“Step down? Not yet.” That was Beenie Man’s answer, delivered with a laugh, when THE STAR asked if he was ready to hand over the crown he has worn for decades.
The man born Moses Davis made it plain that anyone eyeing his title as King of the Dancehall should get comfortable.
“I’m still firm and strong, still recording, performing and loving what I do,” he said. “There’s plenty more music in me!”
He wasn’t dismissive of the younger crop, though. “I support the next generation and want to see them become giants in their own right,” he said, adding that they are building their legacies while he keeps adding to his. In his view, the title represents years of work and a connection with the people that he’s proud of.
Beenie Man has been holding a microphone since before he could spell the word. He told the paper he helped lay the foundation and paid his dues, so he’s happy to enjoy what that decades-long contribution has brought him.
Ask him how a hit gets made and he’ll walk you through it. “First, I listen to the riddim and let it carry me,” he explained, saying the feeling, melody and lyrics follow from there.
A producer he’s comfortable with also matters, because shared direction and chemistry in the studio is where the best songs come from.
He was honest that the first big hit is the hardest. “Once you’ve had success, you have experience to build on,” he said, pointing to self-knowledge, knowing your audience and good marketing. “But you still have to put in the work every time.”
For Beenie Man, that breakthrough was Who Am I, the late 90s anthem that opened doors and cemented him as a legitimate dancehall artiste.
“That song has travelled across generations and borders, and people still respond to it wherever I perform,” he said, revealing it recently passed 400,000 copies in the UK alone.
Then there’s the part of the conversation that won’t sit easily with everyone. Beenie Man recently claimed that without him there would be no Bounty Killer, a comment that ruffled plenty of feathers given the long rivalry between the two, which fans watched play out on their 2020 Verzuz clash.
He says he stands by it, but insists it was never meant as disrespect to the Warlord, only an acknowledgement that iron sharpens iron.
“Respectfully, I understand people have strong feelings about my comments,” he said. “I’ve said what I have to say on that subject, and I don’t want to keep feeding division.”
Bounty Killer’s camp and his loyal supporters may see it differently, and the debate over who built whom is unlikely to fade just because one side has stopped talking.
For now, Beenie Man is pointing all attention at his album Eminence. “Music will always be a part of my life’s journey,” he said, calling it a gift he never takes for granted.
