Best of Beenie Man Collector's Edition
Beenie Man announced his arrival on the Jamaican DJ scene in 1986 at the tender age of 14. Throughout the '90s he racked up hit after hit, finally making his U.S. breakthrough with "Who Am I." This two-CD set might not compileallof the singer's hits, but with tracks like "Dancehall Queen," "Nuff Gal," his take onBob Marley's "Crazy Baldhead" (with a vocal byLuciano), and many more whose rhymes ripple off his tongue, it offers a fair sampling of why he's the dominant DJ of the digital age. His tougher side gets an airing on disc 2 with truly bizarre cuts like "Maestro" and "Yaw Yaw." From the consciousness of "Foundation" and "Blessed" to the outright slackness of "Ole Dawg" and "Blackboard," Beenie Man covers the bases of modern dancehall. For anyone who discovered him throughArt and Life, this is an essential primer to his greatness.--Chris Nickson