Rapper Don Toliver Heavily Samples A Beenie Man Classic In New Song ‘4 Me’ – Listen
Zagga zow! Beenie Man’s classic Girls Dem Sugar is the backbone of Don Toliver’s latest single 4 Me – a groovy Hip Hop/R&B tune from the American rapper’s upcoming album, Lovesick.
Produced by The Neptunes (Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo), Girls Dem Sugar, which featured Mýa, had appeared on the Dancehall superstar’s Grammy-Award-winning album Art and Life in 2000. The song was a smash hit that year, peaking at No. 54 on the Billboard Hot 100, and No. 13 on the UK Singles chart.
Released on February 15, the new track, which is produced by Wheezy and Sean Momberger, aims to capture some of the allure of the original.
It samples The Neptunes’ memorable stuttering riddim and Beenie’s vocals and adlibs throughout, while Toliver’s girlfriend, American-Columbian singer Kali Uchis, recreates Mýa’s sultry post-chorus.
Like its muse, 4 Me effortlessly focuses its efforts on wooing the female at the center of the story. However, whereas its predecessor speaks primarily about admiration – with Beenie Man expressing his desires of wanting to love the girl with the ‘Coca Cola bottle shape,’ Don Toliver’s spin is one that focuses on possession and the occasional ups and downs about love.
Girls Dem Sugar works exceptionally well as an anchor for Don Toliver and Kali Uchis’ vision as a couple going through the throes of romance, pulling apart unintentionally but reconnecting when needed.
On YouTube, they appear in the track’s looped visualizer, where Kali is dressed as a diner waitress serving coffee to Toliver.
The selection of Beenie’s classic is a personal one for the 28-year-old Don Toliver, and he expressed as much in an interview with Apple Music 1’s The Zane Lowe Show.
“I am 100 percent inspired by the original song. Honestly, when I was in high school, I picked up on a lot of songs that I would always hear when I would go to school in the mornings,” the rapper explained.
He added: “I’ve forever been a fan of the Neptunes as well. This is just a full circle moment for me. It was really crazy. Wheezy sent me an Instagram story with the song on it. I was just ‘Yo, let’s make this a beat’”.
The song was originally recorded on Steely and Clevie’s Punanny Riddim in the 90s, before The Neptunes remixed and re-released it with Mýa. Interestingly, the cut was inspired by Beenie Man’s 1997 hit, Who Am I (Sim Simma), which was produced by Jeremy Harding.
Beenie Man had shared some insight into the remix’s creation, telling BET that it was Pharrell’s idea, to begin with. He explained, “He had this great idea to remake “Who Am I (Sim Simma)” adding Pharrell “also came up with the catchy chorus.”
“So, he [Pharrell] goes, ‘(Sim Simma) Beenie Man, ah dem girls dem sugar / (Sim Simma) The girls dem world class lover,’ and that’s how it was put together. And we got a Grammy Award for it. It was a great thing, and then we put Mýa on the track and the rest was history.”
The Neptunes had also produced Jamaica Way, featuring Kelis, and Ola, featuring Steve Perry, both of which appeared on Beenie’s Art and Life album with Girls Dem Sugar.
In 2001, the producer duo tapped Beenie for I’m Serious, which appeared on T.I.’s album of the same name.
In 2002, they teamed up again for Bossman, with Sean Paul and Lady Saw, Feel It Boy, with Jacket Jackson, and Bad Girl, with Justin Vince, all of which appeared on Beenie’s Tropical Storm album.
Girls Dem Sugar was also sampled by rappers Renni Rucci on Can’t Be (2021), Solo Lucci’s Cash Money (2018), and Cash Cobain and Mali Smith’s Thanful (2021).
Toliver’s Lovesick album is slated for release on February 24.
The rapper is known for his RIAA platinum-certified songs, After Party and No Idea, as well as Flocky Flocky with Travis Scott, Honest with Justin Bieber, and HAD ENOUGH with Quavo and Offset.