Quick hit, enduring song

Mel Cooke, Gleaner Writer

Sim Simma' was recorded in one take and within an hour of being finished, the negative comments began. Beenie Man says it was released the following day and blew up immediately.

He claims: "Sim Simma a de fastes' song buss inna Jamaica. It play one time pon the radio an' de whole Jamaica pop dung," he said.

IRIE FM disc jock Big A was the first person to play it on air. "Me come the Wednesday, voice it the Thursday, the Friday it buss. An fe de whole weekend it was Sim Simma."

Then, he says, by the following week it was on radio in England and the United States. It did not hurt that the BMW shape had been changed recently "and everybody did have one. So if him a work pon the radio that a his jam - 'sim simma, who got the keys to my bimmer'. So him just play it naturally without somebody say 'play da song deh fe mi'."

"So the song really go by itself until a company pick it up," Beenie Man said.

"Grammy Awards and everything come after."

Beenie Man had had popular songs in the US market before (he says Romie was his first big song in the US and Europe) and was no stranger to record deals. However, he said Sim Simma landed him the Virgin Records deal.

With all the attendant controversy, Beenie Man said he was not hesitant to perform Sim Simma as it had been recorded.

"Never will, trust me," he said. "A when artiste them start pon me now, like Bounty Killer dem a say him a dis an' ray ray, then mi start explain myself. Cause you know a Jamaica dis. Anything dem say dem fan believe, y'nuh. No care how literate you is, They are illiterate to what life is. So no care how literate you are, nah make no sense. 'Cause you know the full programme of what's going on. It no make no sense you explain it to some people whe nah go understan' it."

"So me a say alright, study comma and know this is the comma," he said, deejaying the controversial lines again.

The Sunday Gleaner asked Beenie Man if he enjoyed the controversy and he said "what?! Fully. Trust mi. Make mi a whole heap a money. I fulljoy it man, trust mi".

He said Sim Simma was number one in various countries around the world and led to tours, Beenie Man laughing as he recalled being told "dem need yu dung a Nigeria, Sim Simma a number one".

"I really apprecilove that, with the support of the fans and thing. Sim Simma mek me tour the world two time."

a must-do

It remains a must-do in his performances, along with Romie and Girls Them Sugar, which preceded it. It was first performed in New York at the Amazura and Beenie Man said he started with Sim Simma. It was first performed in Jamaica at Reggae Sumfest.

Beenie said the Sim Simma hip-hop remix with Maya was his idea, as he went after the Grammy Award in the Reggae category. It came, as did a slew of other awards.

On his chart of personal hits, Beenie Man places the song right at the top.

"Sim Simma will always be the number one song because it is the one that mek me and put me on the map. It will always be forever. Nothing beat the first song that put you there. It will always be my favourite Beenie Man ever," he said.

This is even though he had Romie and Girls Them Sugar breaking out of Jamaica before. "Sim Simma is the shiznit, trust me," Beenie Man said.

"I have bigger sales, records sell more than Sim Simma, like with Janet Jackson, but is not the same. Is the one that make you who you are. That's the one that will always be in your mind."