beenie man

[lawrence]

BEENIE MAN

NAME: Anthony Moses Davis
BORN: August 22, 1971
STARSIGN: Leo
BIRTHPLACE: Waterhouse, Kingston JA
BIG HITS: Feel It Boy, Who Am I (Zim Zimma), Girls Dem Sugar Remix ft. Mya, World Dance, Wickedest Slam, Crazy Baldhead ft. Luciano, Mobster and Hey

Click to listen: ROMIE

PUBLISHED IN CLUB VIBES MAGAZINE, FEBRUARY 2002


Beenie Man is a true superstar. For nearly 10 years, the 'Girls dem Sugar' has remained one of dancehall's most consistent and popular MCs.

Despite finding himself in regular disputes with his contemporaries (namely Bounty Killer, Capleton and Hawkeye), Beenie has managed to stay true to both himself and his fans. His last three albums (Maestro, Many Moods Of Moses and Art & Life) were all international hits and he even picked up a Grammy in 2001.

Having acquired a multimillion-pound contract with Virgin Records, Bennie is undoubtedly Jamaica's hottest export.
As he prepares for the release of his new album Tropical Storm, the 'Doctor' explains why he hates old skool Reggae singers and why he thinks Bounty Killer is a closet homosexual.

There are rumours that you've been dropped by Virgin Records - are they true?

I signed a five-year contract with Virgin. It's not like an English contract where you get a one-album deal and a one single deal. I've been there I've done that already. Virgin was onto me for like three years before I signed with them. I signed a five-album deal for (BV note: although we promised not to print the exact amount lets just say it more than £10,000,000) - and that was before we even started working on the contract. I was a quadrillionaire before Virgin found me. So rumours can keep on spreading.

While Jamaican artistes like Elephant Man have been using hip-hop influences, rappers like Lauryn Hill, Jay-Z and Nas have been blending Reggae into their music. Do you think the Reggae/hip-hop fusion is a good idea?

You see the problem is, then you're gonna have a lot of dancehall artistes that want to become hip-hop artists. For instance, Bounty Killer becomes a hip-hop artiste with a naked man in his video! In the video with No Doubt there's a naked man dancing for Bounty Killer.



Why do you think Bounty Killer has a naked man in his video?

I don't know but that's nothing whatsoever to do with Jamaican culture. They're the ones that are selling out the culture. They are the one that are killing the culture. How can you be Bounty Killer…'The War-Lord' who has cussed so much people - and have a naked man in your video? If you walk too funny Bounty Killer says your gay. If you dress too sweet, Bounty Killer says you're gay. And now he's in a video with a naked man! Naked as the day he was born! The guy was in his birthday suit and Bounty Killer's there singing: 'The way you shake you're body girl, it amaze me'. There's no naked girls only a naked man! It's f****d up man. It's bullshit!
But in terms of giving dancehall international exposure - the fusion of Reggae and hip-hop is a good idea because you have Jamaican hip-hop artistes like Biggie Smalls and Busta Rhymes making the fusion. These are the ones that confuse America and say 'F**k you. We're Jamaican and look what we're doing - we're the greatest of all time in your [rap] shit.' So it forces the American born rappers to go to Jamaica to dig out and go and see for themselves so they can say; 'F**k you back'.
It's nice man - Jamaicans winning Grammy awards. Shaggy selling ten million albums - what you talking about? It's great. It's the best thing that ever happened to dancehall music.

But many people from the old-skool argue that the hip-hop influence is watering down Reggae….

I don't give a f**k who is old-skool! Old-skool is old-skool. Why the f**k should I give a f**k about old-skool? The old-skool people always fight against everything because they're not making the money. We're making the money so they have to fight! They think they should be where we are! They think they should be making what we're making!

Last year the Jamaican government punished Lady Saw, Bounty Killer and Alozade for their bad behaviour at the Sumfest concert. Although you were involved in the fracas you didn't appear in court - why is that?

It's down to Bounty Killer. Everything that's happened right now in the music is caused by Bounty Killer. I didn't go to court. For what? Why should I go to court?
Bounty Killer has been disrespecting me right throughout the f******g year!

But didn't you come onstage during his performance?

This is dancehall! If you call my name I'm gonna come on stage and defend myself. This is a battle right through. When terrorists attack America/England they go to war straight away. It's the same in dancehall. If you diss me today we're gonna be at war tomorrow. You diss me now and I have the artillery to send to your country - that's it - the war starts any time.
Bounty Killer's been dissin' right through the year. He said Sumfest is gonna to be a gunfest. These are the words from his mouth. He did a show in Ocho Rios and sent the tape to me. On the tape he's talking all this stuff about, 'Wait till Sumfest…' Sumfest is supposed to be the battlefield innit? I went onstage and told the people that I didn't come to perform tonight. I came there to war with Bounty Killer. I told them I was gonna MC three lyrics and leave the stage and that's exactly what I did. I called up my two artistes, mek them work and then I left the stage.
Bounty Killer came up calling my name. It's a clash! It's a war! That's what I went there for. When I went onstage I didn't hold a mic or nothing. I just sat down on a box. Then all of a sudden Bounty Killer started saying he don't work with batty boys. Who is he calling a batty boy when I'm f*****g his girl?

