Our very first From The Vault of the New Year journey’s back over a decade, to a time where “King Of Dancehall” Beenie Man heated up the charts with R&B belle Mya for the infectious ‘Girls Dem Sugar’.
The track, which was released in late 2000, is loosely based on Beenie’s international breakthrough hit ‘Who Am I (Sim Simma)’ and was produced by dynamic production duo The Neptunes for the Jamaican star’s studio album ‘Art And Life’.
A Reggae-R&B fusion, the track manages to juxtapose the Grammy winner’s Caribbean drawl with Mya’s soft delivery on the mesmerizing production. The overall sound might have been ‘pop-ier’ than his previous material, but still it didn’t prevent the 39 year from remaining a figure-head of Dancehall music.
Considered a minor hit in the US, ‘Girls’ charted at #54 on the Billboard Hot 100 but fared better on the R&B/Hip-Hop charts where it reached the 16th position. In the United Kingdom, it peaked at #13 on the Official Singles Charts. Despite its commercial shortcomings, we dare you to find an Urban house-party where this song isn’t played.
Its neon heavy promo visual was helmed by Little X and serves up a PG rendition of exactly what goes down during Jamaican bashes. Ms Harrison’s whining deserves a special nod of approval too.
Color us crazy, but a certain air of “they don’t make them like this anymore” inhabits us whenever we play that song. Maybe it’s the nostalgia or perhaps it’s simply the truth. Either way, we’ll be patiently waiting for songs of this variety to make a splash on the mainstream tallies again. As the saying goes, trends run in cycles and until tracks like this re-surface in a Top 40 context, we’ll keep hitting replay on this undeniable gem.
20 COMMENTS
HoneychildPlease
January 6, 2013 at 3:58 pm
OH my goodness oh my goodness….I use to love this song *Slow twerks*
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Everyone's A Critic
January 7, 2013 at 3:46 pm
Eeew.
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Cream
January 6, 2013 at 4:18 pm
I use to hate her voice but I like her last ablum kiss its a good album but with Bey gaga and Rihanna getting ready to comeback I don’t see it for this bitch POUR IT UP!!!!!!!
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Everyone's A Critic
January 7, 2013 at 3:48 pm
This is from the vault. Why are you mentioning current artists and their comebacks? It’s irrelevant. Suck a dick or go to school… Either way you clearly need brain
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Mother
January 6, 2013 at 4:20 pm
I remember batty flicking to this in many a house party lol! Good times
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King B>Rihanna
January 6, 2013 at 4:26 pm
Caribbean music so refreshing I mean Soca, Dancehall, Reggae, Reggae Fusion,Calypso are all great genres of music and a welcome change from the trash that is American music. Caribbean music will always be my favourite genre of music but that is a given since I’m from The Caribbean.
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That B*tch
January 6, 2013 at 4:33 pm
I forgot this song existed. Thanks TGJ for reminding me!
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truth(slayer of icki funky ass stans BITCH!!)
January 6, 2013 at 5:09 pm
Bitch
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Everyone's A Critic
January 7, 2013 at 3:49 pm
I hate you and your moments. Always lacking intelligence and class
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Os
January 6, 2013 at 5:34 pm
The legendary beenie man the dance hall king,i still love this track.
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Dangerous
January 6, 2013 at 6:35 pm
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Abel
January 6, 2013 at 9:11 pm
The lyrics to some of his songs have been criticized for inciting the murder of homosexuals.[20] He was removed from the 2004 MTV Video Music Awards after protests by gay-rights activists.[21] That same year, Beenie Man was stopped by police at Heathrow Airport in London, after the cancellation of a concert in England.[22] He then issued an apology for the lyrics through his record company.[23] 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.[24] The following year, he claimed his lyrics were anti-pedophilia, not against consensual homosexual relationships.[25]
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.[26] He later denied that he had signed the act.[27] As of 2010, protests have continued to cause cancellations of his concerts in some countries, including New Zealand, Belgium and the Netherlands.[28][29][30]
In 2012, Beenie Man apologized to the gay community for his earlier homophobic lyrics: “Let me make this clear and straight.[31] 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.”,[32][33] but in another interviews he was quoted for statements like “I never apologized.” and “I told them to leave us alone, to try to understand where we are coming from.” [34][35]
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Abel
January 7, 2013 at 7:43 am
I LOVE MYA-AALIYAH-MONICA-BRANDY ERA
I HATE BEENIE MAN…IF HE HATES ME, I HATE HIM TOO.
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Everyone's A Critic
January 7, 2013 at 3:51 pm
Who cares!? Not everyone’s gonna be tolerant. You ain’t gotta like him, just accept that this is a tune and move on… The world don’t revolve around gays. Everybody has someone against them but there’s something called freedom of speech, and although its wrong, where he’s from it’s common mentality.
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Abel
January 7, 2013 at 8:00 pm
I don’t think KILL THE HOMOSSEXUALS is acceptable. This is not FREEDOM OF SPEECH. Nobody is obligated to like homossexual, but that doesn’t mean they are allowed to kill gays. Read things first before saying shit, HOE!
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Everyone's A Critic
January 8, 2013 at 6:31 pm
Okay bitch, HOW AM I A HOE..? And when the fuck did beenie man kill a gay?
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Xocio
January 7, 2013 at 7:10 am
I LOVE ALL THINGS MYA, THE PEOPLE HATING ON MYA ARE FOLLOWERS, THEY GOBBLE UP EVERYTHING THAT MAINSTREAM MEDIA SHOVES DOWN THEIR THROATS, FORGETTING SOME OF THE ARTISTS THAT MADE YOUR BEST OF TIMES AND WORST OF TIMES BEARABLE, SOME OF YOU WAIT TO BE TOLD WHAT TO BUY AND WHEN.
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i&i(bare badness)
January 7, 2013 at 11:26 am
Still 1 of the baddest collabs? Baay badniss!!!!
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D.Scott
January 7, 2013 at 1:19 pm
This is my jam!
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Everyone's A Critic
January 7, 2013 at 3:53 pm
Mya’s bit KILLS me each time. It’s true, what urban house party did you go to where this weren’t played!? Music has changed boy, but music like this never dies.
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