Beenie Man Biography

Anthony Moses Davis, known as Beenie Man, was born in Kingston, Jamaica in 1973. His uncle played drums for Jimmy Cliff, and encouraged the young Anthony in his interest in music. The future Beenie Man began toasting when he was only five years old, and began winning talent contests before he was ten.

As a youngster, Beenie Man was introduced to a number of influential people in the industry, all of whom helped to establish his popularity. Beenie Man’s debut single, “Too Fancy,” was released in 1981, and his debut album, The Invincible Beenie Man: The Ten Year Old DJ Wonder, arrived in 1983. In that same year, the young artist found himself on Lawes' Junjo Presents Two Big Sounds, a breakthrough performance opportunity which garnered him even more attention for his extraordinary talents at such a young age.

But it was in the 1990’s that Beenie Man made his ascent to stardom. An appearance in 1992 at Reggae Sunsplash marked the point at which the DJ was ready to resurface as a talented adult with enough skill and polish to experience a genuine breakthrough. He recorded a version of Bob Marley’s classic, restructuring the title to “No Mama No Cry,” and the single shot to the top of the Jamaican charts. Hit singles like “World Dance” and “Praise Him” followed. Eventually, Beenie Man signed to Island Records and released the album Blessed, featuring another round of hits, including “Slam.” From there, Beenie Man worked on a number of collaborative albums in 1995, including Mad Cobra Meets Lt. Stitchie & Beenie Man and Three Against War (with Triston Palma and Dennis Brown.) “Healer” also joined him with Third World.

Maestro arrived in 1996, and in that same year “Dance Hall Queen,” hit the charts. “Who Am I” followed, and the years following were a collection of more hits: Many Moods of Moses (1997), Ruff’n’Tuff (1999), The Doctor (1999), Art and Life (2000), Black Liberty (2001), Tropical Storm (2002), Back to Basics (2004), Undisputed (2006), Monsters of Dancehall (2007), “Girls Dem Sugar” (2000), “Feel it Boy” (2002), “Bossman” (2003), “Dude” (2004), “King of the Dancehall” (2004), and “Girls” (2006), to name a few.

Beenie Man continues to perform and record. In 2009, he joined forces with Eric Nicks and The Trackmasters; he signed with their label Brookland Entertainment before releasing his next album, The Legend Returns. In 2014, he teamed up with Bounty Killer to record the single “Legendary,” and in 2015, he collaborated with the Nigerian artist known as Henricci, on the song “Sister Caro.”