Beenie Man

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Biography

Anthony Moses Davis (August 22, 1973), better known by his stage name Beenie Man , is a Grammy award winning Jamaica n reggae artist. He is the self-proclaimed "King of the Dancehall ".

Biography

Davis was born in the Waterhouse district of Kingston, Jamaica|Waterhouse district of Kingston in 1973.Moskowitz, David V. (2006) Caribbean Popular Music: an Encyclopedia of Reggae, Mento, Ska, Rock Steady, and Dancehall , Greenwood Press, ISBN 0-313-33158-8, p. 24 He was involved in the music industry from a young age, starting toasting at the age of five, and was encouraged by his uncle Sydney Wolfe, who played drums for Jimmy Cliff .Roper, Rasheen (2005) , Jamaica Observer , 18 January 2005 He won the Tastee Talent contest in 1981,Jackson, Kevin (2003) , Jamaica Observer , 22 August 2003 and Radio DJ Barry G introduced him to local Sound system (Jamaican)|sound system operators, who helped to establish the popularity of the young deejay, who became known as Beenie Man. He recorded his debut single, "Too Fancy", with record producer Henry "Junjo" Lawes in 1981, with Lawes also including him on the 1983 album Junjo Presents Two Big Sounds alongside established stars such as Dillinger (musician)|Dillinger , Fathead (musician)|Fathead , and Johnny Ringo (musician)|Ringo . His debut album, The Invincible Beenie Man: The Ten Year Old DJ Wonder was produced by Bunny Lee and released in 1983, his first hit single following the same year with the Winston Holness -produced "Over the Sea". In 1984 Beenie Man recorded some material with Barrington Levy (released ten years later), but his music career was put on hold while he finished school, and spent time travelling to the United Kingdom , United States , and Canada .

1990s return

Beenie Man continued performing and honed his craft beside the then dominant dancehall figures including Ninjaman , Admiral Bailey and Shabba Ranks . He found his artistic home at the Shocking Vibes studio where he continued to record singles with only moderate success in the early 1990s. His career gained momentum after a performance at the Reggae Sunsplash festival in 1992, and a rivalry with Bounty Killer began the following year after Beenie Man was accused of stealing Bounty Killer's style and catch phrases. The rivalry was captured on the 1994 album Guns Out , with the two artists settling the feud with a soundclash. Beenie Man had his first number one single in Jamaica in 1993 with "Matie", and he won the DJ of the Year Award the same year, the first of eight consecutive awards.

International stardom

Partially as a result of prodding from his producers, Sly and Robbie , with whom he recorded cover version s of Bob Marley 's "Crazy Baldheads" and "No Woman No Cry" in 1994, the latter a Jamaican chart-topper, Beenie Man converted to the Rastafari movement , as did several of his contemporaries at the time, although in 2005 he stated "I have not converted. I was baptised an Ethiopian Orthodox and at the age of 10 I became a Judah Coptic." In 1994, he was signed by Island Records and released the critically acclaimed album Blessed (Beenie Man album)|Blessed , which established his reputation internationally. In 1995 he toured the UK and joined up again with Barrington Levy to record an updated Oldschool jungle|jungle version of Levy's "Under Mi Sensi".

In 1995, Beenie Man collaborated with Dennis Brown and Triston Palmer to release Three Against War and Mad Cobra and Lieutenant Stitchie on Mad Cobra Meets Lt. Stitchie & Beenie Man . He also collaborated with Lady Saw on "Healing", Sanchez (singer)|Sanchez on "Refugee", and Michael Prophet on "Gun 'n' Bass", further establishing his reputation. He took another step up the ladder in 1996, releasing the seminal Maestro , produced by Patrick Roberts and shot him to UK fame. During the period from the mid to late 1990s, Beenie Man dominated the Jamaican charts to the extent that he perhaps had a good claim to the crown of "Dancehall King", a title only bestowed previously on Yellowman in the early 1980s.
Beenie Man's first real break into the United States came in 1997. He heard an instrumental rhythm by an unknown producer named Jeremy Harding, and demanded to add his voice to the rhythm. So this was the birth of his first international hit; he recorded " Who Am I (Beenie Man song)|Who Am I " and the single quickly went Gold. It opened the doors for the world to see a new reggae star in the pages of Newsweek and other major media outlets. The same year, Beenie Man topped the Jamaican singles chart with seven different singles.

Beenie Man appeared as himself in the 1997 film Dancehall Queen .

