did too.
Entertainment Macco: Is it something personal with the artistes?
Squeezy Rankin: “It has nothing to do with them getting me mad is just certain things about their music or something that they might have done that wasn’t right not anything personal.”
Entertainment Macco: Are you concerned about how handling issues like this can affect your growth as an artiste?
Squeezy Rankin: “This is the kind of artiste I am, I have one of the baddest demeanours as an artiste when compared to many in the game. I does give people what they want. This eh affecting my growth at all, not negatively, not ever.”
Entertainment Macco: Internationally this is a great way of gaining publicity is this your objective?
Squeezy Rankin: “I doh really business bout international, when that come then I will deal with that. I am dealing with wah I know here. I am not ignorant but I deal with what I deal with here…No it was not a publicity stunt, as I told you some men too bad mind and I doh bad mind no body so I eh want no one do me that. When them getting them 10 tunes on a CD and I eh have not one I doh say nothing. I remained in line and waited for my turn and now them badminding me. Nah man!”
Entertainment Macco: What kind of thought goes into the process of “bashing” other artistes?
Squeezy Rankin: “You have to think about bashing him *Haha*…it have different ways of bashing people. I take all the wrong things he (Khari) did and put it together with a little hook and add in one or two things in it and that is how it goes for most of the bashings. It is like writing a regular tune, you have to think it, you have to think comedic…It depends on the kind of bashing.”
Entertainment Macco: Do you write your own music?
Squeezy Rankin: “Yeah….I can’t go into a lyrical battle and eh write meh own songs. I go be a shithong if I eh do my own thing”
Entertainment Macco: Has there been an ongoing “beef” with you and Khari Kill?
Squeezy Rankin: “Hear this, he had a song called “Rainy weather” at a point in time and I had a song with that same name...he find that I shouldn’t sing on the same topic and he start talking ah set ah shit. Then he come and sing bout me, Bunji and someone else and I eh take that on. Is not no beef thing with me this is just the way I does deal with a situation...is not no badness thing with me either…I doh deal with guns and badness. I don’t have to big up Facebook groups to get no powers and forwards like wah them does do them does buy fans.”
Entertainment Macco: What do you hope to achieve from this song?
Squeezy Rankin: “Nothing…it is just for the underground is not to gain anything. The purpose was to get a point across and that was done. You eh want to hear that song in a party? That music is not for party. The most go come out of it is it might get popular and people will want more clash…”
Entertainment Macco: “This song is for Facebook and Youtube and not the radio” that was your intro; So is it safe to say that you wrote, recorded and did a video for this song without a plan to gain any kind of revenue from this song?
Squeezy Rankin: “I eh worried bout that I am still doing what I am supposed to do, it is not for the radio it is for the underground and clearly it working because look you call meh. *Haha*. Khari and them have to depend on that because their careers pop down. I am a lyrical artiste”
Entertainment Macco: Is your beef with Khari Kill only or Jah Bami as well, I ask this because he was mentioned in the song as well.
Squeezy Rankin: “Aye let me tell you something bout me. I eh now start to sing and thing, we grow up in the same area, where I from we used to clash and if them have issues with me I eh have none with them. The song had nothing to do with Bami.”
Entertainment Macco: Why mention Jah Bami though, were you all not just travelling together around Trinidad singing for the youths? What went wrong?
Squeezy Rankin: “Me? You sure you talking to the right person? Nah not me! I never tour no whey with Bami must be Ziggy them not me. I eh go round no country singing for no youths. My lyrical content is not for the youths so I do not try to send that kind of vibes for the youths. I know my lyrics raw and hardcore so I not on that. I do not preach Selassie thing.”
Entertainment Macco: Now that Jah Bami has responded what do you think? What’s next?
Squeezy Rankin: “If that is the hardest lash he could hit me then boy hmm…Wah you think going happen when I direct one to him? Yea he go hit back but how hard, clearly not hard enough. If that is the hardest lash he could hit me then God alone cah help him in this. The song wasn’t even for him but he get up in the thing. You doh worry..Sunday you go hear mine, I know how destructive I can be. **Ha ha** His response is real weak and he just giving me wood for the fire. I am so lyrical and unlike the petty lyrics like wah Bami bring to the table I doh have to get personal. I will diss them off without getting personal.”
Entertainment Macco: What “four songs on a CD and who had one” tell me about this?
Squeezy Rankin: “Well it is 3 songs and Khari had 1. Mine are “Nah play we tune”, “The Rankin”, and “Part of the struggle”
Entertainment Macco: What is the name of the compilation CD?
Squeezy Rankin: “Studio 53 Summer”
Entertainment Macco: What type of music do you specialize in/what is your style?
Squeezy Rankin: “Dancehall….I don’t try to sing Jamaican. I do my Trini accent on dancehall riddims, but my music is labelled as Trini dancehall. I specialize in singing. I am trying to bring something different to the place because after carnival nothing does really be going on so I want people see it have something else happening.”
Entertainment Macco: Is it true that you perform in carnival tents?
Squeezy Rankin: “Last year I did that but it didn’t happen this year. It’s not something I do often but when I get the opportunity I go with it.”
Entertainment Macco: Who are your musical influences?
Squeezy Rankin: “There are so many eh but, Michael Jackson, Dmx, Iwer and Supercat and that is just me naming a few.”
