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Ranking Trevor, Pioneer in Hip Hop, Dies in Traffic Accident

KINGSTON, Jamaica (AP) — Ranking Trevor, a pioneer of rap reggae during the 1970s, has died in a traffic accident in Jamaica. He was 60.

The musician’s brother, Robert Grant, says he was crushed by a car Tuesday after being knocked off his motorcycle. Police did not respond to calls about the fatality.

Born Maxwell Grant, Ranking Trevor was one of the leading “toasters” in Jamaica during the 1970s, recording mainly for the Channel One studio. Toasting is a form of Jamaican rapping that directly inspired hip-hop.

Songs like “Caveman Skank” and “Three Piece Chicken and Chips” made the charts in England, where he lived more than 20 years.

His career declined in the 1980s and he returned to Jamaica a decade later.

He is survived by his mother, eight siblings and 15 children.

Source: AP

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