Beenie Man – Dancehall Reggae
Beenie Man is one of the greatest dancehall artists of all times. Originally Anthony Moses Davis, he was born in the district of Waterhouse, JamHe was involved in the music industry from a young age, starting toasting at the age of five, and was encouraged by his uncle Sydney Wolf, who played drums for Jimmy Cliff.
He won the Tastee Talent contest in 1981, and Radio DJ Barry G introduced him to local 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, Fathead, and 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.
In 1998, Beenie Man headlined Reggae Sunsplash and signed to Virgin Records to release albums in the America. 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 singer, Mya.
During this time he received an impressive number of international music awards including a MOBO Award for Best International Reggae Act in 1998, while remaining at the top of the local charts. In 2000, Beenie Man released Art & Life, which featured Arturo Sandoval and Wyclef Jean for which received a Grammy 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”.
All through the years since his start Beenie Man has had hit after hit and doesn’t seem to be going to stop anytime soon. He is one of the few dancehall artists to reach that high international status and he has secured his place in dancehall history an he is look upon as a guideline for the up coming artists.
