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Beenie Man - Jamaican Reggae Artists and Groups

Beenie Man

Beenie Man Biography

Anthony Moses Davis (born August 22, 1973 in Kingston, Jamaica), better known by his stage name Beenie Man, is among the most popular reggae entertainers and is a well established dancehall artist.

Beenie Man was involved in the music industry from a young age when he won the Tastee Talent contest in 1980. Only one year later (1981), when he was eight years old, he recorded a single, "Too Fancy", with record producer "Junjo" Lawes. By 1983, Beenie Man was recording with heavyweight DJs, such as Dillinger and Fathead and released his debut album, The Invincible Beenie Man: The Ten Year Old DJ Wonder and the single "Over the Sea." After such a prodigious start the artist's career lost momentum in the middle of the eighties decade. 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 towards the end of the decade.

The lead single, "Hmm Hmm" is vintage Beenie at his best with infectious choruses and unforgettable melodies. However, is it really any surprise that the man behind over 1000 songs would be able to make an LP with such a [sure] title? "Music is in me since I was little," he says. "My uncle had a DJ set up and I got my start doing that before I was 6 years old." Perhaps in part due to the fact that he still spins to this day, since childhood Beenie has had his finger on the pulse of . Consequently by 7 he had recorded his first single, and by 10 he had released his first long-player, The Invincible Beenie Man.

Throughout the '80s he continued to record, perform and DJ. In '92 Beenie made a splash at the famous Reggae Sun Splash by going after rival Bounty Killer in what would become an infamous back-and-forth. Though the following year they would squash it and record a split album, Gunz Out. Shortly thereafter Beenie release a remake of Bob Marley's "No Woman, No Cry", titled "No Mama, No Cry", which was produced by legendary tracksmen Sly and Robbie. It was during this collaboration that Beenie was enlightened to the Rastafarian doctrine and eventually converted. A slew of national hits ensued through out the mid nineties, including "World Dance" and "Slam." But it was in 1997, on the strength of his crossover smash of his Grammy-nominated Many Moods Of Moses and it's single "Who Am I?", that Beenie exploded as an international superstar. And in doing so for himself, he opened ears and doors for everyone in his genre around the world, but especially in the.

Around the same time Beenie made his acting debut in the critically acclaimed Dancehall Queen. He then went on to The Doctor and Y2K, in '98 and '99, for VP Records. Both considered dancehall classics in their own rights, solidified his core base. Virgin records responded to Beenie's breakout success and signed him. Art And Life, his debut on the new label, truly broke him stateside. Monster hits like the Neptunes produced "Girls Dem Sugar" featuring Mya, and the Wyclef-guested, Saalam Remi produced "Love Me Now" took him to the top of the pops. From there Beenie continued to churn out hits at home and abroad. "I still do singles, and DJ," he says. "Because it is important to never lose touch and stay in what's going on. And I still love it, as well." His 2002 set, Tropical Storm only further solidified him in the with it's brilliant collaboration with Janet Jackson, "Feel It Boy".

However it was his latest, Back-To-Basics, which is arguably the closest thing dancehall has seen to a summer-blockbuster-esque album a la Get Rich Or Die Trying. The LP yielded hit after hit after hit. Undeniable anthems like "Dude" and "King Of The Dancehall" served to coronate Beenie as truly undisputed in every sense of the word. "I've broken down every barrier and broken every record," says the man who's been nominated for 3 Grammys and won multiple MOBOs in the , in a tone of absolute humility, referring back to Undisputed. "So this album is just one more step forward." Was there ever any doubt? One of Jamaica's most crucial DJs, Beenie Man's recording career stretches back to 1981, although it was in the sound systems where he later made his mark. The witty toaster began his true ascent to stardom in the early '90s, and by 1994, his reputation couldn't be beat.

Then again, when you're a recording veteran at age ten, one wonders just what took him so long. Every country has its child stars; just look at Shirley Temple, but few treat their prodigies with the respect of Jamaica. Talent competitions lead to radio and TV appearances, and even record contracts, but what's truly amazing is how many of these charming tots continue their career into adulthood. Elsewhere, early stardom inevitably leads to adolescent failure as they're a lot less cute at 18 than they were at eight. But not Jamaica, where they love them as toddlers, adore them as teens, and worship them as adults. Beenie Man is just one stellar example.

Beenie Man (aka Moses Davis) was born in the tough Waterhouse district of Kingston, Jamaica, on August 22, 1973. By the time he was ready for school, the toddler had already decided on a career as a DJ. He wasn't the first tot with dreams of the limelight, but Beenie actually had a true gift for gab. His shot at stardom came when he was only eight, when he took first prize at the national Teeny Talent contest. This led to a meeting with producer Junjo Lawes, who recorded the diminutive DJ's debut single, "Too Fancy." Bunny Lee then took the boy under his wing and put him to work at his Unlimited sound system. By 1983, the youngster found himself appearing on Lawes' Junjo Presents Two Big Sounds, which was recorded live and featured such DJ heavyweights as Dillinger and Fathead. Along with Unlimited, Beenie was also DJing at Prince Jammy's Volcano sound systems, had a hit single to his credit, "Over the Sea," produced by Niney Holness, and even had a debut album out. Produced by Lee, The Invincible Beenie Man, the 10 Year Old DJ Wonder's title pretty much sums it all up. He recorded some songs with Barrington Levy in 1984, two of which, "Under Mi Sensi" and "Two Sounds," would resurface in remixed form later in the '90s. But for the moment, his recording career came virtually to a close, bar the occasional single. But the young DJ remained a sound system favorite, even as he now turned his attention to his schoolwork.

