New management structure for Beenie Man

Ciga Records recently announced that dancehall artistes Beenie Man and Shane-O are now part of their new management portfolio.

The deal inked between the label and the two entertainers covers the overall management of their careers, which CEO and founder, Shawn ‘Ciga’ Baptiste has explained should help to propel their brands and music to the international stages, “a hundred times more than has been witnessed over the last decade”.

The announcement of the management deals was made at a launch and media mingle held inside Talk of the Town at The Jamaica Pegasus hotel last Thursday.

“Shane-O is talented and we’re tapping deeper into the deejay’s potential. And looking into the career of Beenie Man, I recognised that he has not been able to travel to the US, which has limited the opportunities. It is very important that he gets back, physically into the American market. A name like his, would attract large audiences and sold- out shows,” Baptiste told The Gleaner.

The Ciga Records executive, known for having a deep-rooted passion for Jamaican culture, would have met the Who Am I artiste in the earlier stages of his career, as an event promoter in the US Virgin Islands. “I believe we met after the second show I ever executed in my life and since then we remained in contact. Recently, on a trip to Jamaica when I brought Charlie Wilson to record with another artiste, Beenie and I sat down and had a serious talk about the future. I said, ‘You need to be overseas’ and he noted that the visa was an issue, but I’ve reassured him, that could be resolved with the right team,” he said.

Beenie Man’s US visa was revoked over 10 years ago, but Ciga Records has been working “carefully and tactically” with a team of attorneys to have his travel privileges reinstated. One of the major issues the reggae-dancehall community faces is that only a handful of its practitioners are travelling he said.

“We need more of our artistes travelling for the sole purpose to perform and make media appearances especially with the current state of dancehall. A lot of the younger acts are going overseas and sharing their version of dancehall, and not necessarily delivering the authentic sounds, which the likes of Beenie Man have worked hard to preserve throughout his career. The visa legalities are just a matter of putting the right attorneys, who know what to do, in place,” Baptiste shared.

He continued, “Another problem we have is that many of the reggae-dancehall artistes, out of goodwill, allow persons within their camp or entourage to manage things that require the attention of professionals. Our team has five core persons with years of experience in the industry, who understand the details of travel and tour execution, music publishing, and the legal parts of the business. Another important thing is good communication; that is key to treating any business like a business, we’re providing this to both Beenie and Shane-O.”

Meanwhile the proclaimed ‘King of the Dancehall’ is taking everything in stride. He told The Gleaner that his expectations of Ciga Records and the management of his career “are so far, so good ... my expectations are always on the positive side because of which part me career deh already and he is a good businessman. So, let us see”.

“I want to make it clear that my brand is my brand, and with my brother [Rohan Smith] who everyone knows as ‘Blue’ we have MD Entertainment. ‘Cigar’, who is my friend from he was called ‘Cigarette’ is the manager of my career, is not new management,” he said.

Beenie Man and Shane-O are on the latest production by the label titled, Eyes Open Riddim, with songs Mankind and Wicked People, respectively.

Last Thursday event doubled as the official launch of the rhythm project which also features songs by Sizzla, Yaksta, Alaine, Chronic Law, Bounty Killer, Jahshii and Kibaki.

stephanie.lyew@gleanerjm.com