Beenie Man says Popcaan and Aidonia are two of his favorite artists in the dancehall industry today and highlighted some young artists who he sees something special in.
As a veteran in dancehall music whose career has spanned more than three decades, Beenie Man has seen many artists come and go in the industry. His experience and notoriety in music has afforded him the luxury of being known by the generations that have come to follow as an internationally acclaimed reggae and dancehall icon. Thanks to Beenie’s reputation and career longevity, many young artists would respectfully appreciate his recognition in any capacity.
During a newly released interview with Para Dox TV from May, Beenie talked about the current landscape of dancehall music and how it has evolved. It is his belief that the genre should remain unadulterated as he expressly discouraged hybrid genres. In his own words, Beenie Man believes artists are “messing up the music” when they fuse it with other genres. Though in the same breath, he says he is not a hypocrite and admits that he has incorporated jazz and gospel sounds in his dancehall songs before. “I do not wrong the kids to do what they’re doing because we do the same thing,” he said.
When asked about some young up-and-coming artists that he actually likes, Beenie Man name-dropped Popcaan, who he called “a friend” and goes on to list a series of artists who are considered to be making conscious music. His list includes young reggae stars like Grammy-winning artist Koffee, beloved songbird Lila Iké, and breakout artists Yaksta and Nation Boss. “These songs are real songs,” Beenie said after quoting a line from the latter’s breakout hit “Humans.”
The deejay went on to share some advice on consistency being an integral part of career growth. “The problem is these artists need to make themselves because if you sing one song and the song fades out and you don’t do a next one then the f**k…” He continues, “See all the youths dem need fi fawud. Mi respect all a di young artist dem but if you don’t do five years dawg, I cannot put you in my book. That’s why Popcaan a my top artist inna Jamaica right now, him and Aidonia.” Beenie attributed his respect for these two artists to their desire for longevity and caring to stay in the game for five, ten, or even twenty years.
Elsewhere in the interview, Beenie Man doubled down on consistency when he spoke about his undying passion for dancehall music. As the interviewer pointed out, the deejay has been doing this for a solid forty years and counting. “Any time you lose your love then you never had it in the first place,” Beenie said of his love and energy for the music. “Even when you’re dying and have dementia you’ll always remember,” he added.
Beenie Man says he is currently working on his forthcoming album and plans to drop a single with Busy Signal soon. Some of the guest stars on the project include Shaggy, Sean Paul, Trini artist Bunji Darlin, UK rapper Giggs, HoodCelebrityy, and more. At this point in his career, the dancehall veteran says since he already got a Grammy, his ultimate goal now is to be recognized.
Beenie Man plans to tour after releasing his next album, SIMMA, but it is not clear if he has plans to tour locally, internationally, or both. “This album is beautiful,” said Beenie Man.
