This is a fine album from pre-crossover Beenie Man, showcasing tunes from an era before before the self-proclaimed "King of the Dancehall" ever dreamed of making it big a farrin' with tunes like "Dude" or "Girls Dem Sugar". Most of the songs on here are definite boomshots, and it's a shame that the album's rating is being affected by those with a political agenda to push. All of the reviewers who rated this album as a "1" acknowledge their bias in their posts, one even going so far as to state that the "Music isn't half bad.....Beenie himself is aweful" (sic).
I do not condone violence or hate crimes against anyone, but let's not apply these standards selectively. Should we pan the albums of Jerry Lee Lewis because he married his underaged cousin? Should I slam the Rolling Stones based not on their musical talent, but rather because I personally find songs like "Brown Sugar" (about on old white man raping virginal, Black slaves, etc.) to be extremely offensive and disgusting? Should I dash across Amazon and give every one of Ted Nugent's albums a "1" because I disagree strongly with his views on animal rights and politics? Rate the music, not the man, people!!!
Getting back to the album itself, there are a number of true dancehall classics on here, including "World Dance" (a fun, fast-paced song in which Beenie promotes his new dance which everyone "dun know already"), "Slam" (in which Beenie touts the virtues of ghetto girls in the sack), "Stop Live In A De Pass" (in which Beenie admonishes Bounty Killer and his other dancehall rivals to forgo their standard cowboy tunes) and "Freedom" (in which Beenie eloquently describes the plight of the urban masses of Jamaican sufferahs and Black people worldwide).
All of the songs on this disc are well-produced, and as always, Beenie is spectacular on the mic. Few deejays can rival "The Doctor" in terms of lyrical complexity, concept, and flow. In short, no one rides a riddim like Beenie Man! This album is highly recommended for all fans of unadulterated 90s dancehall.
Overall, this is a very solid album which easily earns 4 stars, but I'm going to go ahead and give it a 5 in order to offset some of the political "reviews" posted here which are dragging down Beenie's overall rating without being objective or giving his music a fair chance.
Please note that there are no anti-gay songs on this album.
October 27, 2007 |  | He advocates the killing of gays |  |
In his music, Beenie Man advocates killing gays. More than
30 gays have been killed in Jamaica, where he comes from.
His music has lots of influence there. In some cases mobs
sang his anti-gay songs while they killed a man who might have been gay.
When asked to apologize and change his ways he wrote a song about how he
would not apologize. If someone advocated the killing
of Blacks or Jews, they would not be tolerated. It seems strange
that in the 21st century the world still tolerates someone
who advocates the killing of gays. I suspect that the world
would not tolerate this if white men were getting killed.
Please don't support him by purchasing his music.
January 31, 2007 | | Much To Consider About Dancehall Lyrics | |
Beenie Man's lyrics express a growing sentiment of how many impoverished Jamaicans feel. The island is swarmed with tourists and tourist dollars daily and yet these dollars rarely trickle down into the pockets of the majority. Yes, there is a minority power elite in Jamaica as in many places. One can generally view Jamaica as some kind of paradise to escape cold weather but the majority of native islanders cant escape the poverty they were born into. This sentiment is magnified when the island is bombarded with foreigners who even buy property there and live better than the born Jamaicans. This has created an anti-western sentiment in the slums of Jamaica and other impoverished islands.
I dont condone the violent homophobic lyrics that Beenie blasts but poverty leads people hate things they dont understand. It's the cycle of violence that proverty manifests and it's a shame that certain people (like homosexuals) become scape goats for peoples misery. This can also be said of rap music in American hip hop culture. But in the islands this poverty in the slums that the dancehall artists are trying to escape is way more intense than that of America so these sentiments are more intense as well. This hatred must be dealt with as again I'm not condoning these things but I'm giving a different insight to the rhetoric.
February 12, 2006| | | The most homophobic artist alive | |
People seem to look past Beenie Man's extremely homophobic lyrics. In the song "Damn", Beenie Man states "Well I'm think of a new Jamaica, me come to executve all of the gays". How can he get away with saying something like this. Eminem got so much attention for his homophobic lyrics on his sophomore album, but at least his lyrics weren't as serious and homocidal as this. Eminem just made jokes. Eminem kind of got the reputation of saying crazy things. Threatening to murder his wife, talking about raping his mother, people learned that Eminem was known for saying outrageous things that obviously shouldn't be taken seriously. Eminem is like a comedian, Beenie Man is not. Plus, who did we see perform with Elton John??? Who gave Elton John a big a** hug after their performance??? Beenie Mans seems much more convincing when his homophobic and homo-homicidal lyrics are heard. Beenie Man has recorded numerous songs about his homophobic views, which are much more offensive than anything Eminem has ever said. Another song that supports this, is Beenie Man's "Bad Man, Chi Chi Man", which suggests that you should be proud if you are hederosexual ("If you nun chi chi man wave your right hand and [NO!], if you nun lesbian, wave your right hand and [NO!]"). The following lyric, is percieved to me as him stating that a gay man is actually worse than a murderer, and murderers go to jail and become gay men ("Some boy will go a jail fi murda tun badman chi chi man"). The word "tun", if precieved differently, can give an entire new meaning. Does he mean "ton" or "turn". If he means "ton", he could saying that a man should have the right to kill a "ton" of people who happen to be gay, and not go to jail. In of the verses he gives in the homosexual sterotypes (And yuh seh chi chi man have one special code / Now we see yuh inna video and a naked man pose / Yuh all a gi him money fi tek off him clothes). What the hell is this all about? All gay men aren't porno stars and strippers, what the hell. Out of all the gay people I know, I don't know ANY that are strippers or porno stars. All of these lyrics are much more offensive then Eminem jokingly saying "I was only checking the mail...get it..checking the male". Beenie Man is obviously a closed-minded homophobe, just like our president. I suggest to anyone who is NOT homophobic, AVOID Beenie Man's music. I still can't figure out how he was able to collaborate with Janet Jackson, whom has completely opposite views, as you can here in here song "Free Xone" in which she supports gay people and encourages people to be who they are and not follow any rules, as well as encouraging people to be excepting and open-minded of others. Janet must have been anaware of Beenie Man's homophobic, closed-minded, and intolerant views when she collaborated with him, on the song "Feel It Boy". Beenie Man has also collabrated with people like Wyclef Jean, Lil' Kim, Mya, Jon B., and others. All who I'm pretty sure aren't homophobic, but have no proof, I just hope that they aren't, and don't get the vibe that are. Yeah, so Lil' Kim says "faggot" and stuff, but she doesn't hate gay people. I read an article about how the gay community is so found of Lil' Kim, and she was interviewed about and didn't seem to have any type of problem with gay people. I know for a fact that neither Jon B. or Mya is homophobic. But anyway, that's kind of irrelevant, I just find it interesting that he's collaborated with all these people, when he's saying this crazy things that none of these artists agree with. AVOID BEENIE MAN!!!
May 27, 2005| | | Music isn't half bad.....Beenie himself is aweful! | |
Beenie man is such a bigot. How can he sing about burning and hanging people just because they are different? Hello Beenie think SLAVERY!!!! How can a singer be allowed to commit such a travesty? What is the point in trying to illicit hate and violence? Could it be Beenie's uncomfortable with his own sexuality? Peace bro' that is what makes the world go 'round...peace out.
December 6, 2004More reviews at Amazon.com ...
(6 reviews)