Shenseea’s debut album Alpha was released last Friday (March 11) and one of the critic’s pick hits to rise from the LP is Henkel Glue featuring Beenie Man. With 30 years of hit making under his belt, Henkel Glue is the latest for the entertainer which is currently number 1 on Apple Music Jamaica. While many artists struggle to find one, Beanie boasts 6 entries on the hot 100 and a couple Bubbling Under tracks like “Tell Me” , and “Hmm Hmm” which ended up on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart. “Bossman” peaked at number one and “I’m Drinking / Rum & Red Bull” peaked at number 12 on the Bubbling Under R&B/Hip-Hop Singles chart.
So too did “Hands in the Air”, and Compton which peaked at number 3 on the Bubbling Under R&B/Hip-Hop Singles chart, and “I’m Serious” peaked at number ten on the Bubbling Under R&B/Hip-Hop Singles chart.
He also has over 1000 Jamaican number 1 singles and Girls Dem Sugar with Mya was named one of Billboards 100 greatest hits of the 2000. The icon has A Grammy and MOBO Awards and he has been DJ of the year several times as he is known for setting many trends in the industry. His work largely defined the sound of 1990s and early 2000’s dancehall and is one the most sought after headline acts in Dancehall and Reggae music globally. A known crowd puller he is one the best entertainers to ever grace the stage.
Never one to back down from an opportunity , today we take a look at 5 times Beenie Man reinvented himself and claimed his space at the top of the dancehall conversation.
1. With the Maestro Album (VP, Greensleeves). The 1996 by Beenie Man album experimented with different sounds. The title track Maestro finds him singing “Mi nuh want nuh Idle Jubie come and hackle my body I saaayyy” in a pseudo opera style. The album debuted at number 3 on the Billboard reggae charts. He said, at a party by Island Records in 1996 in Miami “Where Dancehall is concerned you have to give people things they never hear about…you have to be a leader; you can’t be a follower”.
2. With His Onstage Live Shows.
Whenever he was on stage or on a show he was always the most dominant in the conception. I liken him to an athlete who shows up for the small and Big meets. One of Beenie Man’s best performances that placed dancehall and reggae music on another level was Beenie Man on tour in Sacramento with his full band. On this show Beenie Man performed countless dancehall hits wearing a full suit. This was unprecedented for the dancehall culture and it has never been duplicated in that market. He performed his hits as well as premiered new songs like “Bad Man Badda Than The Rest”. Every artist who wishes to perfect their craft as a performer should watch this as an example to follow. His vocal control, physical antics and crowd interactions are comparable only to James Brown.
3. While Promoting his 15th solo album; Tropical Storm.
He took his DJ skills to Rap City Tha Basement with Big Tigger in one of the best freestyle as the ‘riddim’ switch from Neptunes Grindin’ to Sly And Robbie’s “Murder She Wrote” Beenie Man didn’t miss a beat delivering lyrical slayage like America has never seen before. Tropical Storm album is a mix of dancehall and reggae fusion, with hit singles such as “Feel It Boy” featuring R&B singer Janet Jackson and “Bossman” featuring Lady Saw And Sean Paul. It was executive produced by Dave Kelly and featured work from some of the biggest producers such as Neptunes, Tony Kelly, Irv Gotta and Sly Dunbar. It went to number 18 on the Billboard 200 albums chart, number 7 on the Hip Hop/R&B albums chart, and number 1 on the Billboard Reggae albums chart. The Guardian in reviewing the album said, “Touching on women, gang life and the responsibility of being the guy all the girls want, he has concocted an inclusive, can’t-fail brew”.
4. With “Who Am I (Sim Simma)”.
Who Am I is the second track on his album Many Moods of Moses released in 1997. The track produced by Jeremy Harding introduced Beenie Man to the world as a reggae superstar. Parts of this song was used for his “Girls Dem Sugar” hit featuring Mýa which was released three years later in 2000. It is one of the most sampled and recognizable dancehall songs. Everyone from Nicky Minaj to Joyner Lucas have borrowed Beenie Man’s “Who am I/Sim Simma” lyrics for their hit songs.
5. With Versuz
During the pandemic live shows came to a standstill and Swizz Beats and Timbaland decided to trade jabs and showcase their catalogue on instagram. The idea grew into an online performance show and Beenie Man and his long time rival Bounty Killer did the show. Their performance changed the format of the show and the world immediately knew what many Jamaicans knew all along, that Beenie Man is one of the best performers in the world. The defining moment of the preference was when Bounty Killer’s DJ put on a riddim and Beenie Man spontaneously went ahead and did a freestyle performance in the middle of Bounty Killer’s set. Bounty who would not be outdone then entered and the two went back and forth in a magical dancehall performance. The bar was set and every performance on Versuz since then happened in one location. Versuz has since been bought by Triller and Beenie and Bounty Killer are the only Jamaican entertainers to have shares in the billion dollar company.