Not surprisingly, Beenie's younger brother, Little Kirk, was keen to follow in his footsteps, and five years later the siblings hooked up with producer Patrick Roberts and began recording a series of singles that quickly brought them into the national spotlight. In 1992, Beenie appeared at Reggae Sunsplash and such was the response that the DJ now felt ready to take on the big guns. Beenie's first target was the acclaimed Bounty Killer, although the young DJ had cause for his attack as the veteran had stolen his catch phrase, "people dead," and the war was on. There was a lull in the very public battle in 1993 when Beenie left Kingston for almost a year after being booed off the stage at a national show celebrating the visit of Nelson Mandela. Upon his return the next year, there was a public reconciliation with Bounty Killer, which resulted in the split album Guns Out.

Beenie had obviously had a major change of heart, further evidenced by his single "No Mama No Cry," a version of Bob Marley's "No Woman No Cry," a scathing indictment of violence, inspired by the murder of fellow DJ Pan Head. The song topped the Jamaican chart and brought the DJ instant acclaim. Jamaica's violent crime rate remains shockingly high and affects people at all levels of society. While drug overdoses and suicide are a proportionately high cause of death for American artists, murder is often the tragic cause in Jamaica. That many of these crimes go unsolved, Pan Head's included, add to the emotional devastation and so does the fact that the violence seemingly comes in waves, carrying off a number of noted figures in the course of a year. Beenie, too, was affected by these events and Sly & Robbie, the producers of his "No Mama No Cry" single, were instrumental in guiding the young DJ toward his conversion to Rastafarianism.

A new attitude and a new hit single instantly turned Beenie's career around. Now working with all the island's top producers, the DJ recorded a slew of singles, many of them religiously themed, "Praise Him" and "World Dance" (which took the Best Single Award at the Jamaican Music Awards) included. The hits-heavy Defend It and Dis Unu Fi Hear were both released in 1994 and combined more culturally themed raps with a hardcore dancehall sound. Many of these singles, bar the Taxi releases, were rounded up on Gold by the British Charm label. Beenie's stardom was confirmed by his taking the DJ of the Year Award that same year. Signing to Island Records, Beenie released the seminal Blessed album, which featured another clutch of hits, including the dancehall smash "Slam."

While in the U.K., the DJ fired the British dancefloors with a jungle remix of "Under Mi Sensi." 1995 also brought a pair of collaborative albums, including Three Against War, which united the DJ with Dennis Brown and Triston Palma, and Mad Cobra Meets Lt. Stitchie & Beenie Man, a tag-team dancehall affair. Joined by Lady Saw, Beenie also scored a major hit with "Healer" that year, just one of many successful collaborative singles that included "Papa Was a Rolling Stone," which paired him with Third World. By the end of the year, Beenie was a shoo-in for the DJ of the Year Award. 1996 brought Maestro, Beenie's first "real" album, as compared to his previous hits collections. Produced by Patrick Roberts, it was a stunning effort featuring a kaleidoscope of moods. The following year proved to be his break out in Britain, when his and Chevelle Franklin's "Dance Hall Queen" bounced up the national chart. Both that single and its follow-up, "Who Am I," were number ones back at home, while the latter rocketed its way into the U.K. Top Ten. In fact, Beenie Man could now do no wrong, and a sound system's worth of his singles flew their way up the Jamaican chart that year and the next. The autobiographical Many Moods of Moses features a number of these smashes, including "Oysters & Conch" and "Foundation."

After headlining Reggae Sunsplash in 1998, Beenie signed to Virgin Records in the U.S.; The Doctor was the first fruit of this new union and was an instant dancehall classic. 1999 brought the King Jammy-produced album Y2K, which never actually mentions everyone's greatest fear that year -- the millennium bug, but does take on a host of other issues from AIDS to illiteracy. And the hit singles just kept on coming, and coming, and coming. Beenie was unstoppable, whether on his own or with other artists, and at times the Jamaican chart seemed to be the DJ's private preserve. "Hot Bwoy" with Buccaneer, "Mi Nu Walla," "Forget You," "Ruff Like We" with Redrose, "100 Dollar Bag," "So Nice" with Silvercat, "In This Together," "Skettel Tune" with Angel Doolas, and "L.O.Y." are just a sampling of the singles the DJ released between 1999 and 2000. The Art & Life album, released in the new century, showcased the DJ at his most eclectic and included guests Arturo Sandoval and Wyclef Jean of Fugees fame. The following year, Beenie reunited with Jean behind the mixing board to produce the debut album by actor Steven Seagal. Janet Jackson, the Neptunes, Lady Saw, and Lil' Kim all turned up as guests on 2002's Tropical Storm, the Beenie Man album with the most crossover appeal. 2004's Back to Basics was just that, a straight-up return to dancehall. The hit-collecting compilation From Kingston to King of the Dancehall appeared in early 2005, and Undisputed, which featured production work from Scott Storch and Don Corleon, among others.

Beenie Man Discography:-

Jamaican Reggae Artists and Reggae Groups
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