AphroChic Magazine: Issue No. 4

Sounds
Ranky Tanky
The Award-Winning Quintet’s Latest Album Good Time Offers
the World s Taste of the Gullah Music of the Carolina Coast
There was a time when African
American culture was thought to be devoid of
“Africanisms,” those unique cultural components
that are direct survivals of older, African
practices. The idea was that the form of
slavery practiced in the United States was so
complete in its extermination of pre-existing
culture among those it enslaved that no such
links remained. It was never true, of course.
Finding Africa in American culture is easy —
just listen to the music. Better yet, listen to
where it came from.
When Quiana Parler’s voice comes in
on “Stand By Me,” the first song off of Ranky
Tanky’s Good Time album, you feel it. “Be my
redeemer. You’ll be my healer. You’ll be my
teacher. Oh Lord stand by me.” It feels old,
even ancient. It doesn’t feel like her voice
alone, but as if all of the ancestors are singing
along with her.
“Ranky Tanky loosely translated means
‘work it get funky’ in the Gullah language,”
says Parler. With each song you can hear the
roots of Black music — and by extension all
the music of America. Funk, jazz, country,
R&B, Soul, and Hip-Hop — it’s all in there,
waiting to be rediscovered. Even such wellknown
folk songs as “Kum Bah Yah,” have
Sea Island roots. “Gullah music is the root
of all [American] music. That’s why we were
so excited to be celebrated at The Grammys.
It was the first time that Gullah music was
finally acknowledged.”
When you first hear the group, with their
bluesy riffs and soulful harmonies, it’s easy to
hear the history that they share. The quintet
has a natural facility with each other — a
language that they uniquely share that helps
create a whole that is more than the sum of its
parts. “The guys have been playing together
for 20 years,” Parler remarks. “They went to
college together and they formed Ranky Tanky
before I came along. I’ve been friends with
some of them since I was nine years old. So
when they wanted to add a singer, here I was.”
Parler’s vocals are backed by percussionist
Quentin Baxter, bassist Kevin
Hamilton, guitarist Clay Ross, and trumpet
player Charlton Singleton. The five members
of the band, and the music they create, are all
connected through their Gullah roots. Each
member is from a different part of the Sea
Islands — an interconnected series of small
islands where many clear Africanisms still
survive today. “The Gullah language is deeply
rooted in our DNA,” says Parler.” This is what
we live every day. It’s what we’ve always lived
and breathed. This is who we are.”
The historical value of that DNA is on
full display in Good Time. A litany of songs
showcase new treatments of age-old traditions
derived from spirituals, work songs and
the Old Time Religion of the South Carolina
Lowcountry. There are playful songs like
“Green Sally,” as well as gospel revelries and
original music like “Freedom” and “Stand By
Me,” written by Parler herself.
“There’s so many messages hidden in
these songs,” the singer says, reflecting on the
importance of the music then and what it can
mean to us today. “They were written to help
free the slaves or tell the slaves to get ready to
escape. Some of the Gullah songs and spirituals
we sing in church are encoded songs that
had embedded messages in them. I’m still
learning what some of these songs meant.”
Ranky Tanky has spent years taking
Gullah music beyond the Americas and
around the globe. Their success has brought
long overdue acknowledgment to the music
and the culture that sustains it. “Clay was
touring the world with his band Matuto, and
was seeing every culture celebrated, except
the Gullah culture and the Gullah community.
With Ranky Tanky what we wanted to do was
bring awareness to a beautiful culture that
wasn’t known or being celebrated musically
outside of our region.”
Good Time is a stirring introduction to
the roots of American music. The group not
only sings worldwide, but has introduced educational
workshops in various cities where
they teach music and history to both children
and adults. “People are hungry for history and
knowledge. We’re the musical ambassadors of
our history.” AC
Words by Jeanine Hays
Photo by Peter Frank Edwards
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