Beenie Man Says Dancehall Newcomer Yaksta Reminds Him Of Chronixx
Dancehall stalwart Beenie Man says up-and-comer Yaksta reminds him of high-profile Reggae star Chronixx. The deejay, during an interview with Winford Williams, pointed out that the two artists share certain similarities.
“Ah real awtis, (mi) respec him. An mi see seh him have ah far way fi go inna di bizniz, to how him start…him really remind me ah Chronixx, like how Chronixx start out wid ee dancehall…him have furda fi go…,” Beenie Man remarked about his impression of newcomer Yaksta. “Mi like him vibes… dem yout deh show more unification…bringing di music together and bring everybody together. Dis is weh wi want inna di music right now.”
The self-styled ‘King of the Dancehall’ made the remark during an exchange, over the weekend, when both artists were honoring booked appearances on CVM TV’s Onstage entertainment program yesterday. Beenie Man also entered the main stage, near the end of Yaksta’s segment, to surprise the emerging artist and heap praises on him.
“Mi ah watch ee video anna listen to di song, an mi ah seh ‘dis man yah bad, an mi like di style’,” Beenie Man expressed to Yaksta, as he recounted his reaction while viewing the latter’s most recent video, Ambition.
The ‘Bush Lawd’ greeted ‘The Doctor’ and responded “wi learn from oonu eno,” before Beenie Man imparted that “nuff man naah learn eno, so just gwaan listen an learn” to the singer-songwriter.
The Who Am I superstar’s declaration came as no surprise, since the St Mary-born Jamaican singer-songwriter previously had a more than pleasant encounter with the Grammy-winning deejay. According to Yaksta, Beenie Man was responsible for giving him his first taste of the limelight.
“Beenie Man is actually in the studio, but one thing him neva kno, that him was actually di first person weh carry me on pon a stage…,” the eastern Jamaica-born artist declared, while reminiscing on his performance debut as a young dancer, during a Beenie Man set, at a staging of Capleton’s St Mary Mi Come From.
Yaksta says he is waiting for his big break, which he believes is inevitable, considering he has “three hard drives” of unreleased demos and a series of remarkable music videos that have enhanced his visibility. The songwriter also added that securing pre-pandemic local bookings, which were put off, is even stronger evidence of the inroads he’s made towards realizing his dream.
“Right now mi have 370-odd songs mixed and mi have 900-and-odd voice,” the singer told Williams while explaining that he is a habitual procrastinator when it comes to actually going to a studio to lay vocals and record tracks.
“My bad habit is not smoking or drinking, cuz mi doan have dem deh… is just gaah studio go record,” Yaksta said, explaining his Achilles’ heel.
Yaksta later performed the new single, but not before Beenie dropped in his rehearsal for an impromptu freestyle.