Beenie Man
Born: August 22, 1973
Birthplace: Kingston, Jamaica
Zodiac Sign: Leo
Moses Anthony Davis aka Beenie Man, is a Jamaican reggae and dancehall singer. He is referred to as the world's "King of Dancehall".
Beenie Man married Michelle "D'Angel" Downer on 22 August 2006. Downer was previously known as long-time girlfriend to Bounty Killer. They had a son together, Marco Dean Davis, born in November 2006. In June 2007, Beenie Man separated from his wife due to her alleged infidelity. In March 2010, they released a duet single entitled "You Are My First", although at the time they were separated. The couple divorced in 2011.
The lyrics to some of his songs have been criticised for inciting the murder of homosexuals. He was removed from the 2004 MTV Video Music Awards after protests by gay-rights activists. That same year, Beenie Man was stopped by police at Heathrow Airport in London, after the cancellation of a concert in the United Kingdom. He then issued an apology for the lyrics through his record company. In 2005, gay rights group OutRage! suspended their opposition to Beenie Man after he agreed not to play songs featuring homophobic lyrics, and he performed in London that year. The following year, he claimed his lyrics were anti-paedophilia, not against consensual homosexual relationships.
In 2007, it was reported that Beenie Man, along with several other artists, had signed the Reggae Compassionate Act, an agreement to cease performances of anti-gay material. He later denied that he had signed the act. As of 2010, protests have continued to cause cancellations of his concerts in some countries, including New Zealand, Belgium and the Netherlands.
In 2012, Beenie Man apologized to the gay community for his earlier homophobic lyrics: "Let me make this clear and straight.I have nothing against no one. I respect each and every human being, regardless of which race or creed, regardless of which religious belief you believe in, and regardless of which sexual preference you are, including gays and lesbian people. I respect all human...Please I am begging you do not have me up for some songs I wrote a long time ago. I love each and every one and am just begging each and everyone to do the same." In other interviews, however, he was quoted making statements such as "I never apologized" and "I told them to leave us alone, to try to understand where we are coming from." In 2015 prior to coming to New Zealand for a concert, GayNZ.com news site asked Beenie Man about the homophobic lyrics in his earlier songs. He hung up the telephone without answering.