Songoftheday 10/31/24 - You want a proper fix? Call me You want to get your kicks? Call me...
"Dude" - Beenie Man featuring Ms. Thing
from the album Back To Basics (2004)
Billboard Hot 100 peak: #26 (one week)
Weeks in the Top-40: 6
Today's song comes from dancehall DJ/toaster Beenie Man, who had scored his second top-40 hit on Billboard magazine's Hot 100 in the autumn of 2002 with "Feel It Boy" with help from Janet Jackson. So momentum was primed for his next release, Back To Basics, which arrives in 2004. The lead single from the set went back to his reggae roots with "Dude", which also featured fellow Kingston, Jamaica native Nateshia "Ms. Thing" Lindsey. Written and produced by Dave Kelly, the lyrics have the pair trade come-ons to their readiness, to, well, you know. Beenie claims that he can "put it on when dem wiggle and scream". while Ms. Thing wants a "dude who will do me in his van". Classy. The production from Kelly, which uses the "Fiesta riddim" backdrop instead of the overtrod Diwali of the time, is much bouncier and festive, and makes it much more palatable for its canned oversexual lyrics.
"Dude" became Beenie Man's third and final top-40 hit on Billboard magazine's Hot 100 in June of 2004, while peaking at #16 on their R&B/Hip-Hop Singles chart and #12 on the Rap Songs list. On the radio, the song climbed to #34 on the Mainstream Top-40 Airplay chart, #25 on the R&B/Hip-Hop list, and #34 on the dance/R&B-oriented Rhythmic format. Internationally, the single rose all the way to #7 on the British Singles chart and made the top-40 in Italy at #24. The Back To Basics album, released in July of that year, came in at #51 on the Billboard 200 sales tally, #7 on the R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, and spent two weeks at #1 on the Reggae Albums list.
The second and final single from the album, "King Of The Dancehall", had more of the vibe that Sean Paul was serving at the time, and it made the R&B top-40 at #26 while slipping on the Hot 100 at #80.
Beenie man returned in 2006 with his next album Undisputed, which is his most recent charting set on the Billboard 200 at #65, peaked at #12 on the R&B Albums list, and topped the Reggae Albums chart for three weeks. The big single from the set, "Hmm Hmm", climbed to #31 on the R&B/Hip-Hop singles chart, #19 on the Rap Songs list, and "bubbled under" the Hot 100 at #122. Another cut from the album, the more mainstream R&B of "Girls" featuring future SOTD artist Akon, was a top-40 hit in New Zealand at #38 and almost made the mark in the United Kingdom at #47.
Leaving Virgin Records, Beenie Man faded from the mainstream music scene back to his reggae enclave. He's released a bevy of records on indie labels, with 2016's Unstoppable getting to #3 on the Reggae Albums list. His most recent release, Simma on the MD Music label in 2023, earned Beenie Man a Grammy nomination for Best Reggae Album, losing to Colors Of Royal by Julian Marley and Antaeus.
Ms. Thing released one full-length album, Miss Jamaica, in 2004, and has sang on album tracks from David Guetta and Major Lazer.
(5/10)
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Up tomorrow: Rap-pop hybrid group calls out a parent.
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