Veteran dancehall artiste Nardo Ranks is the official brand ambassador for Maxx Outt clothing line. The New York-based brand is owned by Jamaican Pete Thomas.

In an interview last weekend, the deejay, who is based in the United States, said he is excited to be associated with the product.

“As an up-and-coming brand, I feel very proud to be the face and to know that a Jamaican is the person behind the brand itself. For me to be aligned with Maxx Outt, it signifies that a Jamaican can do whatever they put their minds to. We are very innovative,” said Nardo Ranks.

Thomas, 33, is known in entertainment circles as Anzed. Originally from McCooks Pen, St Catherine, he was raised in Kitson Town in that parish.

“The idea for Maxx Outt came about originally in Jamaica in 2012. Since 2019, the brand has been based in New York. The line consists of formal, semi-formal, casual, and athletic wear. The designs are distributed throughout North America and a few places in Jamaica,” he said.

Maxx Outt’s target market are men, women, children, and infants.

“After getting a chance to meet Nardo Ranks personally, I had always appreciated his outstanding appearance, how he mixes his style, profoundly different, and his consistent display of creative style. He was the right fit for the brand,” Thomas stated.

He added that there are plans to market Maxx Outt in Jamaica. Limited promotion of the line has taken place here with Hot Topics, a company based in Kitson Town.”

Nardo Ranks came to national attention in 1992 when he scored a hit with Dem A Bleach, a response to Buju Banton’s Love Mi Browning. Dem A Bleach, produced by Sly and Robbie, topped the RJR Top 40 chart for six weeks in the summer of 1992.

Born Gary Henderson, Nardo Ranks is from the Dunkirk area of east Kingston. He got his start in music as a selector on the Cave Man Hi-Power sound system in 1985.

In 1993 he signed with American company Profile Records and released the album Rough Nardo. It contained the hit single Burrup, which peaked at number 16 on Billboard’s Dance Music Maxi-Singles Sales Chart.

Nardo Ranks has dabbled in acting, appearing in the independent films Jamaican Mafia and Jump Off. Who Does That, Mek yuh Body Bounce and Out There (with Flashmo) are some of his latest songs.