It Is Good To Be King: An Oral History of Moses Davis Part 3

Part 3 of BACKAYARD’s extensive interview with The King of the Dancehall Beenie Man

So basically it was after that clash your career started to look up?

 

Yeah man, my career mi nuh know about Bounty own…….. (Everybody Laughs)….. Yeah man, my career nominate for Grammy three time, win three MOBO awards, American Music Awards performance, Essence awards, is wah dem call it Best Looking Man in the Caribbean….

 

When you won that one?

 

’99. Yeah man mi have that inna mi office man. Even though mi have mi Escalade mi have mi accolades.

 

When did you start to get interest from labels overseas?

 

’94. ’94 mi sign to Island Records. Mi do ‘Blessed’ di album wid “Slam” and dem song deh. Yeah man a from ’94 mi guh so…. (Points to sky)…. and shoot man.

 

How was it working in those times when the industry was different and experiencing foreign labels?

 

Is not my experience is dem experience me. Mi nuh change my ting fi nobody. Every foreign artiste mi work wid is dem waan work wid me. Even Neptunes when we do “Girl Dem Sugar” remix, zeen, dem have one song. One song dem have, yuh nuh, it not even on the chart dem or anything. Dem jus have a big song wid Clipse then dem do di remix. Billboard, Grammy award, BET, MTV everything and everybody need them now. Right now if mi call Pharrell and seh mi want a riddim mi get it inna di email wid out a sending him a cent. When him get T.I. now and seh yo mi need yuh fi bus dah artiste yah and we guh do “Diss Badman yuh get shot”.

Yeah, I remember that one. That was the one when T.I. was wearing glasses….

 

Yeah, a him first song. Him first video too, so if him did know him wouldn’t a wear him glasses…….. (Everybody Laughs)….. Blind Gangster don’t ramp wid him, caan see from yah so to deh so, contacts woulda kill him. A wah kinda blind gangster that, blind man wid bout hundred gun inna him house. But a mi yute dehso we start meet the real deep rapper dem E-40 and dem. Every man waan work, then Jermaine Dupri come and we did “Money Ain’t A Thing” wid Jay Z, oooh god, we do Jagged Edge “Lets Get Married”, De Brat when she mek dah likkle come back deh, Mi and Jermaine do bout 10 song yuh nuh. Then mi start work wid Wyclef dem cah a nuff work we do yuh nuh, inna di hip hop world, mi a bout production and writing and dem supp’im deh too, yuh nuh.

 

Is there a difference working with those artistes as opposed to working with local Jamaican acts?

 

The difference here is that everybody inna Jamaica know wah yuh actually a do. When yuh guh overseas di studio full. Because remember yuh nuh, yuh have few rappers weh write dem own lyrics like a Jay Z. Yuh have rappers weh have writers yuh nuh. Alright di other day mi a voice a song fi Mustard (DJ Mustard) me and Ty Dolla $ign and Young Jeezy. It name “Link Up” yuh can go on the net guh find it, zeen, and mi deh inna di studio and riddim a play and mi a seh “Mustard yuh tief a ‘hol heap a mi melody dem” and him a seh “What a all a your melody dem mi tief”……. (Everybody Laughs)….. Because dem tek mi “Oh nanananana” yuh nuh know seh “I be feeling like a man when I walk through” (Rich Homie Quan) have di same melody.

Him lick over “Sim Simma” di other day wid “Some gal a freak she a di freak of the week” (Krept & Konan).

So Mustard dem a that dem do. When di rapper dem come inna di studio dem jus swarm mi, my lord and mi jus do my work because mi  nuh starstruck. Same so mi see a likkle one out deh and some man seh yo my girl that and rae rae. Di girl scream and come hug mi up and put her foot round mi. And man a seh so how yuh nah… and mi seh fi wah my lord a she a my fans. Mi nuh listen to her music dem a she a my fans. Alright see a big woman come hail mi now, Monica and she seh “Oh my darling”. Yuh see dah supp’im deh is a big people hug up, zeen, mi a fi har fans and she a my fan. We a star fi over twenty odd years yuh haffi get the difference. Likkle star weh buss last year, now she sexy and hot, yeah mi like har, but me fi scream fi har? Seriously? A twenty three mi guh fah now yuh nuh. Seriously, stop it man.  So right now my ting is to stay relevant stay current until I resign.

