Search - Beenie Man :: Undisputed

Fitting for a King?. . .

Achis | Kingston, JA/Philipsburg, SxM | 08/30/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"2 years ago fans of Beenie Man were treated to what was one of his finest albums in a very long time, Back To Basics. B2B was a 15 track nearly totally dancehall smash of an album which featured 2 of Beenie's biggest hits Dude and King of the Dancehall.



Now just 2 years later he returns with an attempt to follow up on that fantastic album. While definitely whats going on, on Undisputed is more than interesting, this is one of those cases where whats going on outside of the studio is even more interesting. Amidst rumors of leaving his longtime mangers, Shocking Vibes and splitting with his longtime band (and the best backing band in d'hall) Ruff Kutt, and his marriage to a model who just happens to be the ex of his decade+ long rival Bounty Killa. Everything is crazy for Beenie Man!



And while some may question his acts outside of the studio (especially if he really fired Ruff Kutt!), his actions inside the studio are becomming less and less questionable. Undisputed is not as good as Back to Basics, not at all. But when you just take the artist's part of it all, Beenie's flow hasn't lost a cut at all.



The best tune here is probably the first JA single, Hmm Hmm, the song is the big sounding vibe that was found on King of the Dancehall from B2B, not surprisingly both are produced by the brilliant Tony Kelly. The biggest hits here which were previously released are Heart Attack and the MASSIVE Come Again over Vendetta's Sweat riddim. The flow on Come Again is something out out of a Papa San/Twista lyric handbook, flat out brilliant! And definitely one of the best songs on the album.



Also check My World featuring longtime spar Lady Saw which features the best hook on the album outside of Hmm Hmm (there are HIS/HER choruses!), the two always make a good team and My World ranks up there with the best of them. Also, Set You Free is more an old school (at least melody-wise) sounding vibe over a Black Chiney riddim. And his tune Beenie Man is at least interesting because it features his wife, D'Angel singing the hook, and the flow is of course masterful.



All that being said, the musically most interesting tune on all of Undisputed is the title track. The song features a wicked wicked sampling of Conroy Smith's Dangerous (pat yourself on the back if you remember the original). Undisputed is a fine fine tune, and credit goes to the continuously brilliant Black Shadow.



There are missteps here: I'm not too fond of the second single, Girls with Akon or the Storch produced Dutty Wine Gal, Storch's other production, Jamaican Ting isn't a very strong tune either, however, it is ultimately saved because of the sickly flow Beenie builds around it (especially the last verse!), and the reggaeton tune Fire. . . NO! (and on a sidenote, how do you not put Wi Set Di Trends on this one?)



Overall, however, the good here far outweighs the bad, and the bad even isnt that bad. Beenie Man is as sharp as ever, proving he is one of the few acts who could probably write a full album in his sleep. Glad to see him back, glad to see Lady Saw with him, and this album will appeal to many of the same crowd that liked B2B, there are no obvious crossover attempts (even with Storch on board) and its a fine fine effort from the Undisputed King of Dancehall.



(and should Virgin choose not to renew him, expect Atlantic to sign him the next day)"

Not his best

A. Karu | 10/05/2006

(3 out of 5 stars)

"This album is just not Beenie Man's best work. I found this album to be missing some crucial tracks (We Set The Trend, Swing Eh Weh, Jamaican Style) and a few more. Anyway, there def are some real good tracks on there, such as heart attack, hmm hmm, beenie man, but he still fails to nail it. The reggaeton song was a very bad idea, it just doesn't flow with the album. I was expecting big things from Undisputed, but didn't get what I thought I would."

My Beenie

F. Golan | Israel | 09/03/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"hello.

since Back to Basics which was brillient i waited for another album from beenie. after he released a few Very tight mixtapes he got to this. i am very happy cus this is tight as hell.

all the songs are good, nothing isnt bad, but the reggaeton thing sucks. but still i love this album and i am happy he is back."