/ARTS WEEKLY/MUSIC-JAMAICA: Deejay Beenie Man Takes Aim at U.S. Charts

By IPS Correspondents Reprint | | Print |

Howard Campbell

KINGSTON, Jul 30 2002 (IPS) - Each time deejay Beenie Man steps into a recording studio, pressure mounts on him to deliver an album that will finally give him a foothold in the massive American pop market.

Within a few weeks, we should know if his latest attempt, ‘Tropical Storm’, is the one that makes it big.

‘Tropical Storm’, Beenie Man’s second album for the Virgin Records label, is scheduled to be released in early August. The first, 2000’s ‘Art And Life’, won a Grammy Award for Best Reggae disk and sold 385,000 copies, according to sales tracker SoundScan.

Those may be strong figures for the reggae market but they are far from impressive in the world of pop music, where even a gold-seller (500,00 copies) represents moderate returns for a major label.

Virgin Records went all out to break Beenie Man into the U.S. urban market with ‘Art And Life’. It featured guest appearances from pop superstar Wyclef Jean and rising singer Mya. This time around, Beenie Man gets a little help from Janet Jackson on ‘Feel It Boy’, the new album’s lead single.

The idea for the collaboration came after discussions with Virgin administrators, says Clyde McKenzie of Shocking Vibes Productions, Beenie Man’s Kingston-based management company.

“They thought because both of them are signed to the company it would be a good idea for them to do a song and kick off the album,” said McKenzie.

A music video for the single was shot recently in the swanky Hollywood beach community of Malibu.

Jackson is one of the most successful artists in the music industry. Since the release of her ‘Control’ album in 1986, her follow-up records have never failed to sell platinum (one million copies) and she has won several Grammy Awards.

She is not the only American pop act working on ‘Tropical Storm’. Outrageous rapper Li’l Kim, a protege of the late rapper, the Notorious Big, also teams with Beenie Man on a track. To keep diehard fans happy, Shocking Vibes and Virgin enlisted the services of top dancehall producers, such as the Kelly brothers, Tony and Dave.

If ever there was a time for Beenie Man to transfer his overwhelming success in Jamaica and Caribbean communities in the U.S. to the mainstream, it is now. Americans went wild over Jamaican-born Shaggy’s ‘Hotshot’ album in 2001, pushing it to sales of over 10 million copies.

One of this year’s biggest songs is No Doubt’s ‘Hey Baby’, which features Beenie Man’s bitter rival, Bounty Killer. The song has a distinct dancehall feel and has reportedly sold over one million copies worldwide.

Not that Beenie Man has not gained a measure of success stateside. In 1998 he got the elusive hit single with ‘Who Am I’, taken from the album ‘Many Moods Of Moses’. Distributed by independent VP Records, that album sold relatively well in the United States, made the Billboard rap charts and caught the attention of executives at Virgin Records.

‘Art And Life’ was a mix of dancehall and hip-hop, and saw Beenie Man -first named Jamaica’s deejay of the year in 1994 for his mainly reggae sounds – doing duets with pop star Wyclef Jean and rising singer Mya on ‘Love Me Now’ and ‘Girls Dem Sugar’.

With Jean’s presence, ‘Love Me Now’ was expected to work wonders but it failed to chart; ‘Girls Dem Sugar’, which was a hit for Beenie Man in Jamaica, fared better, making Billboard’s rap charts.

McKenzie, who has been part of the Shocking Vibes team for over 10 years, admits that Virgin executives were not totally pleased with the performance of Beenie Man’s debut album. “They weren’t jumping all over the place but the company has faith in him,” he said.

Teaming dancehall stars with big-name pop acts has paid dividends in the past. In 1996, deejay Super Cat appeared on California punk band Sugar Ray’s song, ‘Fly’, which topped the Billboard pop charts that summer.

Shabba Ranks and Tony Rebel, also deejays, made the Billboard R&B charts in 1992 and 1993 respectively with ‘Slow And Sexy’ (with Johnny Gill) and ‘Weekend Love’ (done with Queen Latifah).

Though ‘Art And Life’ won a Grammy Award, it did little to enhance Beenie Man’s status in the American market. With Virgin willing to spend top dollar and get such a high-profile cast, Clyde McKenzie says he would be surprised if ‘Tropical Storm’ does not give the toaster his big break.

“We have high expectations, I see the album doing very well,” said McKenzie.