Beenie Man

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

Career

Beenie Man was involved in the music industry from a young age when he, like former popular reggae dancehall artist Yellowman, won the Tastee Talent contest during the 1980's in Jamaica. 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 influential 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.

Partially as a result of prodding from his producers, Sly and Robbie, Beenie Man soon converted to the Rastafari movement. In 1994, he was signed by Island Records and released the critically acclaimed album Blessed.

In 1995, Beenie Man released a remix of Barrington Levy's "Under Mi Sensi" in the United Kingdom, and collaborated with Dennis Brown and Triston Palmer to release Three Against War and Lt. Stitchie on Mad Cobra Meets Lt. Stitchie & Beenie Man. 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. He had hits in the UK in 2002/2003 with "Feel It Boy" (UK #9), with Janet Jackson, and "Street Life" (UK #15).

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" 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.

In 1998, Beenie Man signed to Virgin Records to release albums in the United States. His first American offering was The Doctor (1998). 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. 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, while remaining at the top of the local charts.

In 2002, he had a sizable 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", featuring guest vocals by fellow Jamaican Ms. Thing, as well as rhymes by Shawna. He thus cemented his fan base on both sides of the Atlantic.

In September 2008 Beenie Man was cleared of tax evasion charges.

Marriage

Beenie Man was married to Michelle Downer, also known as D'Angel. The two were married in August 2006 in a lavish ceremony in Jamaica. A DVD of their wedding was bootlegged and sold afterwards. They welcomed their son Marco Dean in November 2006. Their relationship, however, was short lived. In June 2007, Beenie Man separated from his wife; they remain estranged though are still married.

Grand Father

Beenie man became a grand father on December 14. 2008, when his 17 year old daughter gave birth to her 5lb 15 oz baby girl Chyanne. Beenie Man was clearly and outspokenly disappointed about his teenage daughter being pregnant, but has since claimed to be supportive of her and he daughter. Only time will tell about that one, because several women have brought him up on child support issues and even resorted to slander.

Social Issues

Beenie Man, like many dancehall artists is outspoken on a number of social issues, as exemplified by songs such as "Steve Biko" and "Murderer" and his support of the People's National Party, a political party in Jamaica.

Homophobia controversy

The lyrics to some of his songs have been criticized for being openly anti-gay, with lyrics such as "I'm dreaming of a new Jamaica, come to execute all the gays". MTV had plans to include Beenie Man in their roster of performers at the 2004 MTV Video Music Awards but after protests MTV decided to exclude Beenie Man. As part of an agreement to end the Stop Murder Music campaign, Beenie Man and other artists signed the Reggae Compassionate Act in 2007. It should be noted that Beenie Man is not alone amongst dancehall artists in using lyrics of this nature in songs. He has however maintained that the lyrics have been misconstrued.