Back to Basics

Last year’s accident, along with the death of a close friend, threw things off kilter for Beenie Man. Here, he announces his return with a back to Jamaican roots-themed album.

The first song, ‘Dude’, intros with steel drums and stripped-down acousticy strumming, the kind where the emphasis is on the percussive sound of the plectrum striking the strings. It’s a very intimate, tangible sound that recurs throughout the album. Ms Thing provides the guest vocals, which coupled with Beenie Man’s Shaggy-like singing voice make for a fiercely catchy pop confection.

The title of the album notwithstanding, Beenie’s sound is plenty sophisticated. Back To Basics is full of effective floor-fillers like ‘King Of The Dancehall’ or the Timbaland assisted ‘All Girls Party’.

‘Good Woe’ is a very impressively neat and uplifting song. But not everything is of the same standard. ‘Set Away’ sounds curiously artificial, while ‘Love All Girls’ veers dangerously close to annoying novelty rap, before it is out-sleazed by ‘Pu**y Language’.

Towards the end of the record, soulful songs like ‘Back Against The Wall’ and ‘If A Neva God’ bring Bob Marlay to mind. It’s inevitable that, when someone towers over a genre, a lot of people will sound like him, but Beenie manages to keep a respectable distance.