Tropical Storm

Tropical Storm by Beenie Man

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No one's ever questioned whether Beenie Man has the DJ skills and charisma to blow dancehall music up into Shaggy-like proportions. The question is, at what cost? Collaborations with heavyweight American hip-hop producers DJ Clue ("Fresh From Yard"), The Neptunes ("Bad Girl"), and Janet Jackson--who contributes a catchy hook to hip-hoppy single "Feel It Boy"--mean Tropical Storm ends up sounding not very, well, tropical. Crossover dancehall bids are cool, but there's no "Who Am I (Zim Zimma)?"-caliber tunes to be found and too few gritty tunes to keep the hardcore dancehall masses overly enthused. The Shocking Vibes crew add just enough authentic dancehall so you don't feel as if you're listening to a P Diddy record. Beenie's "singjay" flows shine on the Sly and Robbie-produced "You Babe," "Party Hard," and "Miss L.A.P." Certainly, a speedy UK garage track ("Yagga Yo") featuring Megaman from the So Solid Crew will titillate, but when the Neptunes' signature beats pop up on "Bossman," one begins to wonder whether Beenie was looking too closely at the pop charts (and the bottom line) in creating this project. --Dalton Higgins