Indeed, many seek the prestige that accompanies unprecedented royalty. However, 34-year-old Beenie Man, who’s been lighting up stages for 28 consecutive years, has rightfully earned the title of “undisputed king of dance hall music.” Beenie (born Anthony Moses Davis) proudly interprets the genre as music that represents the authenticity and militancy of Jamaicans–beats, rhythms and lyrics that represent the culture of his people, and nothing else.
The public discovered Beenie Man when he first tore down the stage at age five. At seven, he won the “Tastee Talent Contest” in his Jamaican homeland. A year later, he recorded his first single, “Too Fancy” with producer Junjo Lawes. By the age of 10, he released his first album, The Invincible Beenie Man: The Incredible Ten-Year-Old DJ Wonder (Virgin Records, 1983). Although Beenie’s road to stardom began at a very young age, he doesn’t feel that his youth was sacrificed. The kids he went to school with didn’t treat him any different; nevertheless, he was always more popular than the other kids.
Although he maintained a very promising start in the music business, Beenie’s career lost momentum in the mid-‘80s. However, that didn’t stop him from reaching for royalty status by doing what he truly loves most. In the early ‘90s his perseverance continued, releasing numerous singles back-to-back. In the late ‘90s going into 2000, he gained highly acclaimed crossover success through collaborations with artists like Janet Jackson, Lil’ Kim, Mya, Wyclef and a host of others—yet, he’s never lost touch with his roots.
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