Accidental Demise – The Louie Rankin Story (OX from the movie Belly) JJ

[music] [music] [music] Let me tell you something. When it comes to the classic movie called Belly, man, Nas Nas did a great job playing Sincere. DMX was amazing playing Tommy Buns, but Louis Rankin stole that movie playing Ox. Lennox was the man in that movie, y’all. That was a iconic role. That was Louis Rankin’s first acting role. As a matter of fact, it’s crazy because when it came to his acting skills, he didn’t really have to act because it really was who he was in real life. It

just it just came naturally to him. And when it comes to ree and dance hall music, he was big in the early 90s along alongside Shabber Rank, Super Cat, Buju Banton, Ninja Man, and all of them many more. He called himself the original Jamaican dandada. But you know, the way that he died was so tragic, man. And you know, he was about to take his career [music] to another level. So, let’s get into his story right now. Louis Rankin’s birth name is Leonard Ford, and he was born in 1953 in St. Thomas Parish, Jamaica, but he was

raised in Rockfort, Kingston, Jamaica. He was one of seven kids from his parents. And growing up, his mother gave him the nickname Louie. Now, around the age of 9 years old, he stated that that was when he really got into music. He always he said he always loved music and watching western movies. He loved western movies because he loved big guns. But as far as music, he started performing in school and at local events, and he continued to do shows as a teenager, becoming popular around the neighborhood. Then he and his family

ended up moving to Canada. After that, he ended up moving to Brooklyn, New York. And you know, he started freestyling and DJing in clubs. And his name started buzzing and he became very popular around the way. Now, the first song he actually recorded was called Up and Down, and he had signed to a record company called Claypot Records, which was owned by Vivian Blake, who was a notorious Jamaican drug kingpin and leader of the Jamaican Shower Posi. You know, he had that song, he had did that song back in 1983, and he [music] was

also featured on a Reggae Dance Hall compilation album titled Title Wave that same year. Now, after that, right, in an interview, he stated around that time, he said he beat his first [music] murder charge. He said overall he beat three murder charges in his life, plus he’s been charged for coke and heroin and distribution. In 1992, he ended up getting a record deal with Messa/ Warner Brothers Records, and he released his full debut album titled Showdown. Now, the single titled Type Rider was a big

hit and it hit number one on the charts. Louis said uh that song was inspired by a special gun that was in Jamaica that sounded like a typewriter when he be letting off shots. Wow. But you know what, Louisie, he actually he won a Grammy. He won a Grammy that year for the song Typewriter off that album Showdown. And he stated that he made about $1.6 $6 million during that time from that tight rider song. Now the following year in 1993 he released his second album titled Lethal Weapon. After that he continued to do

music and perform but then at one of his shows he was doing in Queens, New York, right? He had got word that one of the greatest video directors of all time, which was Hype Williams, wanted to meet with him. And Hype Williams told him that he wanted him to play like the black Scarface for his movie titled [music] Belly. And he didn’t even have to audition. Wow. Louis said when he when he got to that movie set, everybody was there. Metham Man, DMX, Nas, T-Bos, everybody. He was actually the last

person that Hype [music] Williams had cast and Hype just told him to be himself when it came to the script. Now, at first, Hype Williams wanted his name to be Brad, but Louie said, “Ain’t no gangster named Brad.” And that’s when DMX gave him the name Lenox, [snorts] aka Ox. And in 1998, he played Linnox Ox in one of my favorite movies of all time, which is Belly. Man, I love that movie Belly. That’s my belly, man. That’s my joint right there. I just I just watched that the other day, too.

But you know, like I said earlier, Louie, when it came to that movie, Louie kind of stole the show and was the breakout star in that movie. You know what’s crazy about that movie, Belly? Hype Williams said in an interview that if DMX wasn’t able to play the character Tommy Buns, he was going to reach out to Jay-Z. That was his next option. H what y’all think? Y’all think Jay-Z could have pulled off that movie better than DMX? I mean, I don’t know. I never seen Jay-Z act really in a movie. But, you

know, Height Williams also said that there was no prop weed on that set of belly. So every scene when characters can be seen smoking weed, it was the real deal. They was smoking real weed throughout that movie. Wow. And and look, the guns were real, too. The guns was real and everything. Louis said Louis said the feds came on the movie set and asked him how did he know how to shoot an AK-47 like that. Wow, that’s crazy. Now, another fun fact about the movie Belly is basketball hall of famer Magic Johnson

