Grammy-winning dancehall artist Beenie Man is ready to deliver island vibes to one in all music’s most intimate and revered levels — NPR Music’s Tiny Desk Live performance Collection. The platform, identified for spotlighting musical brilliance in its rawest type, has tapped the veteran artist as a part of its Black Music Month celebration this June.
Beenie Man is amongst 9 influential artists acknowledged for his or her contributions to the worldwide soundscape. His inclusion on this yr’s lineup is very important, because it comes simply forward of the twenty fifth anniversary of his landmark album, Artwork & Life, launched July 11, 2000 — the identical undertaking that earned him a Grammy and catapulted tracks like “Women Dem Sugar” and “Ola” into worldwide acclaim.
The “Sim Simma” hitmaker introduced the information by way of social media, expressing his gratitude for the chance.
“Actually honoured to be a part of this,” he wrote. “Tiny Desk is an area the place actual music shines and mi prepared fi characterize.”
Although Beenie has not revealed the precise air date of his efficiency, anticipation is already excessive — not simply amongst his international fanbase however throughout the Caribbean diaspora proud to see a dancehall legend taking middle stage.
A stage for greatness
Since launching in 2008, NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert events have constructed a legacy of intimate, stripped-down dwell classes that includes among the world’s most revered artists throughout genres. Carried out in a small workplace house at NPR’s Washington, D.C. headquarters, the concert events have drawn hundreds of thousands of viewers for his or her uncooked musicality and vulnerability.
Through the years, Tiny Desk has hosted standout performances by Anderson .Paak, Alicia Keys, Usher, Mac Miller, T-Ache, and Tyler, the Creator, to call a couple of. In recent times, the collection has additionally created house for reggae and dancehall, that includes beloved Jamaican abilities resembling Koffee, Protoje, Sevana, Chronixx, Lila Ike, Damian “Jr Gong” Marley, and Sean Paul.
For Black Music Month, NPR’s curated lineup contains Keyshia Cole, CeCe Winans, E-40, Wiz Khalifa, Amerie, Alex Isley, Stanley Clarke, and Dwelling Color — every artist spotlighted in honor of their cultural and musical milestones. Beenie Man’s inclusion cements dancehall’s place within the ongoing dialog about Black musical innovation and affect.
As one in all Jamaica’s most enduring music ambassadors, Beenie Man has lengthy blurred style strains, collaborated with international stars, and stayed related throughout many years. His upcoming Tiny Desk efficiency is a proud second for the whole dancehall group.
And because the world watches, Beenie is poised to do what he’s at all times completed greatest: deliver the warmth.