Songoftheday 4/22/21 - You ever buck a gal weh deep like a bucket? Draw fi your needle, and your needle can't stitch it...

 

 

"Who Am I (Sim Simma)" - Beenie Man

from the album Many Moods Of Moses (1997)

Billboard Hot 100 peak: #40 (two weeks)

Weeks in the Top-40: 2 

Today's song of the day comes from Beenie Man, the recording alias of dancehall artist Anthony Moses Davis. Hailing from Jamaica's capital city, Kingston, Beenie Man got started performing as a child, and eventually came under the wing of reggae superstar producers/performers Sly & Robbie. In fact, his first album was named The Invincible Beany Man (The 10-Year Old DJ Wonder), which was recorded in 1983 but not released in America until 1987. His next release didn't come for another nine years, after Davis finished school. It wasn't until his fifth album Blessed that he would make his mark, placing at #12 on Billboard magazine's Reggae Albums chart in 1996. From that record the single "Slam" rose to #75 on the R&B Singles chart. His follow-up set, Maestro, did even better, reaching #3 on that list a year later. Also that year, the soundtrack to the movie Dancehall Queen gave Beenie Man his first minor hit on the Hot 100 pop chart in America, when "Dancehall Queen" featuring Chevelle Franklyn popped in at #90 there and #65 on the R&B list. At the close of 1997, Beenie Man released The Many Moods Of Moses, which would finally bring him mainstream exposure. The lead single from the record was "Who Am I (Sim Simma)", not to be confused with Snoop Dogg's declarative debut single. Written by Beenie with producer Jeremy Harding, whose composition "Playground" provided the foundation of the track, the song has Beenie rapping furiously over the beat, almost like a reggae Busta Rhymes. The result had a chorus that almost seemed like something it wasn't, starting "How do you make love to a fellow? In a rush, pass the keys to the truck", but the whole lyrics were about getting it on with a lady. Nevertheless, even though "Dancehall Queen" was miles more radio friendly, this was his breakthrough track...

 

 "Who Am I" became Beenie Man's first top-40 pop hit in May of 1998. The song climbed to #15 on Billboard's R&B chart, while peaking at #6 on their Rap Singles list. Internationally, the single was a big success in the UK, rising to #10 on the British Singles chart. The Many Moods of Moses album, released in December of 1997, topped Billboard's Reggae Albums chart, and made it on to the main Billboard 200 sales tally at #151. At the Grammy Awards in 1999, the album was nominated for Best Reggae Album, losing to his former mentors Sly & Robbie for their Friends record. 

A second single from Many Moods Of Moses, "Foundation", was a minor hit in Britain at #69. He will be back on this series again.

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Here's Beenie Man performing the song live for a TV appearance, inserting a bit of Bobby Brown's "My Prerogative" into it...

and finally, in concert in 2002..

Up tomorrow: Folk hero's son's band mines the Thin White Duke for this monster of a movie.