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Coolie Ranx (real name
Obi-Ajula Ugbomah) is a New York City based musician best known for his membership in the
third wave ska bands
The Toasters and
Pilfers.
Ranx was born in
Manchester in
England and was raised in
Manhattan. His mother is from
Jamaica and his father is from
Nigeria. He was discovered in 1990 when the lead singer and guitarist of The Toasters,
Rob "Bucket" Hingley, heard Ranx's
dancehall reggae EP. Joining the Toasters in the early 1990s, he toured and recorded two albums with the band, including
Dub 56, which features two songs he wrote.
After leaving the Toasters, Ranx co-founded a band called Pilfers. In Pilfers, he shared vocal duties with Vinny Nobile. Pilfers played a combination of third wave ska music, punk rock, and reggae that they called "raggacore". After self-releasing their first album, the band signed to
Mojo Records, who released the band's second album,
Chawalaleng. He made frequent guest appearances on the albums of other
third wave ska bands, such as
Spring Heeled Jack USA, Metro Stylee and Mojo labelmates
Reel Big Fish.
After a lineup change, which saw the replacement of the rhythm section, Pilfers disbanded in 2001. Ranx began a solo career, recording and playing shows around the world with Fear Nuttin' Band as his new backup band. In November 2005, he and the other four original members of Pilfers, reunited at the
Knitting Factory in
New......
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