He was booed off stage at a show celebrating the visit of Nelson Mandela. In 1993 at the very popular show Sting he accused fellow deejay Bounty Killer that the elder artist had stolen his catchphrase, "people dead". This triggered a lyrical battle which continued on the air with each artist counteracting the other's songs. Finally, in 1995, Beenie Man and Bounty Killer settled their differences on the air by actually signing a peace treaty and the two recorded an album together, Guns Out. This was followed by a single, "No Mama No Cry", a rehash of the Bob Marley classic "No Woman No Cry", speaking out against violence and inspired by the murder of Pan Head, another popular Deejay.
Partially as a result of prodding from his producers, Sly and Robbie, Beenie Man soon converted to the Rastafari movement.
In 1994, he was signed by Island Records and released the critically acclaimed album Blessed.
In 1995, Beenie Man released a remix of Barrington Levy's "Under Mi Sensi" in the United Kingdom, and collaborated with Dennis Brown and Triston Palma to release Three Against War and Lt. Stitchie on Mad Cobra Meets Lt. Stitchie & Beenie Man. He took another step up the ladder in 1996, releasing the seminal Maestro, produced by Patrick Roberts and shot him to UK fame. During the period from the mid to late '90s, Beenie Man dominated the Jamaican charts to the extent that he perhaps had a good claim to the crown of "Dancehall King", a title only bestowed previously on Yellowman in the early 1980s.
In 1998, Beenie Man signed to Virgin Records to release albums in the United States. His first American offering was The Doctor (1998). In 2000, Beenie Man teamed up with Arturo Sandoval and Wyclef Jean (The Fugees) to release The Art & Life. During the late 1990s, Beenie Man began his conquest of America with the hits, "Romie", "Who Am I" and "Girls Dem Sugar", which featured American R&B singer, Mya.
In 2002, he had a sizeable hit with a duet with Janet Jackson called "Feel It Boy", but his biggest break in America came in early 2004 with the release of a remix of "Dude", featuring guest vocals by fellow Jamaican Ms. Thing, as well as rhymes by Shawnna.
Protect Me
Beenie Man Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
All dem get up and do a fight dem one another
Bobo a fight gainst shanty and di bingie dem
A fight gainst di twelve tribe
But hear mi nuh
A nuh one a we, a nuh two a we,
A nuh three a nuh four a nuh five a nuh six a we
A di whole a we deh inna Selassie
Family, but jah
[Chorus: x2]
Protect mi from mi enemy caah
Mi nuh love how men a penny me
Like dem nuh waah mi reach mi destiny
But a king Selassie a carry me and mi fimily
Mi did know when di Bobo money low
Now dem get hype dem nuh waah do nuh show
A whoo only Selassie know seh
Dem get astonish how mi lyrics dem a flourish
D.J. just hide and whole heap just vanish
If dem waah refurbish mi a go draw fi mi polish
Gone back to mi days of all mi right and mi ribbit
But Selassie mi haffi ask you this right now
[Chorus]
Everyone waah fi know what is my formula
Dem a ask if mi a old time author
But a just di weed weh mi Rap up inna mi wrizzla
Round a mi yard mi go listen two Sizzla
King Priest and Prophet Rasta Man wi a nuh pastor
One psalm a day a so wi slew di vampire
Draw fi all sword and beast get tun over
Listen weh di D.J. a utter
[Chorus]
Di odda day dem shot di sheriff and di deputy go run
A who fuss come bout come tell man bout gun
Yet still dem a gwaan like dem waah dance fi done
Yuh think yuh can done our fun
Dem a bun fire dem yah natty haffi bun me
Caah mi naah dash weh dem yah classie Versace
Naah go walk barefoot and mek nuh bottle cut me
Naah go sell mi car and go ride nuh donkey
Yuh mad!
In Beenie Man's song "Protect Me", he speaks about the conflicts between different groups of Rastafarians: the Bobos, the Shanty, the Bingie, and the Twelve Tribe. Despite these divisions, he asserts that they are all united under Rastafarianism and Emperor Selassie I. He urges Selassie I to protect him from his enemies who are trying to prevent him from reaching his destiny.
