In part two of our exclusive interview with music industry gate keeper Bigga Rankin, the much-respected DJ/promoter discusses his multiple successes with independent artist tours, breaking new artists and the next artists to blow, among many gems.
Born in Jamaica, raised in Chicago, claimed fame in Florida and now living in Atlanta, the Cool Runnings DJs founder is most known for rocking hip-hop parties, but he has never forgotten his reggae roots.
“I still do the reggae parties. They don’t get covered as much as the hip-hop parties get covered,” Bigga divulges. “To break a reggae artist, it takes a village because it’s international music. So when a riddim come out and somebody is popping on it, you’re just one of the guys that’s playing it. The difference with hip-hop, an artist can come to a DJ and say ‘I wanna work with you, just you.’ And then you get the other DJs on it. That is the difference.”
Another difference between the two genres is the amount of grassroots exposure that hip-hop artists enjoy over reggae artists. Bigga has groomed countless artists with his national tours that he promotes several times each year. Graduates of his tours include Ralo, YFN Lucci and his very first success story 2 Chainz.
“I get the artist that’s next to blow and we go on the road,” he explains. “It’s like a campaign like we’re running for office. We do radio. We go to all the lifestyle stores. We go to the hood, put out CDs. And then we go to the club that night to perform. It’s called a Street and Greet because we’re in the streets.”
He also explains how he is responsible for breaking such artists as Yo Gotti, Young Dolph, Jeezy, 2 Chainz and Plies in Florida.
“They helped me too….They had good music, and I had a platform to push it,” he admits. “Every year, I put at least four or five people in the game. Some of them get real big. Some of them don’t get as big as the rest of them.”
See the full interview below.
