A government MP standing up at a constituency conference and declaring that Beenie Man hasn’t had a hit in more than two decades was always going to get a response. It came fast, and it came from the man who just produced the deejay’s latest album.
West Kingston Member of Parliament Desmond McKenzie used his address at the West Kingston Constituency Conference on Thursday to take aim at the man many fans still call the King of the Dancehall. The trigger was a song, and the song is about money.
McKenzie’s main target was “Weh Di Money Deh,” Beenie Man’s new single criticizing the government’s handling of Hurricane Melissa relief funds.
The MP predicted the track will not sell, then went further and said the Grammy winning deejay has not had a hit song in more than 20 years.
Kemar “Flava” McGregor wasn’t having it. The producer behind Beenie Man’s latest album, Eminence, described the politician as “out of touch,” pushing back on the dismissal of the new record and the broader swipe at the artist’s career.
The song dropped on November 2 and walks straight into one of the most heated conversations in Jamaica.
Hurricane Melissa hit the island as a Category 5 storm in late October 2025, and questions about how relief money reaches affected communities have stayed in public discussion ever since.
Beenie Man didn’t arrive at this point quietly. Before the song landed, he sat down with British broadcaster ITV News and accused the government of distributing the hurricane relief funds “the wrong way.” “Weh Di Money Deh” essentially takes that criticism and hands it to the dancehall audience.
That context matters when reading McKenzie’s comments. He is a Jamaica Labour Party MP, and West Kingston has long been one of the party’s strongest bases, so the remarks land as a political reply as much as a music review.
For his supporters, the logic is simple. A song built around attacking the government’s record is a political act, and a government MP answering it at a party gathering is fair game.
For Beenie Man’s camp, the “no hit in 20 years” line is the part that stings, and also the part easiest to dispute. Moses Davis built a catalogue that includes “Who Am I,” “Girls Dem Sugar,” “Street Life” and “Dude,” and he won the Grammy for Best Reggae Album with Art and Life in 2001.
There’s also a fair question about what counts as a hit these days. Dancehall success now lives on streams, viral clips and sound system rotation as much as on charts, and an artist with Beenie Man’s longevity can move a crowd in ways a sales figure won’t capture.
McGregor is in a good spot to make that case, having just worked with Beenie Man on a full album. His view is that the deejay McKenzie is describing isn’t the one he sees in the studio.
The real test of McKenzie’s prediction now sits with listeners. With questions over the relief money still hanging in the air, “Weh Di Money Deh” may keep finding an audience for as long as the debate does.
