International recording dancehall star Beenie Man celebrated his birthday in royal fashion—cruising around Manhattan while his new album sat triumphantly atop the US iTunes charts.
The dancehall titan’s latest project, Eminence, soared to No. 1 on both the US iTunes All Genres and Reggae album charts, delivering a glittering birthday present after 14 months of painstaking studio work.
The chart success capped a whirlwind weekend for the Grammy-winning entertainer. After serving as best man at his friend Dino’s wedding, Beenie Man travelled to New York, where he marked his birthday on Sunday with a private cruise around Manhattan.
He was later whisked away with his fiancée, Camille Lee, for dinner at an exclusive restaurant, surrounded by a close circle of celebrity friends.
For the self-proclaimed King of the Dancehall, life at the summit felt almost surreal.
“When I get a number one in the world, that is not a natural feeling. It’s unimaginable,” Beenie Man said.
“It just happens to you. It’s like you’re driving and somebody lick yu wid dem car and you’re like, ‘What the hell happened?’ It’s unexpected and phenomenal at the same time.”
Eminence held the No. 1 position on the US iTunes All Genres albums chart for four consecutive days, keeping releases including The Game’s The Documentary III and Sam Smith’s Hazel Eyes from the pole position.
The All Genres chart measures paid digital downloads across Apple’s music categories, combining sales from reggae, pop, hip-hop, country and other genres into one overall ranking.
Yet the album’s commanding arrival began rather quietly—with a single recording.
“I did the first song with Etana, and she was eventually replaced with a next girl, Renata,” Beenie Man recalled.
“It is after that we really started to work on the album and really go into the studio. I told Flava McGregor that I needed Rick Ross and T.I. on the album. He said he could do it, and I was like, ‘What?!’ So we just started to vibe and make music.”
That early spark grew into an ambitious international project featuring Rick Ross, Rotimi, Mya, Ashanti and T.I., among others.
Beenie Man named Hat Tip, featuring Ross and Rotimi, as his favourite song on the album.
“I love the intro and the melodies,” he said. “They remind me of a quality that the greatest combination songs in the world have: instant danceability and familiarity.”
That sense of familiarity runs through Eminence. The album reaches backwards to the golden glow of 1990s and early-2000s dancehall, hip-hop and R&B, then dresses those influences in crisp modern production.
“I don’t feel like me a do dancehall—I am making dancehall in a different format,” Beenie Man explained.
“I am bringing nostalgia. I am bringing back the feeling of the ’90s and the 2000s because if you go into the new format, yu can lost.
“Mi ah bring back myself, yourself, your brother and my sister to what they really loved in that era.”
The project draws inspiration from crossover classics including Snow’s Anything for You remix, Ini Kamoze’s Billboard chart-topper Here Comes the Hotstepper and The Notorious B.I.G.’s Juicy.
“I am not saying music is going to stop here, but people love the ’90s and they love the 2000s,” Beenie Man said. “I am just bringing dancehall back to that familiar sound.”
Behind the boards, producer Kemar “Flava” McGregor approached the album with the patience of a historian and the instincts of a hitmaker.
“The process of making Beenie Man’s album was about experimentation and trial and error,” McGregor said.
“It was a collective effort, but the entire concept was my concept. Based on what has come out of Jamaica over the last 20 years, it seemed we were pushing a new sound.
“This is a return to the roots, but with a new flavour—a vibe of then and now.”
McGregor scoured record shops for vinyl albums by the artistes featured on the project, studying their individual styles and learning how to swing the drums to complement each voice.
He then spent weeks sourcing software and plug-ins capable of recreating the warm, familiar textures of an earlier musical era. The result is a polished collision of reggae, dancehall, hip-hop and R&B, steeped in nostalgia but built for contemporary speakers.
Beenie Man and McGregor worked between Jamaica and Florida. At times, McGregor flew to Kingston for sessions at Dean Fraser’s studio; on other occasions, Beenie Man travelled to the producer’s base in Florida.
“When I worked on King of the Dancehall with Tony Kelly, I told him what I wanted,” Beenie Man said. “I know the sound I am looking to create.”
That vision did not come cheaply.
McGregor said he invested more than US$400,000 through his Billboard King Records label to give Eminence the scale and international sheen he believed it required.
“A lot of time and effort went into this album, and the musical chemistry with Beenie Man was out of this world,” he said.
“I paid for the collaborations and came up with the concepts. T.I. never asked for a payment; he just wanted a US$200,000 radio budget for his song.”
McGregor also paid dancehall artiste Shane O to write King Steppa, having developed the idea following a conversation with broadcaster Colin Hines about Ini Kamoze’s Here Comes the Hotstepper and the song’s connection to producer Philip “Fatis” Burrell.
There was, however, one firm studio rule: no freestyling.
“I told Beenie Man, ‘No freestyles,’ and I admire his work ethic,” McGregor said.
“If I called him and told him he needed to re-record six songs, we would book Dean Fraser’s studio and do them over. No complaints.
“He did them until he got them right. Beenie is a legend, and he has a great work ethic. That’s why the album came out so good.”
McGregor also credited selector Foota Hype with contributing ideas to several songs recorded during the Florida sessions.
The heavy investment of money, research and studio hours is already paying dividends.
Several tracks from Eminence have entered the iTunes Reggae songs chart. 305/876, featuring Renata and Rick Ross, reached No. 10, while Don’t Run, featuring Mya, landed at No. 23.
For You appeared at No. 29 and Make Out, featuring Ashanti and T.I., reached No. 51. Elsewhere, King Steppa jumped to No. 71, while Immortal entered at No. 79.
The excitement surrounding the album has also breathed fresh life into Beenie Man’s formidable back catalogue. Who Am I climbed to No. 52, Girls Dem Sugar rose to No. 57 and Romie reached No. 64.
Beenie Man won the Grammy Award for Best Reggae Album in 2001 with Art and Life. He has received four career nominations, including recognition for Many Moods of Moses, The Doctor and Simma, which was nominated at the 2024 ceremony.
With Eminence ruling the iTunes charts and early praise stirring fresh Grammy talk, the King of the Dancehall appears to have reclaimed his throne at precisely the right moment.
The crown, for now, sits comfortably.