refused to put that movie in his chain of movie theaters around the world because he said the movie had too much violence and negative depictions of African-Ameans. Wow. They also say, you know, Magic Johnson, he refused to play uh the movies Booty Call and Money Talks also in his theater. But anyway, the character Ox took that movie Belly to another level. And he said there was supposed to be a sequel to Belly. I mean, I seen the part two with the uh the rapper game in it, but during that time it was supposed to

be a sequel to Belly because, you know, at the end he had got his throat slit, but hype was going to make it where uh he survived that getting his throat uh slit. But anyway, right after that movie, Louis said he was in talk to be in the uh Steven Seagal movie called Exit Wounds. But him and Steven Seagal got into a heated argument about the Mark for Death movie on how he treated and disrespected the Jamaicans in that movie. So, he didn’t get that movie with Steven Seagal. So, they gave it to DMX.

They gave a role to DMX. [music] And you know, DMX spoke about how disrespectful Steven Cigar was on the set to him and a bunch of other people did too. Now, in 2002, Louie played Teddy Brookshot in another one of my favorite movies I love called Shatas. He stole the show in that movie, too. Him and Spragg him and Spragger Benz did [music] real good in that movie. You know what’s crazy about that movie Shatters? was never released in theaters or on DVD in the beginning. It was just so popular on the streets and

bootleg heavy for the first 5 years. Then when Shers did go into the movie theaters and DVDs and made millions of dollars, Louisie also stated that he was the one that got DJ Khaled a role in that movie Shhatzas. But you know there was a there was talk about doing a part two to the Shhatas but we shall see in the future. But you know Shhatas that’s another another classic gangster movie in my opinion. Man I love that movie Shhatas too. Now in 2007 he appeared in the video you know what it is for rapper TI featuring W Cleff.

In 2008 he played in a movie titled Roman Lion. In 2009, he was featured on Gucci Mane song titled Murder for Fun, which was a Young Jeezy, this song. In 2012, he had did an interview and he called out Jay-Z and Beyonce for wanting $3 million for a picture of their child, Blue Ivy. You know, uh, Louisie stated that Jay-Z knows him. He said Jay-Z knows him from when he used to run Brooklyn back in the day. In 2014, he was in a movie called We Run the Streets. In 2016, he appeared in a Nas DJ Khaled video

called Nas album Done. In 2018, he played in a movie called Intent 2 with Dance Star PopCon, which is a Netflix [music] movie. is doing pretty good on Netflix. But on September 30th, 2019, Louis Rankin died in a car accident. Now, the story goes, reports say that the accident occurred at 9:15 a.m. in Ontario, Canada, and his car ended up crashing into a gravel transport truck on Highway 89, and he was pronounced [music] dead on the scene. It was a head-on collision, y’all. Wow. And you know, as far as the truck driver, he

reportedly didn’t suffer from any physical [music] injuries. Now, his common law wife and manager named Jules Chaotic, she said uh she had just spoken to him about 5 minutes before the accident. She stated that he was in a studio recording for his new album and he was very tired and had to drive three hours to get home. But he was drunk. He was three times over the legal limit. Plus, he had marijuana in his system. So, you [music] know, he was he was under the influence. They say Louis love drinking

his rum. And he did struggle with alcohol abuse. And he you know what? He did some time. He went to jail. He did some time just a year before for a DUI. And it’s crazy because he was just about to drop his new album. He had just announced it two days before his death that he would release his third fulllength album called The Return of the Don Dada. And he had guest features from Snoop Dog, Sizzling, and more. Plus, you know, he was working he was also working on a new movie, too. Wow. Now, his baby mom’s Jules,

she had to put out a GoFundMe page to help pay for his funeral and help with the kid’s future. He had three daughters by her. Apparently, Louisie has spent a lot of his money funding that album he was working on. Plus, his life insurance had lapsed due to lack of payment. And he did, now he did have $100,000 accidental [music] death insurance. He did have that. But how that works, if you die while under the influence, the terms are voided. Wow, that’s crazy. And you know, his baby mama Jules just ended up taking the

GoFundMe page down. She took that took the GoFundMe page down due to issues [music] with his family. Man, that’s sad, man. You know, she stated that a lot of his money was made in the 90s. And you know, Louisie helped a lot of people that was in need. Man, Louisie Rankin was man, Louisie was a great actor and a great artist. My opinion, man. He was dope. He was dope. He will truly be missed. He was 66 years old. Rest in peace, the original dandada, Louis Rankin.