Cutty Ranks, born Philip Thomas in Jamaica in 1965, is a reggae and dancehall artist. His stage name stems from his sometime employment as a butcher. At the age of 14, he began his career as a reggae artist on sound systems such as Gemini, Rebel Tone, and Papa Roots. Early on in his dee jaying career he was influenced by Josey Wales. He joined Killamanjaro where he worked alongside Early B, Super Cat, Puddy Roots, and Little Twitch. His prominence on sound systems evolved in the mid-to-late 1980s on SturMars and Metromedia