Joyner Lucas, Mark Wahlberg Hail Beenie Man’s ’90s Classic In New Video
American rapper Joyner Lucas dropped his star-studded Zim Zimma visual, featuring Diddy, George Lopez, and Mark Wahlberg who gave a special shout-out to King of the Dancehall, Beenie Man.
The song’s title derives from Beenie’s 1998 classic Who Am I (Sim Simma) and a few of Lucas’ bars sample The Doctor’s luxury car swag. “Zim zimma/ Who got the keys to my motherf—n’ Beamer?” he spits on the Leo Son/ Juicebox Slim produced track, flexing all the perks of life in the fast lane. But it was Mark Wahlberg’s Beenie Man endorsement in one of the many humorous twists and turns from the new video that really resonated with Dancehall fans.
In the cinematic clip, the ‘keys to the Beamer’ are in Mark Wahlberg’s hands and everything goes downhill from there. The Oscar-nominated actor and fellow Boston native takes Lucas on a joyride in his own whip, a sleek BMW i8. But it seems bars like “I got a Beamer and I’m anxious to race it/ Vroom right past you/ Cops keep followin’ a n—a, that’s bad news,” got the actor too amped up, and before long he crashes the car, upsetting Lucas.
The two argue and Wahlberg’s patronizing sends the rapper over the edge and out of the mangled mess. As Lucas storms off, Wahlberg who insists on having the last word insults his borrowed patois flow: “I like Beenie Man’s s—t better anyway.”
Though there’s been no response from Beenie Man, it’s no wonder that Wahlberg, a former rapper himself, is a fan of the timeless original. Many American entertainers from Redman to Nelly have sampled the Jeremy Harding produced single in its nearly 25-year life span. Lucas also borrows the Dude deejay’s self-imposed title in his dexterous bars — “Zim Zimma/ I’m the girls dem sugar/ I’m a trill ass n-gga” — which also became the title of the synthy Neptunes remix featuring Mya.
It’s also a full-circle moment that the majority of those who’ve sampled the Playground Riddim standout are hip hop artists, as the chorus was directly influenced by Missy Elliot’s 1997 trippy debut single The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly) — “Beep-beep, who got the keys to the Jeep?”
Lucas is no stranger to securing hits with a Dancehall flair either.
As an up-and-comer back in 2014, his first trip out of the United States was to Jamaica to shoot the video for his first single, Riding Solo featuring Busy Signal. “This is for all the hustlers and everybody else who grind out and work hard to ultimately try and succeed,” the 32-year-old emcee said at the time, according to True Magazine. “As my first single I feel this is a great 1st impression and representation of myself and what it was like growing up. I felt Busy Signal could really bring this record to life. I have always been a fan of Busy and I’m excited to have him on this record. He is a perfect fit.”
Beenie Man’s 1998 hit continues to live on in more ways than one, as the Dancehall star is set to release a new album this summer titled Simma. It’ll be his first studio project in 13 years.