Beenie Man leads Caribbean side in live Wild 'N Out show at Barclays Center

Dancehall star Beenie Man was on stage at the Barclays Center in New York on Sunday, where he captained the Caribbean team in a live presentation of Nick Cannon's Wild 'N Out. While the MTV programme has been known as an improv series since 2005, this staging was built for a live audience, and the veteran deejay had patrons fully engaged from the opening moments through to the end.

The event was viewed as a big entertainment and cultural showcase, and Beenie Man's role carried extra significance because he became the first Caribbean captain in the history of the Wild 'N Out brand. He shared the spotlight with fellow dancehall performer Gyptian, and the pair brought a dancehall edge into the comedy format for what turned out to be a strong night of live entertainment.

After leaving the stage, Beenie Man spoke with THE WEEKEND STAR about the connection he sees between battle rap and dancehall deejaying. He said his relationship with Cannon started years ago through the film King of the Dancehall.

“It came about from the movie King of the Dancehall. I was passing through on set, and the casting director introduced him to me. When we met, he said he was a big fan of mine and sang Sim Simma. He wanted to use the song in the movie and also have me in it to narrate a part with me talking about the character he played called ‘Tarzan’. That is how we linked up. For the Wild ‘N Out [show], the producer reached out to my team, and we said yes, let’s do it,” he said.

He said the exchange backstage with Cannon was easy-going and full of jokes, adding that their personalities work well together. “The experience was great. Working with Nick is always smooth because he is a writer, director and a boss, and so am I, so we are compatible. He told me to be great is to be the greatest within yourself, you know!”

According to Beenie Man, the two of them did some freestyling before going on, but he felt the live performance itself was where the chemistry truly came alive. He said the atmosphere inside the venue and the audience response pushed the show even further.

“When we touched the show at the Barclays Center, it was just brilliant. It was an amazing idea to have myself and a comedy show put together. The show was at full capacity, and the crowd reaction was beautiful because my freestyle skills are not average … it’s above average. I am great at building lyrics on the spot. I haven’t written a song on paper since 1989 … everything comes from my head,” he said, while ‘bigging up’ show promoter Rip Micheals and Nick Cannon “for having me create some history with the Wild ‘N Out brand”.