Share

The self-proclaim King of the Dancehall and Grammy-winner, Beenie Man, comes back to New York after 13 years for his upcoming tour, King of the Dancehall. Beenie Man reached a major milestone in his career, when his U.S. visa was reinstated after a decade-long ban, since the U.S. Embassy in Jamaica revoking his visa in May 2010. His visa was officially reinstated in December 2024.

The visa ban impacted tour plans and blocked Beenie Man from performing internationally causing travel limitations. Now, with his visa reinstated, Beenie Man is making his comeback and ready to hit the music scene on American and European Stages.

Beenie Man’s upcoming tour will include a performance at the USB Arena in Queens, New York, during Memorial Day Weekend on Saturday, May 24th. He is scheduled to appear at the Chartway Arena in Norfolk, Virginia, on May 25th, the SummerJam 2025 in Cologne, Germany, on July 6th, 2025, and the Sun Splash Reggae Festival on July 13th in Den Haag, Netherlands.

To promote his upcoming tour, Beenie Man visited Jamaica, Queens, on May 16th at VP Record Retail Store, located at 170-19 Jamaica Avenue, for a meet-and-greet with the dancehall artist. The event was live broadcast on Irie Jam Radio 97.1FM throughout the evening.

Beenie Man came out and spoke to fans saying “Buy your tickets for the show at the USB Arena next week on May 24th!” he said.  Crowds of excited fans packed the store chanting the iconic chorus of Beenie’s Man’s 90s hit “Who Am I?” screaming “Simma, Simma, Who have the keys to my Bimmer? Pass me the keys to my truck!” and waving the Jamaican flag proudly.

The record store offered 10% off Beenie Man’s CDs and vinyl for the event. Other people from the music industry came like Ralph McDaniels from the cable music show Video Music Box, and DJ DeeJayROY was spinning Beenie Man’s biggest hits.

Bennie Man, or Moses Anthony Davis, was born in the Waterhouse District of Kingston, Jamaica. He  joined VP Records in 1992. In 1997, he released his album, “The Many Moods of Moses” which achieved the international hits “Who Am I” and “Romie” In 2001, he won his first Grammy on his 12th studio album “Art and Life” and won DJ of the Year from 1993- 2001. During the pandemic in 2020, performed a historic Verzuz battle with another dancehall legend Bounty Killer on VerzuzTV. Beenie won and earned 900,000 U.S. streams after the Verzuz with over 3.7 million viewers, including Pop star Rihanna.

In 2024, Beenie Man was awarded The Order of Distinction(DO) by Jamaica’s Order of Societies of Honor on National Hero’s Day for his Outstanding contributions to the dancehall genre and his unwavering influence on music both in Jamaica and around the world.

VP Records released an official statement of the event saying “We were proud to host Beenie Man at the VP Records retail store and thank everyone who came through. The turnout was a testament to his impact and the continued support of the community.”  said Richard Lue, Senior Director of Marketing at VP Records.

 

Photo Credit: Sherica Daley