He secured a recording contract with Epic Records in 1989.

His biggest hit single outside of Jamaica was the reggae fusion smash “Mr. Loverman”. Other big tracks include “Housecall” with Maxi Priest, “Slow and Sexy” with Johnny Gill, “Respect”, “Pirates Anthem”, “Trailer Load A Girls”, “Wicked inna Bed”, “Caan Dun”, and “Ting A Ling”. He won the Grammy Award for Best Reggae Album in 1992 for As Raw as Ever and in 1993 for X-tra Naked.

In 1992, during an appearance on Channel 4 music show The Word, he was asked to give his thoughts on the subject of the hit song ‘Boom Bye Bye’ sung by Buju Banton. Shabba held a copy of a Bible which he carried with him and stated that the “word of God” advocated the death of homosexuals. He was subsequently condemned for his comments by presenter Mark Lamarr, who said, “That’s absolute crap and you know it.”

In 1993, Ranks scored another hit in the Addams Family Values soundtrack to which he contributed a rap/reggae version of the Sly and the Family Stone hit “Family Affair”. His third album for Epic, A Mi Shabba, was released in 1995. He was dropped by the label in 1996. Epic went on to release a greatest hits album, entitled Shabba Ranks and Friends in 1999.

Ranks made a partial comeback in 2007 when he appeared on a song called “Clear The Air” by Busta Rhymes, which also featured Akon. Shabba released a single on Big Ship’s Pepper Riddim called “None A Dem”, in April 2011. In 2012, Shabba was featured on Tech N9ne’s EP E.B.A.H. on the track “Boy Toy”. In 2013, Shabba was also mentioned in A$AP Ferg’s song “Shabba,” and has a cameo near the end of the music video. He was featured in the remix alongside Migos and Busta Rhymes on 23 November 2013. In August 2013, he was reportedly working on a new album.