This is the second of a three part interview with the self proclaimed King of the Dancehall, Beenie Man. The first was carried in The Star yesterday, the final part will be carried tomorrow.
IN JUNE, THE fourth of Beenie Man's five-album deal with Virgin Records, is scheduled to come out. Beenie Man says it is a straight dancehall album, Undisputed, with Don Corleone handling much of the production on the 18 tracks. There is also a track produced by R. Kelly and Beenie Man. The single Hum Hum is being sent to radio stations overseas and, from there, it is a wait and see if it is added to playlists ("500 spin (a week) yu up deh. 1,000 spin yu a kick up".) "From thereso to Billboard, from Billboard to Grammy," he says.
And he is certainly not averse to another Grammy award, although Beenie Man says "Grammy a no suppen yu run dung, Grammy a suppen yu get". As for making a prediction on this year's outcome, he says "as long as a Marley in deh yu get f--k".
When the deal with Virgin ends next year, Beenie Man says "me done wid dat. Virgin no know whe dem a do. Me sell more a Africa an' Europe an Brazil dan America. Virgin is not an American company.... When de deal is over, me a sign wid a urban company. Me a sign Mafia House to Sony/Epic".
"Me a sign Mafia House dis year," he said.
Beenie Man performed twice at Sting 2005, first coming up to 1:00 a.m. and then close to 8:00 a.m., going to Teen Splash near Ocho Rios, St. Ann, in between ("tun ova dat"). He met up with Ruff Kut Band in the garden parish, returning to close Sting with them. "Wickedest, baddes' ban'," he says of Ruff Kut. "Ruff Kut come een like a deejay. If yu go pon Ruff Kut an cyaan deejay, dem ago soun' betta dan yu," he said.
With his accident of January 2004 in mind, he does not do the show nights' hard driving himself.
THE DANCE CRAZE
With the dancing craze maybe past its peak but still having the dancehall devotees moving, Beenie Man says "the dancing it nice still, but too much a it".
"A man can come up wid a new dance. No more artiste cyaan sing no more dance song. A Elephant Man sing all de dancing song," he says with a smile. "But it cyan keep de dancehall alive."
Then his expression changes as he remembers about five years ago when he started going to many places and "dem sey me too nuff. Nobody no like how yu nuff up so".
"Me dweet, cause nobody no like when yu too hype. How can you say you are for the dancehall people and you are too hype to deal with them?" Beenie Man demanded.
In the aftermath of William 'Hoggart' Moore's killing in 2004, Beenie Man says he went on a campaign to rebuild dancehall ("Links now, anywhere inna de garrison him play wi di deh"). As for dancing (something Beenie Man has been doing certainly since the early 1990s, when he used to tap dance on stage at times), "a pure backlash we a get, sey we a go-go. When dem see de ting a work dem haffi jump pon it. See Bounty now. Him a dance".
'ME SET DI TREN'
"Me ask Kartel las' year (about dancing). Him sey him a no go-go. Me ask him pon Sting dis year an' him a dance, cause him a promote dis big bad man. A so de ting go. A me set de tren'. Shabbba set it fi me an me set it fi dem. Shabba set it fe me an Buju. An Buju bus'. An him no look back," Beenie Man said.
"Me start dress up, Versace, BMW, Benz, Lexus, buy houses. De artiste whe bus '92 - '93 a me set de tren'. Buy suit an' look good an' stop wear costume an' look like Halloween," Beenie Man said.
"Who start wear tight pants?" Beenie Man demanded. "Man a lick out, sey a b--t-man ting. Now me come outta it dem gone inna it. Me a beat de Versace two year before dem. Dem time it dey a Paris an' dem a go Miami, Canada."
"Me no dress fi man. When dem realise sey di girl dem like it dem start wear it too," he said.
Tomorrow: That Sting clash with Bounty, Dave Kelly, D'Angel and Black Roses for life.
Source:jamaica-star.com