Can we print that?
Of course!

What happened next?
Then he left the stage. Is [me sitting on a speaker box] an excuse for him to come offstage? That simply means you are a coward and you are afraid. The people booed him. They were waiting for him to come back but the Killer left. Do you know what he did? I went to America the day after Sumfest to perform at a concert and while I was there, I heard that Bounty Killer went back to Sumfest the next night and apologised. After that the media tried to make it like I went onstage to fight. I went onstage to sit down. That's all I did.
They should release the video so people can see exactly what I did. I didn't do nothing. I didn't have a mic and I didn't throw no punch - nothing. That's all I did. And Bounty Killer run off the f*****g stage - run 500 miles per hour through the gate like I did him something. He done that so the media would think I was chasing him down with a gun or something. I wasn't doing Killer nothing I was just sitting on the stage. Then I'm watching TV the other day and Bounty Killer is trying to bring rules into clash. He was talking about you can't say what you wanna say in a clash. It will be like Jamaican music is just gonna me a puppet show. It's f*****g clown shit in Jamaica what's going on right now. It's a joke!

What can be done to improve the situation between you and Bounty?

I don't see how it's gonna change. Bounty Killer's gotta be dead or something. He's gotta stop or resign from the music or something. He's a clown and his fans are clowns.

You may be dancehall's leading superstar now but many people accuse you of pirating Bounty Killer and Capleton's style.

Me follow Bounty Killer's style? Bounty Killer followed my style. I wrote a song for Jigsy King which went: 'Cock Up Your Batty and Ride/When you see you matey and she don't look right'. I wrote that and then Bounty Killer did a song which said: 'A guy a spy dat fi die/Copper shot inna dem heart or inna dem eye'. It was the same year. He followed my style.

Argument done!
Thank you! I was MCing before Bounty Killer even thought about MCing. I used to buy figurines from Bounty Killer. Did you know that?

It's funny you should say that because the first Bounty Killer track I ever bought was a song called Figuree - have you heard it?

I produced that record! When Bounty changed his name from Bounty Hunter to Bounty Killer I was the first man to produce a record for him. He produced that on my record label - Shocking Vibes.

Some people would also argue that you followed Capleton by adopting the Rastafarian faith…

I didn't follow Capleton. I was born an Orthodox [Rastafarian]. Born, baptised, preached, teach and learn. I first went to school when I was 10 years of age. When I went to school I was brighter than the teacher. I knew more than what they were saying. I just Ras because it was time to fulfil. I never said Jesus Christ was the Almighty from I was born. I didn't know nothing about Jesus until I started growing up and meeting other people - Christian people and learning about Jesus Christ. I knew nothing about Jesus Christ.

If there was one thing you could change about the dancehall industry what would it be?
Bounty Killer.

Why?
Because he's a faggot in disguise and people don't see that. I can see that because I can see him in the video with No Doubt with some freaky ring on is finger calling a naked man to dance for him.
He always cusses me. I went to a Ru-Paul show and Bounty Killer cussed me off. All I did was shake Ru-Paul's hand - I didn't even talk to the nigger. But I was at his show. What the f**k am I supposed to do? Be like a pu**y? I didn't want to uphold the stereotype of an ignorant, illiterate Jamaican so I shook his hand. There's nothing wrong with that.
Bounty Killer is a bad mind faggot. He tricks people and makes them believe he is this hardcore ni***r and his really not hardcore. Look at his video. Show me your friends and I tell you who you are - you see what I'm saying.
I control my own image. How can you see a naked man in my video when I control my own image? It's crazy.

What does the future hold for Beenie Man?
The future for me is my next album - Tropical Storm.

What message do you want to send to those who see you as a role model?
Peace, love, unity and be strong. Speak whatever you feel is right. Be yourself and speak your mind. That's why they hate me in Jamaica because I always speak my mind.

BV Recommends: TROPICAL STORM (Virgin) 2002, THE BEST OF BEENIE MAN (VP) 2000, MANY MOODS OF MOSES (Greensleeves) 1998, JET STAR REGGAE MAX: BEENIE MAN (Jet Star) 1997 and THE 10 YEAR OLD DJ WONDER (Bunny Lee) 1981

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[willy the piss]

why did they only bleep out n****r once?
i blame the parents........