Personal life[edit]
Beenie Man married Michelle "D'Angel" Downer on 22 August 2006.[25] In June 2007, Beenie Man separated from his wife. In March 2010, they released a duet single entitled "You Are My First", although at the time they were separated.[25] The couple filed for divorce in 2011. [26] All legalities were completed in 2019. [27]
Controversy[edit]
Anti-gay lyrics[edit]
The lyrics to some of his songs have been criticised for inciting the murder of homosexuals.[28] He was removed from the 2004 MTV Video Music Awards after protests by gay-rights activists.[29] That same year, Beenie Man was stopped by police at Heathrow Airport in London, after the cancellation of a concert in the United Kingdom.[30] He then issued an apology for the lyrics through his record company.[31] In 2005, gay rights group OutRage! suspended their opposition to Beenie Man after he agreed not to play songs featuring homophobic lyrics, and he performed in London that year.[32] The following year, he claimed his lyrics were anti-paedophilia, not against consensual homosexual relationships.[33]
In 2007, it was reported that Beenie Man, along with several other artists, had signed the Reggae Compassionate Act, an agreement to cease performances of anti-gay material.[34] He later denied that he had signed the act.[35]
As of 2010, protests have continued to cause cancellations of his concerts in some countries, including New Zealand, Belgium and the Netherlands.[36][37][38]
In 2012, Beenie Man apologized to the gay community for his earlier homophobic lyrics: "Let me make this clear and straight.[39] I have nothing against no one. I respect each and every human being, regardless of which race or creed, regardless of which religious belief you believe in, and regardless of which sexual preference you are, including gays and lesbian people. I respect all human...Please I am begging you do not have me up for some songs I wrote a long time ago. I love each and every one and am just begging each and everyone to do the same."[40][41] In other interviews, however, he was quoted making statements such as "I never apologized" and "I told them to leave us alone, to try to understand where we are coming from."[42][43] In 2015 prior to coming to New Zealand for a concert, GayNZ.com news site asked Beenie Man about the homophobic lyrics in his earlier songs. He hung up the telephone without answering.[44]
Yellowman feud[edit]
In 2006, veteran deejay Yellowman publicly chastised Beenie Man for his hit "King of the Dancehall". Known as "King Yellowman" since the 1980s, the deejay took exception to Beenie Man proclaiming himself "king", as well as comments Beenie made regarding his appearance. Regarding the title of "king", Yellowman stated: "Him trying to make people feel like him was here before me, but him never deh here before me, because dem planning to do dem official crowning them claim say is an official crowning but dem a use some a di media as some of them organisation ...".[45] Beenie Man made comments later that year in German-based Riddim Magazine, comparing Bounty Killer to Yellowman in appearance: "Bounty Killer is a great artiste and he's ugly, too. He's got a rough thing about him, Jamaicans like that from the Shabba Rankin' days and the King Stitt days and the Yellowman days. They like ugly people."[46] Yellowman responded, "Him can diss me all him like, but him caan diss the Jamaican public. What kinda ting that him say inna Riddim magazine? If me ugly, him pretty, me know say me wear shirt, him wear blouse, me wear pants, him wear skirt."[46]
Legal issues[edit]
Court case[edit]
On 1 January 2021, Beenie Man was charged for breaches of the Disaster Risk Management Act (DRMA) and the Noise Abatement Act after he held an event in Jamaica in violation of measures to combat the COVID-19 pandemic.[47]