Beenie Man Says New Album ‘Simma’ Now Complete With Sean Paul, Popcaan, Shaggy, Bounty Killer & More
Dancehall superstar Beenie Man says his upcoming album Simma is now complete and he is only awaiting a release date for his highly-anticipated production, for which he has been sharing teasers on social media over the last several weeks.
Simma will be the Girl Dem Sugar’s 19th studio album. It follows his last studio album titled Undisputed, which was released more than 13 years ago. The album had been initially projected by Beenie to be released in August last year on his 47th birthday but was pushed back due to what he had described as “personal challenges.”
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“The album is already done. The lead single will be released very soon,” Beenie told Zip FM radio a few days ago. “Wi jus a wait pon di video fi finish. Wi actually a wait pon a release date from VP records but the album is already complete, everything done – the pictures, already take, the cover already been made an everything, suh yah man, di album is actually finished.”
Beenie Man has also shared a trailer for the music video for the album’s first single Fun in the Sun, which features Popcaan and Dre Island that he has dedicated to his mother Lilieth Sewell, who died last September after experiencing a series of strokes.
“Di album nice man, because the single with me an Popcaan and Dre Island – wi have Busy signal on the album; wi have HoodCelebrityy on the album, wi have Sean Paul, Anthony Red Rose, wi have Shaggy. Di album bad man. Wi have even Bounty Killer all inna di album, trust mi,” Beenie said of the album which is also expected to feature Dexta Daps and Major Lazer.
When Beenie Man first announced that the album was in the works in early August last year during an interview with Neko singer A’mari, he had expressed disappointment in not being able to secure a collaboration with Bounty Killer for the album, which was to have been released on his birthday on August 22.
That issue seems to have been remedied during the last several months after the Grammy Award winner announced that he was working on a new album.
In 1998 Beenie Man was nominated for the Best Reggae Album Grammy award for his album Many Moods of Moses and again a year later for The Doctor.
In 2000, he made Dancehall fans proud when he took home the Grammy for his Art and Life album, which has been described by Apple Music as “proving his crossover appeal” with the teaming up with key figures from the rap and R&B worlds.
Art and Life which featured hit tracks such as Love Me Now, featuring Wyclef Jean and his Girls Dem Sugar collab with Mýa, topped the U.S. Billboard Top Reggae Albums chart, peaked at number 18 on the U.S. Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart and peaked at 68 on U.S. Billboard 200 charts.
Beenie’s album catalogue include other productions such as Cool Cool Rider, Defend It, Dis Unu Fi Hear, Blessed, Beenie Man Meets Mad Cobra, Maestro, Ruff ‘N’ Tuff, Y2K, Youth Quake, The Magnificent Tropical Storm, Back to Basics, Hundred Dollar Bag and Concept of Life.