Janet Silvera, Senior Gleaner Writer

WESTERN BUREAU:

His largest audience to date is 250,000 strong, yet 'King of the Dancehall', Moses 'Beenie Man' Davis, has turned down lucrative businesses overseas just so he could appear on a festival that attracts a much smaller crowd, the 'world's greatest reggae show', Reggae Sumfest.

And after 30 years of administering some of the finest lyrical medicine, 'The Doctor's' patient list has grown considerably, and he admits to The Sunday Gleaner, "Mi buss 1993, the same year Sumfest start.

"I had my first two hit records; I was overwhelmed and excited and I was billed for one of the biggest shows. Sumfest motivated and pushed me," he said, giving credit to the event that hailed the turning point in his life.

Now in its 17th year, the festival organisers will dedicate its most touted night, Dancehall Night, to the artiste, executive director, Johnny Gourzong says. "Beenie has contributed to the success of the event over the years, he has only missed two Sumfest," adds Gourzong.

The two occasions that Beenie Man did not grace the Sumfest stage was the year the 'Code of Conduct' was introduced and when the he and Bounty Killer were ridiculed and banned after bashing gays at a Jamaica Carnival event.

Great energy

On Thursday, Beenie Man, who is keeping his plans close to his chest, would only commit, the following: "They (the audience) shouldn't expect anything but the best, the fans will get everything from beginning to current."

When pressed further, he reminisced on last year's powerful delivery. "People waited for me until 7 a.m. and the crowd appeared as if they just got there with great energy. If I can be one of the last performers and the people still demonstrate such vibration, this is a great achievement," he stated proudly.

The response, filled with conviction, came as no surprise, as Beenie Man has maintained his relevance, and in most cases, dominance over the last 30 years and he credits the effect to his immense hunger.

"If you are hungry you have to eat or face the consequences of gas, or die of hunger," he says.

"That's me with music; it feeds my hunger and quenches my thirst. I maintain my relevance by adapting and adjusting - as the music change, format changes. I keep up with these changes."

For the Grammy Award-winning artiste, music constantly changes and adapting to the change is key to surviving. "Back in the 1990s I set the trend. Now the youths learn from me and apply their change. Now they are setting the trend so I have to keep up with the trend," he explains.

Noting the importance of the youths to the music industry, he says established artistes should cultivate a feeder system. "Even though they are young, they come up with fresh and new ideas. It's a great thing. They are innovative; it is obvious in this new era of music," he says.

Today, it seems as if he listens to his own advice because he is still in demand as it took The Sunday Gleaner two weeks to track him down while he toured the continents of Europe and Africa.

"I work every weekend; I guess that gives me merit. Always in demand," he boasts.

Boastful or not, Beenie Man is also showing some amount of maturity these days, and questions about his near two-decade music rivalry with Bounty Killer were left unanswered.

However, in relation to the question regarding his relationship with the artiste, his response was: "I had no relationship with Killer."

The interview became even lighter, when the father of eight, who is also a grandfather, chuckled at the term grandfather.

"My daughter and I are like siblings and the grandfather feelings haven't reached me. My granddaughter is like a niece to me. I love them so much," he says.

If there is one thing that is certain in Beenie Man's family, it is clear his musical career will influence his children. "They all love music, and it's up to them to decide to do it. They have their own choice to be their individual self. I will not force them into music," he says.

A child artiste himself, his career started at age five as a skinny-legged, bulby-eyed youth with much promise. "I was influenced by Jimmy Cliff, Ras Michael, Ras Carby, General Trees and Sasafras. I should include Bob Marley, I knew him when I was a youth growing up," Beenie points out.

Confident

Having worked so hard to get to where he is today, there was hardly any humility, and a lot of confidence, in his response to the way his career has catapulted.

"You don't get into anything unless you want to move up. You have to think big. Aim small and you won't get anywhere," he cautions.

Today, the unofficial King of the Dancehall says the music has not changed his life, instead, "Dancehall has been my life. There is no life without dancehall".

janet.silvera@gleanerjm.com