 

Well the hardest thing in music especially this genre is to stay current

 

Well mi have current inna mi house yuh nuh. I am always relevant. You have to be relevant because if you are not relevant you irrelevant, my lord, and if yuh irrelevant nobody nuh waan see yuh. Yuh get wah mi a seh now. Yuh haffi check yuh bookings. Sumfest is the biggest show inna Jamaica. If yuh nuh book fi dancehall night nobody nuh waan see yuh, yuh nuh. Do you understand what I am saying? Cah nuh care how much money yuh a charge this is Jamaica. Yuh a guh hold yuh likkle 10 grand and guh siddung, yah. This is Jamaica yuh coulda charge 20 nuh matter how much dem a pay di foreign artiste dem. This is Jamaica and regardless of how many Grammy award yuh win, if yuh live inna America yuh is a local artiste. Sorry figat fi tell yuh……. (Everybody Laughs)….. So di money weh yuh a look fah dem will pay a Shabba cause him live a foreign, good. Dem will pay Super Cat but you. Guh America guh charge man 50 thousand dollar don’t come charge we that, yuh a mussi idiot nuh boddah wid that. Me nuh inna di foolishness though, every year yuh haffi gi mi 3 million. When dem bawl down the 3 mi guh 4, yeah gimmie 3. Mi have people fi pay mi haffi pay mi band. Mi haffi line up mi stage how mi want it mi nah guh ask yuh fi do it. Is not like mi a get a million out of the money when it done. mi coulda end up wid all  500 thousand and end up a pay mi roadie and mi manager outta that same 500 thousand. All of that guh inna production cost, yuh nuh, yuh haffi have yuh bus dem. Fi carry down yuh people dem and mek sure dem alright. Mi moddah waan guh Sumfest, mi family waan guh down. Mi tell Sumfest book on hotel fi mi family it nah guh work. Mi done a gi yuh 3 million already wah more yuh waan from mi. This is Jamaica, my lord, yuh haffi think bout it. Sumfest a di one show weh yuh haffi carry yuh moddah. Regardless, a weh yuh a do, if she nuh waan guh dancehall night yuh have her don from the Thursday night until Sunday morning. So wah yuh do yuh see every year when mi book fi Sumfest mi work any night mi choose. If mi nuh waan work Dancehall night mi nuh waan work dancehall night. Lady Saw seh she waan close dancehall night how mi a work wid Lady Saw a close dancehall night mi a guh disturb her performance

You get wah mi a seh, there is no one on her caliber on that night. Mi nuh waan guh pon Friday night either, Jennifer Hudson dem, leave mi alone nuh. Put mi wid Rick Ross man big beard bredrin, zeen, mi will work after him at least the vibes a guh deh deh, yuh zimmie. So yuh can jus wah yuh waan push but if yuh relevant inna music yuh irrelevant my lord. So fi di past 7 years mi nuh put out nuh album. So this year mi a work pon one. Fi di past 7 years mi a do single, single, single, zeen. From mi do “Back It Up”, “Woman A Call Me”, “Ever Clean”, “Nuh Stress Mi Out” fi di ‘hol 7 years mi have bout three, four song and that what make me still be here today. Relevant! When mi a cuss Bounty and seh stop cuss mi and we go together and do “Legendary”. Him become a spot in the kids’ eyes because the kids caan siddung and listen “Man a badman so we nuh friend fish”, yuh modda a guh chop yuh. Yuh haffi listen to supp’im weh can play inna house. Yuh haffi stay relevant in the business man. So lookout for my album it’s called “Unstoppable” because that’s what I am, unstoppable until breath leave my body then, yah, I’ll be here continuing to make music.

 

What comes to your mind when you think about dancehall and where it has come from as opposed to where it is now?

 

What comes to mind when I think about dancehall? Me, mi woman, mi pickney dem, mi houses, mi studios, yah everything. Dancehall is not only music it is a lifestyle. It is a lifestyle weh bring forth every musician inna Jamaica. Because Dancehall is a system, that is a platform for I and I fi express I and I self. Every reggae international artiste weh yuh know come through dancehall dem just neglect it and seh dem a reggae superstar and we are dancehall artistes.

 

They always make dancehall seem like…

 

Like a boogie yagga music, like a di worst. Yeah, but from Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry to Chronixx buss through dancehall, yah.

 

Photos by Jik Reuben & Nickfotoworks

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