The song shows how conflicts between different groups arise even within a supposedly unified community. The lyrics suggest that these conflicts are unnecessarily divisive and that they are often based on trivial differences. By reminding us of what unites us, the song serves as a call for unity within the community.
Line by Line Meaning
Rasta a move like men and people, eno
Rastafarians act like human beings, just like anyone else.
All dem get up and do a fight dem one another
Everybody fights against each other.
Bobo a fight gainst shanty and di bingie dem
The Bobo sect is fighting against the Shanty and Bingie groups.
A fight gainst di twelve tribe
The fight is also against the Twelve Tribes.
But hear mi nuh
Listen to me.
A nuh one a we, a nuh two a we, A nuh three a nuh four a nuh five a nuh six a we
It's not just one, two, three, four, five, or six of us.
No no no, a nuh seven a we, a nuh eight a we, A di whole a we deh inna Selassie Family, but jah
It's not seven, eight, or part of us, but the entire Selassie family.
Protect mi from mi enemy caah
Please, protect me from my enemies because they are after me.
Mi nuh love how men a penny me
I don't like how people are bothering me all the time.
Like dem nuh waah mi reach mi destiny
It's as if they don't want me to achieve my goals.
But a king Selassie a carry me and mi fimily
But King Selassie is the one who supports me and my family.
Mi did know when di Bobo money low
When the Bobo group didn't have much money, I knew them.
Now dem get hype dem nuh waah do nuh show
Now that they have some success, they don't want to associate with me.
A whoo only Selassie know seh
Only Selassie knows.
Dem get astonish how mi lyrics dem a flourish
They're surprised at how well my lyrics are doing.
D.J. just hide and whole heap just vanish
DJs are now hiding, and many people are disappearing.
If dem waah refurbish mi a go draw fi mi polish
If they want to restore their reputation, I'm going to do my best work.
Gone back to mi days of all mi right and mi ribbit
I'm returning to my roots and my way of talking.
But Selassie mi haffi ask you this right now
But Selassie, I need to ask you something right now.
Everyone waah fi know what is my formula
Everyone wants to know what my secret is.
Dem a ask if mi a old time author
They're asking if I'm an old-time writer.
But a just di weed weh mi Rap up inna mi wrizzla
But it's just the weed that I wrap in my paper when I smoke.
Round a mi yard mi go listen two Sizzla
Around my house, I listen to Sizzla's music.
King Priest and Prophet Rasta Man wi a nuh pastor
King Priest and Prophet Rasta Man are not pastors.
One psalm a day a so wi slew di vampire
We read one psalm a day, and this is how we killed the bad influence.
Draw fi all sword and beast get tun over
Get ready with your swords so we can defeat the enemy.
Listen weh di D.J. a utter
Listen to what the DJ is saying.
Di odda day dem shot di sheriff and di deputy go run
The other day, they shot the sheriff, and his deputy ran away.
A who fuss come bout come tell man bout gun
Whoever it was that started this commotion needs to be honest and own up to it.
Yet still dem a gwaan like dem waah dance fi done
However, they're still acting like they want the party to end.
Yuh think yuh can done our fun
Do you really think you can stop our fun?
Dem a bun fire dem yah natty haffi bun me
They're burning things and making a fuss, which makes me want to retaliate.
Caah mi naah dash weh dem yah classie Versace
Because I'm not throwing away my expensive Versace clothes for them.
Naah go walk barefoot and mek nuh bottle cut me
I'm not going to walk barefoot and injure myself with glass.
Naah go sell mi car and go ride nuh donkey
I'm not going to sell my car and ride a donkey.
Yuh mad!
Are you crazy?
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: PAUL CROSSDALE, MOSES ANTHONY DAVIS, DONALD DENNIS, MELBOURNE GEORGE MILLER, PATRICK ROBERTS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@albertonekingasquith5888
🔥🔥🔥🔥
@maxvelocity200
Years later I'm realizing just how great the production on this track was.
@lawsonmukunyadze6388
What was the name of this Riddim??
@mike-waynedjangoii6971
anyone know the name of the riddim
@Tahokmusic
Craze riddim came out in 1998