Beenie Man Urges Unity, Collaboration Among Younger Crop Of Dancehall Deejays
Veteran award-winning deejay Beenie Man has deduced that one of the main problems within the local Dancehall music fraternity is disconnectedness.
Beenie Man, 47, opined, during a Vintage Got Soul interview on YouTube four days ago, that the issue cannot be resolved until the younger entertainers decide to make moves to discredit what appears to be overwhelming disunity among their ranks. He urged that they should begin to work with each other to repair the genre.
“There is no unity in the music right now,” the Grammy winner – fresh off the release of a collaboration with Popcaan and Dre Island – pointed out, before adding that “we need Dancehall artists to get together and make music together.”
Beenie distinguished that, though Popcaan could be mentioned among the crop of artists who follows his era, the younger deejay has been in the industry for many years and is a seasoned performer who is clued into what it takes to foster unity and maintain relevance.
“Popcaan is not a new artist…the new artists weh ah come out now, need fi link…like seriously…we as Jamaicans, we acting like we too bad…,” Beenie Man stated, underscoring the hubris of younger entertainers, before elaborating that “the song with Popcaan and Dre Island is something weh fi bring back” the collaborative vibes among artists. The song, Fun In The Sun, is the lead single from Beenie’s upcoming Simma album.
Beenie Man’s comments adds a new perspective to the numerous discussions surrounding the state of Jamaica’s local music industry and the extent of the genre’s culpability regarding shaping a violence-plagued society.
During the interview with host René Lucas-Williams, Beenie also noted that Jamaican artists could take a page out of the book of their US counterparts when it comes to putting aside differences, and forge fruitful partnerships that will strengthen their collective impact on the industry, as well as grow their individual careers.
“We have to survive, so we have to mek music together. If we nuh mek music together, then people nah go love our music for what it is. Dem just ago have wi as violent people,” the deejay explained, while sharing his thoughts on the current state of the local music industry.
The Who Am I artist reasoned that the music is bigger than any one artist and that deejays need to understand that a ‘war’ on vinyl should remain lyrical and never translate into physical altercations.
“Mi an Bounty Killer ‘war’ fi 22 years, but we have never thrown a fist,” the World Dance hitmaker highlighted. The deejay shored up his petition for younger artists to shelve animosity and explained that he and his one-time rival never pulled weapons on each other.
Beenie Man also acknowledged that there have been several noteworthy collaborations among local artists recently and he hopes this trend continues.