In 1998, Beenie Man headlined Reggae Sunsplash and signed to Virgin Records to release albums in the United States . His first American offering was The Doctor (1998). During the late 1990s, Beenie Man began his conquest of America with the hits, "Romie", "Who Am I", and "Girls Dem Sugar", which featured American R& B singer, Mýa . During this time he received an impressive number of international music awards including a MOBO Awards|MOBO Award for Best International Reggae Act in 1998,Rodgers, Jennifer (1998) , The Independent , 6 February 1998 while remaining at the top of the local charts. In 2000, Beenie Man released Art & Life , which featured Arturo Sandoval and Wyclef Jean ( The Fugees ), for which received a Grammy Award for Best Reggae Album. In the same year he co-produced (with Wyclef Jean ) the debut album by actor Steven Seagal . Beenie Man, like many dancehall artists is outspoken on a number of social issues, as exemplified by songs such as "Steve Biko" and "Murderer".. October 31, 2007., Hardbeatnews . New York, NY, Thurs. Nov. 1, 2007.

In 2002, he had a sizeable hit with a duet with Janet Jackson called " Feel It Boy ", but his biggest break in America came in early 2004 with the release of a remix of " Dude (song)|Dude ", featuring guest vocals by fellow Jamaican Ms. Thing, as well as rhymes by Shawnna . He thus cemented his fan base on both sides of the Atlantic.

He had hits in the UK in 1998 with "Who am I" (#10), in 2003 with "Street Life" (#13) and " Feel It Boy " (UK #9), a duet with Janet Jackson , and in 2004 with "Dude" (#7) and "King of the Dancehall" (#14)., ChartStats

He was also a judge for the 6th annual The Independent Music Awards|Independent Music Awards to support independent artists' careers.

In April 2008 it was announced that Beenie Man was to co-write and star in the film Kingston .Peru, Yasmine (2008) , Jamaica Observer , 25 April 2008
In October 2010 Beenie Man came out with the EP "I'm Drinking Rum and Red Bull", which included 4 songs, "Im drinking Rum and Red Bull", "I'm Okay", and two versions of "Stack and Pile". He later relaased the full album on February 28, 2011. "Im Drinking Rum and Red Bull" features Future Fambo.
In September 2008 Beenie Man was cleared of charges of tax evasion., BBC , 1 October 2008

In April 2009, Beenie Man signed with Brookland Entertainment, a new record label formed by Eric Nicks and The Trackmasters, in preparation to release his new album, "The Legend Returns". The music video for the release of his new single “Gimme Gimme” will be shot in Canada on April 18, 2009.

Personal life

Beenie Man married Michelle "D'Angel" Downer, Bounty Killa's ex-girlfriend and the pair set up the MAFIA House Production Company together. They have a son together, Marco Dean,Sadeke Brooks: The Jamaica Star online, March 2010 born in November 2006. In June 2007, Beenie Man separated from his wife due to her infidelity. In March 2010, they released the single "You Are My First" together, although (according to D'Angel) while still married they remained separate.

Lyrical controversy anchor|Lyrical Controversy

The lyrics to some of his songs have been criticized for inciting the murder of homosexual s. He was removed from the 2004 MTV Video Music Awards after protests by gay-rights activists.(August 26, 2004). USA Today . Accessed June 22, 2008. That same year, Beenie Man was stopped by police at Heathrow Airport in London, after the cancellation of a concert in England.Branigan, Tania (2004) , The Guardian , 25 June 2004 He then issued an apology for the lyrics through his record company.Clennell, Andrew (2004) , The Independent , 4 August 2004 In 2005, gay rights group OutRage! suspended their opposition to Beenie Man after he agreed not to play songs featuring homophobic lyrics, and he performed in London that year., BBC , 18 March 2005 The following year, he claimed his lyrics were anti- pedophilia , not against consensual homosexual relationships.Egere-Cooper (2006) , The Independent , 11 August 2006

In 2007, it was reported that Beenie Man, along with several other artists, had signed the Reggae Compassionate Act, an agreement to cease performances of anti-gay material.Swash, Rosie (2007) , The Guardian , 14 June 2007 He later denied that he had signed the act.Wright, Keril (2007) , Jamaica Observer , 22 July 2007
As of 2010, protests have continued to cause cancellations of his concerts in some countries, including New Zealand, Belgium and the Netherlands.. GayNZ.com. 15 November 2009.. De Telegraaf . 21 June 2010.. De Telegraaf . 23 June 2010.

