Montreal: Few clouds, 4 °C
There’re many reasons why reggae lovers have to flock to EG Lounge to celebrate with Beenie Man when he comes to town on September 19th.
High on the list is the fact that the man whom they call the King of Dancehall is himself celebrating 30 years in the music business . And if his massive anniversary production at the National Stadium in Kingstown, Jamaica , on August 22, is any indication , fans here are in for a treat.
With a full repertoire of monster hits like Who Am I (his first international hit), De Girls Dem Suger, Romie, and Murderer, Beenie’s penchant for nicing up a session is unrivalled.
Beenie Man is coming to Montreal at a time when he’s celebrating a new relationship with the New York-based independent label Brookland Records. It’s a deal he’s particularly happy about because it gives him more creative control of his music.
As he said in a recent interview with the Jamican Gleaner: "Music is my life and has been my life from I knew myself. I was singing from I could talk.”
And it is that passion for music that took this nondescript youthman, born Anthony Moses Davis, from the edges of Kingston to become one of Jamaica’s best known performers, who has shared the stage and collaborated with many of the world’s biggest stars.
The Montreal stop-over is part of Beenie’s The Legend’s Return – North American Tour which kicked off on September 4th in New York City, and will make stoops in several cities across North Amerca before crossing the Atlancic to Europe and beyond.
It’s a good time for 36-year-old Beenie Man whose last major CD release was back in 2007, and who in the past several months has been the object of public eye-balling because of what appears to be a tumultuous break-up with his wife, peformer D’Angel.
Beenie Man began performing when he was 6-years-old and won many singing contests around his village.
He had to sing, he told an interviewer, because he was plagued by a stuttering problem and couldn’t speak.
“I used to sing the grocery list to the shopkeeper when mama sent me there. Everyone who knew me said I was going to be a singer," he was quoted as saying in the Gleaner.
That was a prophectic statement; in 1997, Beenie had seven hit singles at the top of the Jamaican music charts.
Today, 30 years later, he has a lot to show for it: A Grammy Award, 19 albums and countless number one hits.
On Saturday, September 19th Beenie will be at EB Lounge, 5345 de Maisonneuve Blvd. West.
Tickets for the show are $30 in advance, more at the door. Call 514-482-7921 for more information.
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