Beenie Man

Dancehall DJ Beenie Man recorded his first single by the age of eight, and continued from that point forward to become one of the more internationally successful names in reggae for decades to come. Throughout the ’90s he scored multiple hits with various producers, and was in a state of near-constant output with albums like 1995’s hard-edged Blessed, balancing a ruff ‘n’ tuff gangster delivery with moments of lover’s rock and undercurrents of humor. His energy for creating new music stayed strong as the years wore on, and Beenie Man produced a steady stream of tracks about sex, partying, and his position as the king of dancehall well into the 2010s and beyond, with albums like 2016’s Unstoppable and new singles throughout the 2020s like the 2022 hook-up anthem “Want Some.”
Beenie Man was born Moses Davis in the Waterhouse district of Kingston, Jamaica, on August 22, 1973. His first shot at stardom came when he was only eight, when won the national Teeny Talent contest. This led to a meeting with producer Junjo Lawes, who recorded his debut single, “Too Fancy.” Bunny Lee then took the boy under his wing and put him to work at his Unlimited sound system. Lee produced Beenie Man’s 1983 debut, The Invincible Beenie Man (The 10 Year Old DJ Wonder), and the young artist collaborated on a few songs with Barrington Levy in 1984, but after that he returned his focus to schoolwork for a time. In 1992, now a proper teenager, Beenie reactivated his music career by appearing at Reggae Sunsplash and releasing second album Cool Cool Rider. After Beenie Man spent a brief period publicly squabbling with veteran DJ Bounty Killer, the two reconciled and collaborated on 1993 album Guns Out.
His Sly & Robbie-produced 1994 single “No Mama No Cry,” a version of Bob Marley’s “No Woman No Cry,” topped the Jamaican chart and brought the DJ instant acclaim. Now working with all the island’s top producers, he recorded a slew of songs, many of them religiously themed due to a recent conversion to Rastafarianism, including “Praise Him” and “World Dance.” Full-length albums Defend It and Dis Unu Fi Hear were both released in 1994 and combined more culturally themed raps with a hardcore dancehall sound. In 1995, Beenie signed to Island Records and released Blessed, which included international dancehall smash “Slam.” Throughout the rest of the ’90s, Beenie Man was on fire, frequently releasing new tracks, albums, and collaborations with peers like Mad Cobra and Dennis Brown. He was at such a high level of stardom by that point, that he appeared as himself in the 1997 reggae-adjacent film Dancehall Queen. After headlining Reggae Sunsplash in 1998, Beenie signed to Virgin Records in the U.S. and released the new King Jammy-produced album The Doctor with them the next year.
The Art & Life, released in 2000, showcased the DJ at his most eclectic and included guests Arturo Sandoval and Wyclef Jean of Fugees fame. 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. Released in 2004, 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, while Concept of Life and Undisputed, which featured production work from Scott Storch and Don Corleon, among others, were released the next year.
Beenie co-wrote and starred in the film Kingston in 2008 and continued to release singles like “Drinking Rum and Red Bull” (2010), “Let’s Go” (2011), “Wine Gal” (2012), and “Thug Love” (2013). In 2015, he lent his talents to tracks by Teddybears (“Broken Heartbeat”) and Rihanna (“Bitch Better Have My Money”). He returned in 2016 with Unstoppable, his first LP in a decade. The effort featured appearances by Akon and Bounty Killer, as well as production by Major Lazer. Along with a host of greatest-hits compilations and repackagings, Beenie Man rode out the remainder of the decade and the beginning of the 2020s releasing new standalone singles. Some highlights included 2021’s “Self Love” and a Vybz Kartel-assisted “Gangsta’s Paradise,” and 2022 songs “Love your Mother,” “So Me Stay,” and “Want Some.” ~ TiVo Staff