Blessed

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.

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.

Beenie Man A.K.A Moses Davis, the self-proclaimed "girl dem sugar", is at the top of his game on this disc, relative to the time it was released. Five (5) of the songs on the album made the top ten on the local charts. Writing most of his own lyrics, Beenie is able to bring forth exactly what he as a singer/deejay wants to say.He does this well on his "bad man" tunes and equally well, if not better on his "girl tunes" namely 'Slam & Tear Off Mi Garments'. Known for his versatility, Beenie sings, 'Me no believe in the devil, or the mark of the beast, I'd rather dead before I put the triple six (666) inna me head.'To iterate, this is a very good album. If you are a true dancehall fan, go and BUY it.

In his music, Beenie Man advocates killing gays. More than30 gays have been killed in Jamaica, where he comes from.His music has lots of influence there. In some cases mobssang 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 hewould not apologize. If someone advocated the killingof Blacks or Jews, they would not be tolerated. It seems strangethat in the 21st century the world still tolerates someonewho advocates the killing of gays. I suspect that the worldwould not tolerate this if white men were getting killed.Please don't support him by purchasing his music.