Beenie Man will forever go down in history as one of the greatest dance artists to ever do it.
Best known for his timeless hits like “Girls Dem Sugar” featuring Mia, “King of Dancehall” and “Who Am I (Sim Simma)”, the Jamaican singer and DJ continues to bless audiences around the world with his sentiments. -good music and energy.
Thanks to the power of social media, Beanie Man’s song “Who Am I”, released back in 1997, has recently been revived with all the famous celebrities taking part in the #SimSimmaChallenge. Specifically, La La Anthony FaceTimed all of her friends, including Kim Kardashian, Kelly Rowland, and Ciara, starting the challenge by saying the first two words of the “Sim Simma” chorus and waiting for them to finish the rest of the lyrics: “Who’s got keys to my Bimmer!
And now, seven years since the release of his last full-length album, Beanie Man is blessing his fans Simma. The highly anticipated project will see Beenie Man reunite with Maya in Docta, as well as standout productions from Giggs, Shenseea, Patoranking and more.
The Source caught up with Beenie Man via Instagram Live, who had just gotten off a plane after performing in Costa Rica and Belize. Read below as we discuss the new project, reuniting with Mia, working with Giggs, reviving “Who Am I”, falling in love with hip-hop thanks to Slick Rick, working with Nicki Minaj and much more!
This is your first album in 7 years, why is now the right time?
Now is the right time because music needed me. Because Dancehall is not in the best shape right now. It’s not a strong point now because dancehall has turned into a different music and people are starting to do other things. Afrobeat appeared, hip-hop appeared, R&B appeared. Dancehall needs good music right now, so now is the time.
What was the inspiration for the album cover? I like that the goat just walked into the frame.
(laughs) This is evil. This is greatness, this is what comes. Greatness is greatness. Greatness doesn’t come at a price. I’m here to take a photo and this goat is welcome. This is greatness.
You are the “King of Dancehall”. Who is the Queen of Dancehall?
Queen of Dancehall – Spice.
“Girls Dem Sugar” was such a timeless record. Let’s talk about reuniting with Mia in Docta.
Maya, she’s kind of my nurse. When it comes to music, she and I get together to create music, it’s always a beautiful sound. We can always listen to, write, dance to one of these sounds. One of them is: we can be ourselves. This song “Docta” is awesome, I love it. When I sent this to her, I never expected this from her. But I expect everything because this is greatness and there’s nothing you can do about the grades.
I watched the video for the song “Girls Dem Sugar”, which is also iconic. Best memory from that moment?
My best memory was the idea of making this song, because we’re always in the studio with The Neptunes. I started singing, then the idea came to me that we needed someone to sing the chorus. Farrell decides he can have Mia. I said: okay, let’s see how great you are. Mia jumped out. The rest is history.
I love that you have Giggs on your record, I’m a huge fan of his. How did you guys start collaborating?
You see, there are different artists. There are veterans, there are young artists. There are artists who have just arrived, or artists who were there. Giggs is an artist who has been there. I respect Giggs and he respects me the same: we go into the studio and just create a sound. The two of us speak for ourselves. When we get together, we just make music.
Because Giggs had 3 days to record his part of the record. I went into the studio one day to record my part of the record, so Giggs doesn’t have it. He won’t come out here with that sound without me. Just write it down once. I really appreciate it. I love it when artists combine their creative thinking. Know that yes, I can do this. Not tomorrow, not next week. I can do the research right now. I really appreciate what Giggs did. He struck him out once.
How did you connect with Shenseea at The Fitness Instructor?
I connected with Shenseea a long, long time ago, before she became the person she is today. For a long, long, long time. She was so young. She decides, “Okay, I’ll take this music business.” First she came to us, then she went to the Grammys. We have known Shense for a long time. We are old friends.
How does it feel to revive Who Am I on social media? Did you expect this?
It’s not what you expect, it’s what happens. You don’t expect Sim Simma to come back after 25 years. You don’t expect this. Bam! Right at you, right in your face. Right there. People start a challenge and ask people passing by: “Sim Simma!” And expect people to say, “Who has the keys to the Bimmer”? This is a great thing. It’s a great feeling because that’s why you create music that lasts forever. You don’t make music that lasts 6 months.
When this song was released, we didn’t have TikTok or anything like that. Are you active on these social media apps?
Me, I don’t have a phone. I don’t use the phone because sometimes you get up at three in the morning and someone calls you and says, “Hello? Are you okay?” 3 or 4 am: “How are you?” I can not do it.
How long has it been since you had a phone?
I haven’t had a phone for years. Many years. For those who know me, they know. For those who don’t.
So how did they contact you?
Well, my friend has a phone. My son has a phone, my daughter has a phone. My next child has a phone. Everyone around me has a phone. As long as they have this number, they have my number.
I respect that because it means you are living in the moment.
Yeah. I live in time. (laughs)
Shout out to Wake Floka, he called you the GOAT.
Ah, thank you.
What was it like to be on a plane and everyone started singing this song?
On every plane I fly, people do this. This is the first time I’ve ever been caught. (laughs) People do this every time, on every plane I fly on. You see, I fly first class. My group is in the back of the plane, but I don’t like being alone in first class sometimes when I’m trying to relax. I’m from England, from Germany, I’ll be in the back seat of the plane. But it’s always This happens to me, someone just caught it.
This is a wonderful moment!
It’s always a great moment when fans support you and sing something about you.
This year marks the 50th anniversary of hip-hop. At what point did you fall in love with hip-hop?
Seriously. My first hip-hop artist was Slick Rick. “Six minutes, six minutes, six minutes, Doug E Fresh, you’re on.” (reading “The Show”) “La-di-da-di, we like to have fun. We don’t cause trouble, we don’t bother anyone. We’re just men sitting at a microphone, and when we rock the mic, we rock the mic right.” (reads “La Di Da Di”) That’s when I first fell in love with it.
Top 5 favorite rappers?
Slick Rick and Doug E Fresh, for starters. Big Daddy Kane. Biggie Smalls. Tupac. Fun and jokes aside, Busta Rhymes is one of my rappers. Seriously. And Eminem and 50 Cent.
Which Lauryn Hill song is your favorite?
My favorite things about the whole album are: The miseducation of Lauryn Hill. Seriously, this is my Bible.
What was it like seeing Nicki Minaj dance to your music recently?
Nicki Minaj always dances to my music. (laughs) Any fan of mine is also a Nicki Minaj fan.
What is the story behind The Shot?
It’s a funny story. She wrote a song and then wanted a verse about a bad person. She said, “Come for the villain.” (laughs) “Fix it.” She really liked it. It was funny. She needed a verse about a bad man and she said, “Come on, give it to me.”
Someone asked why Bounty Killer isn’t on the album.
Oh, because he’s recording his own album. He’s releasing his own album, so now wasn’t the right time. He works, I work.