Shabba Ranks Earns First BritCertified Silver in the U.K. With “Mr. Loverman”

Three decades after it first set the global stage ablaze, Shabba Ranks’ iconic single “Mr. Loverman” has officially been certified Silver in the United Kingdom.

According to the British Phonographic Industry (BPI), the track was awarded a BRIT Certified Silver plaque on Friday, October 10, signifying over 200,000 units (sales and streaming equivalents) in the UK, as measured by the Official Charts Company.

Originally crafted from the DNA of Deborahe Glasgow’s 1988 song “Champion Lover”, the track was his follow up to”Love Punaany Bad” (1991) in an era when Shabba’s foundation was raw dancehall.

Born Rexton Rawlston Gordon, Shabba reimagined it as “Mr. Loverman”, first recording the track with Glasgow’s vocals for his 1990 album Rappin’ With The Ladies. The chemistry between the two gave the song its emotional edge, balancing Glasgow’s sweetness with Shabba’s rugged delivery, formulator dancehall hits at time.

After Shabba’s international breakthrough alongside Maxi Priest on the 1991 crossover hit “Housecall”, he reissued “Mr. Loverman” in 1992 with a new collaborator—Jamaican singer Chevelle Franklyn—and a key sample of Maxi’s voice toasting the now-iconic “Shabba!” refrain. The result was a single that became a chart stormer, peaking at No. 23 on the UK Singles Chart and No. 40 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, before being re-released in 1993 and climbing even higher to No. 3 in the UK, giving Shabba his place in pop culture history.

It was due to the popularity of “Mr. Loverman” that Shabba had a breakthrough moment in the UK and U.S. markets, making him the first dancehall artist to win back-to-back Grammy Awards for Best Reggae Album (As Raw As Ever in 1992 and X-tra Naked in 1993). The song’s influence rippled across genres—its drum pattern later sampled by Alanis Morissette on “You Learn”, and its catchphrase “Shabba!” echoed through hip-hop and pop for years, even inspiring a Will Smith skit on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and a Marlon Wayans parody on In Living Color.

The song’s R&B-reggae fusion production by Clifton “Specialist” Dillon and Mikey Bennett, along with Shabba’s gravel-toned toasting and Franklyn’s soulful interplay, gave it irresistible crossover appeal. Its smooth, danceable groove bridged the gap between reggae, R&B, and early ‘90s hip-hop—a balance few artists could pull off. Critics were equally charmed. Billboard’s Larry Flick called it a “deliciously sexy R&B/dancehall gem,” while The Baltimore Sun’s J.D. Considine praised Shabba’s “thick accent and sing-song delivery” that “couldn’t have come from anywhere but the dancehall scene.”

The track’s music video, directed by Fab 5 Freddy, captured the energy of the moment—mixing swagger, sensuality, and style that made Shabba a global phenomenon. The single appeared on both the Rough & Ready Vol. 1 album and the 1992 film soundtrack for “Deep Cover,” starring Laurence Fishburne and Jeff Goldblum.