News
Beenie Man Coming
By Francis Doku, Graphic Showbiz
Feb 25, 2005, 08:06

Beenie Man

Since the mid-70s when Accra played host to Soul-To-Soul, a concert touted as the biggest to have taken place in Africa, the city has played host to many international acts, the biggest ones always taking place at the stadium.

A big one is coming again. He is Beenie Man, the leading artistic in the genre of dancehall. He comes along with 2 Face Idibia, Nigerian hip-hop/R&B artiste who are heading to Accra to perform at two concerts being organized as part of activities to mark the 48th anniversary of Ghana’s Independence.

The first concert is scheduled to take place at the Accra International Conference Centre on March 4 with the second show coming off at the Ohene Djan Sports Stadium in Accra on March 5.

Born Moses Davis in Kingston, Jamaica some 31 years ago, Beenie Man has been one of the most successful dancehall musician to have emerged from that country. Before he launched a music career, Beenie Man had been a successful DJ such, that by the age of ten he was a well-known figure in Jamaica music circles.

Beenie has many hit singles and had featured on those of other musicians before his first real album ‘Maestro’ was released in 1996. His hit song ‘Who Am I’ found its way to the UK Top Ten chart within two years.

However, it is with a collaboration he had with Janet Jackson on his 2002 album ‘Tropical Storm’ that brought his fame home to many Ghanaians. On that album many Beenie Man also featured the likes of Neptunes, Lil Kim and Lady Saw.

Accra based radio station Citi FM are the organizers of the two concerts and they are very hopeful that those who would make it to the conference centre and the stadium on the two nights will not regret doing so. “We are putting together two great concerts never to be forgotten in this country” says Christopher Adama, the Marketing Manager of Citi FM.

The concerts dubbed ‘Fresh From The Yard’ also have on the bill 2 Face Idibia. A former member of the famous Nigerian R&B/hip-hop boy band Plantashun Boiz, Innocent Uyah Idibia has won the hearts of many music lovers both in Nigerian and across Africa with his hit song ‘African Queen’.

‘African Queen’, a hugely successful song that was released on his debut album Face 2 Face, was recently named by the BBC as the number eight on the list of ten best African songs of all time. A recipient of several awards include Fame Music Awards, 2 Face whose album sold over 300, 000 copies within three months of its release undoubtedly has what it takes to wow the crowd  at the conference centre and the stadium.

Also lined up to rock the fans at the two shows are some of the big names in Ghana’s own version of hiplife music – hiplife. They include VIP, Okomfo Kwaadee, Lord Kenya, Tinny, Slim Busterr, 4x4 and Castro Destroyer. Christopher Adama believes that these artistes will give a local dimension to the foreign flavour that Beenie Man and 2 Face are going to bring to Ghanaians on those two nights.

Beenie Man will be accompanied by a strong 15-man band. “The boys have come to play, but the man is here to rule,” is how Nii Amarh Dagadu, a radio presenter at Citi FM puts it.