In compliment to its corny title, Beenie Man's second album for Virgin Records has created something of a storm since its release in the US. It went straight in at number 18 in the Billboard album chart and sold 75,000 copies in its first week. That's outrageously successful in reggae terms and the only other artist who's come close is Shaggy.
Grammy-winning Beenie is an international star now. And 'Tropical Storm' features a host of bigwigs and lots of hits to show for it. There's already been one, the Neptunes-produced 'Feel It Boy', with Janet Jackson's sweet trills guesting over the smooth, R&B back-beat. It sounds a lot like something that Ja Rule might do, the boy-girl, rough-smooth duet, and that's the whole approach to this album.
It's blatant commercial product, something for everyone. Lil' Kim struts her stuff on 'Fresh From Yard' with DJ Clue providing the hip hop rhythm track. Beenie Man yagga-yagga-yos and zigga-zas over garage beats from So Solid Crew on 'Yagga Yo'.
But as far as authentic reggae goes, it's more of a tropical drizzle. The only serving of true dancehall is the awesome 'Bossman', Sean Paul and Lady Saw chatting on a hip hop style dancehall rhythm laced with a Latin guitar from The Neptunes. It's the one track that shows Beenie for the DJ that he is, probably the best JA has to offer. Yet you wouldn't know it from the rest of the album.
While 'Tropical Storm' may have a longer shelf-life than its predecessor, 'Art and Life', it's taken Beenie Man much further away from the best that he can be.