Discography

Albums

Studio albums

1983: The Invincible Beenie Man: The Incredible Ten Year Old DJ Wonder - Bunny Lee

1992: Cool Cool Rider - VP

1994: Dis Unu Fi Hear - High Tone

1994: Defend It VP Records|VP

1994: Guns Out with Bounty Killer - Greensleeves Records|Greensleeves

1995: Blessed (Beenie Man album)|Blessed - Island Records|Island

1995: Maestro - Greensleeves & VP

1995: Mad Cobra Meets Lt. Stitchie & Beenie Man - VP

1997: Many Moods Of Moses - VP

1999: Y2K - Artists Only

1999: Ruff n Tuff

1999: The Doctor (Beenie Man album)|The Doctor - VP

2000: Art and Life - Virgin Records|Virgin

2001: Black Liberty

2001: Youth Quake

2002: Tropical Storm (album)|Tropical Storm

2004: Back to Basics (Beenie Man album)|Back to Basics

2006: Concept of Life

2006: Hundred Dollar Bag

2006: Undisputed (Beenie Man album)|Undisputed

2007: Monsters of Dancehall

2009: The Legend Returns

2011: TBA

Compilations

1995: All the Best

2000: Best of Beenie Man

2002: Gold - The Very Best of - Charm

2005: Kingston to King of the Dancehall

2005: Greatest Hits So Far

Live albums

2004: Live in San Francisco

Mixtapes and unofficial releases

2000: Trendsetter

2004: Cool Cool Rider - The Roots of a Dancehall Don

2006: Its Ah& #33; Beenie (riddim mixtape)

2007: Monsters of Dancehall

Singles

1981: "Too Fancy"

1983: "Over the Sea"

1993: "Matie" (PROD by Dave and Donovan Mills and Efraim Barrett on the Shelly Power label)

1995: "Slam"

1995: "Romie"

1995: "Old Dog"

1995: "Healing" (with Lady Saw )

1997: "Dancehall Queen" (with Chevelle Franklin)

1998: " Who Am I (Sim Simma) "

1998: "Tell Me"

2000: "Jungle Boogie" (featuring Sly and Robbie )

2000: "Love Me Now" (featuring Wyclef Jean )

2000: " Girls Dem Sugar " (featuring Mýa )

2002: "Fresh from Yard" (featuring Lil' Kim )

2002: " Feel It Boy " (featuring Janet Jackson )

2002: "Red Red Red" (with Robyn )

2003: "Street Life" (featuring Assia (singer)|Assia )

2003: " Bossman (song)|Bossman " (featuring Sean Paul and Lady Saw )

2004: " Dude (song)|Dude " (featuring Ms. Thing and Shawnna )

2004: " King of the Dancehall "

2005: "Specialists" (featuring Vybz Kartel )

2006: " Girls (Beenie Man song)|Girls " (featuring Akon )

2006: "Hmm Hmm"

2006: "Dreaming of You" (featuring Alaine Laughton|Alaine )

2007: "Give It Up" (featuring Barbee (musician)|Barbee )

2008: "Wine Gyal"

2008: "Pickney Nah Hold Yah Dung"

2008: "Gimme Gimme"

2010: "I'm Drinking/Rum & Red Bull"

Featured singles

1996: "Sound Clash" ( Dream Warriors featuring Beenie Man)

1996: "Hands In the Air" ( Doug E. Fresh featuring Beenie Man)

1999: "Outa Space (UFOs)" ( Machel Montano featuring Beenie Man); album Any Minute Now (Soca album)|Any Minute Now

2000: " Money (Jamelia song)|Money " ( Jamelia featuring Beenie Man)

2001: "I'm Serious" ( T.I. featuring Beenie Man)

2004: "Compton" ( Guerilla Black featuring Beenie Man)

2005: "Soul on Fire" ( KMC (musician)|KMC featuring Beenie Man)

2006: "Belly Danza" ( Don Omar featuring Beenie Man)

2006: "Zingy" ( Ak'Sent featuring Beenie Man)

2006: " Flow Natural " ( Tito El Bambino featuring Deevani and Beenie Man)

2006: "Heaven Baby" (Brooke Hogan featuring Beenie Man)

2007: "Back It Up"

2008: "Better than Dem" ( Natasja Saad|Natasja featuring Beenie Man)

2008: "Scorpion" (Nisha B. featuring Beenie Man)

2008: "Burnin' Burnin" (Ms. Triniti featuring Beenie Man)

2009: "Get It On" (Rasun featuring Beenie Man)

2009: "Giggle" ( Busta Rhymes featuring Beenie Man)

2009: "Woman"

2009: "International" ( Chali 2na featuring Beenie Man)

2009: "Pleasure" (2G featuring Beenie Man and Chris S)

Notes

Copyright Citations

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1. T.O.K. 2. Mr. Vegas 3. TOK 4. I Wayne 5. Vybz Kartel

World Music Artists

Beenie Man

Biography

Biography

1990s return

International stardom

Personal life

Lyrical controversy anchor|Lyrical Controversy

Discography

Albums

Studio albums

Compilations

Live albums

Mixtapes and unofficial releases

Singles

Featured singles

Notes

References

Further reading

External links

Copyright Citations