Who Am I (Sim Simma)

Beenie Man voiced the track in Jeremy Harding’s home studio at 8 Jack’s Hill Road in Kingston, Jamaica, over Harding’s “Playground” riddim. The session was cut quickly, with the vocal reportedly captured in one take or nearly one take. Released in 1997, the single became Beenie Man’s international breakthrough and helped carry Jamaican dancehall into mainstream U.K. and U.S. charts. It reached the U.K. Top 10 and became a notable U.S. rap and R&B crossover record. The song remained one of Beenie Man’s signature records and a durable dancehall touchstone, with its “Sim Simma” hook repeatedly referenced and sampled by later artists. It also directly inspired Beenie Man’s later crossover single “Girls Dem Sugar.”