Entertainment Macco: This kind of clash between artistes is not something that Trinidad & Tobago is used to; do you think it can be something positive?Squeezy Rankin: “Yes it is positive that is the kind of artiste them know me to be. I don’t put water in my mouth to tell people anything…I am the downtown artiste that them eh want reach no whey. When we started the “I am local” movement people like Khari Kill with the exception of Jah Bami wanted to fight it down and all the artiste who based in Trini wanted to say something about it but like them was scared. When I did they stop and everyone else was glad. I just trying to keep the lyrical level of the thing, I trying not to carry it to any violent level, personally because that is not me. Long time I used to do that on the corner but now with the upsurge in violence and stuff I do not want to appear as though I promoting them thing. I go cuss or whatever but that is all it is, that is how I express myself.”
Entertainment Macco: What is next for Squeezy Ranking?
Squeezy Rankin: “Next year I have a new tune for the ladies; the independent ladies that I am doing with Bunji. I am still doing my thing, I am still recording and writing but the clash is for the streets.”
Entertainment Macco: Do you have any plans of putting out an album?
Squeezy Rankin: “No albums, this local industry or hustle is too slow for albums. What you have to do is look for a hit song to get work in parties. Real Talk!”
Entertainment Macco: In your opinion why do you think there are difficulties with our music crossing the boarders and reaching into the international markets?
Squeezy Rankin: “Let me answer this for you straight, most of the artiste lazy, we eh like to work. The next thing is that the deejays and radio personalities in Trini don’t accept creativity and refuse to play we music. That is exactly what my tune from earlier this year “Nah Play we tune” is referring to.”
Entertainment Macco: Do you rate yourself as an international artiste? Why?
Squeezy Rankin: “I know I am not an international artiste because you would never been asking me this question.”
Entertainment Macco: Haha…it is not what I think it is whether or not you rate yourself Sir.”
Squeezy Rankin: “It is not that I am not confident or anything is just that it is Trini I deal with so I can’t rate myself otherwise.”
Entertainment Macco: Are you a full-time artiste or do you have another profession? If yes what is it?
Squeezy Rankin: “Full-time artiste, this my livelihood”
Entertainment Macco: Were you really the Stag man or the character man who used to be on stage with the Asylum band and the Curtain Crew?
Squeezy Rankin: “I was never a Stag man I was the Mystery Man.
Entertainment Macco: What possessed you to do that?
Squeezy Rankin: “How you mean? I used to get paid to do that. I used to have fun, get into parties for free, drink for free and get paid! Who won’t want to do that? I mean who won’t want to get paid to party? I eh go lie you are really a macco in serious.”
Entertainment Macco: Well I have to ask, because the people want to know your business.
Squeezy Rankin: “Well I am a glad man, that is who I am..*Haha*”
Entertainment Macco: What has been the highlight of your career thus far?
Squeezy Rankin: “Nah play we tune…the fact that all the dj’s rush to play it…that is it for sure.”
Entertainment Macco: Squeezy, some people have praised you and others have considered what you did to be disrespectful, what would you say to them?
Squeezy Rankin: “If they find it disrespectful then it disrespectful. Them eh go say the same thing bout Khari and the shit he does be singing but it is the same thing. What I sing is the truth and that is it, the problem with the truth is it does offend. You see just how Khari and Bami offended, people will be as well. That is them business. Straight!”
Entertainment Macco: If there was one thing you could change about our music industry, what would that be and why?
Squeezy Rankin: “The whole dj system, I would put something in place to make local music play…a higher percentage of local music on radios which should be mandatory to all radio stations.”
Entertainment Macco: Other than the act that was thought to be disrespectful, some people may consider some of your music to be distasteful as well
Squeezy Rankin: “Most people does see thing going on and scared to talk about it and once you talk the truth without fear most people go find you disrespectful but it is not only me that does be thinking about what I am singing. Most people are hypocrites when certain R&B, Reggae, Dancehall or Rock singers say certain things in their them eh have nun to say, is just how I does speak raw. I does say exactly what people want to hear but just people scared to say it.. .”
Entertainment Macco: Your song “Nah Play we tune” has a lot of truth about the industry presently, are you not worried about the backlash from the radio stations?
Squeezy Rankin: “The only backlash for me was if they didn’t play it…is either it play or it eh play…I did get backlash from a couple dj’s who felt offended and start saying how them used to play my music before…the bottom line is the djs don’t like to support local music.”
Entertainment Macco: Are you not worried that one day you may upset the wrong person and the repercussions may be unpleasant?
Squeezy Rankin: “If I eh upset the wrong person yet I feel them eh born yet. I upset real people already *Haha* most of the times when I do it I does be standing up for the right thing. It is not my daily job to go around upsetting people but if I don’t like something I will say it.”
Entertainment Macco: I know there are real life maccos out there, how do you keep your personal life and business life away from the maccos?
Squeezy Rankin: “That does be kind of hard…I don’t really stray much, you don’t see me here, there and everywhere liming, when I am home I am Anthony, on stage I am Squeezy. To keep out the maccos I does let Anthony do his thing, he is not a spotlight guy but Squeezy loves the lights. When you in the spotlight people tend to always watch you and talk but in my personal life I have a daughter and one of the tricks is keeping your personal life off of Facebook as well. Straight!”
Entertainment Macco: Thank you Squeezy for allowing me to macco and take up so much of your time.
Squeezy Rankin: “No problem baby girl, it’s no problem at all”
Entertainment Macco: Ohhh and you don’t have to worry about me misquoting you eh, that won’t happen because I definitely not looking for a clash…I am not that skilled. lol
Squeezy Rankin: “I am not worried, I know you straight and safe. No clash thing for you. **Haha*”
