Beenie Man - Best of Beenie Man [2CD Collector's Edition] (2000)

Beenie Man announced his arrival on the Jamaican DJ scene in 1986 at the tender age of 14. Throughout the '90s he racked up hit after hit, finally making his U.S. breakthrough with "Who Am I." This two-CD set might not compile all of the singer's hits, but with tracks like "Dancehall Queen," "Nuff Gal," his take on Bob Marley's "Crazy Baldhead" (with a vocal by Luciano), and many more whose rhymes ripple off his tongue, it offers a fair sampling of why he's the dominant DJ of the digital age. His tougher side gets an airing on disc 2 with truly bizarre cuts like "Maestro" and "Yaw Yaw." From the consciousness of "Foundation" and "Blessed" to the outright slackness of "Ole Dawg" and "Blackboard," Beenie Man covers the bases of modern dancehall. For anyone who discovered him through Art and Life, this is an essential primer to his greatness. --Chris Nickson