Beenie Man Shares Throwback Video Of Vybz Kartel Calling Him The ‘King Of Dancehall’

Dancehall fans were treated to a nostalgic moment on Thursday when Beenie Man posted an Instagram video of himself and Vybz Kartel sharing the stage at Reggae Sumfest 2009.

In the throwback video, Kartel declares, “Beenie Man you a King of the Dancehall from yuh come outta yo madda belly,” adding, “me respect and honor yuh. A me and you say Breast Specialist—A mi first No. 1.”

Beenie captioned the post, “Straight from the horse’s mouth, ‘So weh did war bout’?! 1King👑.”

While Beenie’s post was seemingly intended to solidify his claim to the title, it instead highlighted a shift in public opinion with most of the reactions favoring Kartel, who was released from prison last year. However, the few supporters of Beenie argued that his accolades—which include four Grammy nominations with one win, one RIAA gold award, multiple MOBO Awards, over 100 No. 1 hits in Jamaica, six Billboard Hot 100 hits from the 1990s and early 2000s—speak for themselves.

As one commenter put it, “Beenie Man been around for over 30 years. These are facts not favoritism. Now until someone breaks all these achievements, then it’s only one King.”

Another quipped, “Kartel can’t be the king and never win a Grammy.”

Kartel’s supporters argued that his influence and relevance make him the reigning king. Despite being incarcerated for over a decade, he has consistently released music and maintained a strong fanbase while picking up accolades of his own—including a Gold RIAA award and a Grammy Award nomination.

Comments like “Beenie man yuh time up now, give Kartel the crown” reflect this sentiment.

At 49, Kartel is just three years younger than Beenie, who is 52—a fact many fans overlooked in their “old versus young” and generational arguments.

“You are the dancehall king of the previous era. Kartel and Spice are the new era dancehall royalty,” wrote one user. “No king rules forever and just because a new king is in position doesn’t mean you never ruled.”

Others were more direct: “Beenie Man relax, your time past Fada. Give Kartel his crown 👑 and flowers” and “Kmft Beenie Man yuh time up now. Give kartel the crown now, like how Lady Saw leave it to Spice. Move mon😏”

Beenie has consistently rejected calls to relinquish the title and step aside, using a football analogy in a 2020 interview with YouTuber Teach Dem: “How a man fi tell me, seh Maradona ah di king ah football an a one World Cup him win? Pele win three. Put fun and joke aside, wah me an yu ah trace bout?”

In a 2021 interview, he declared that he remains the one and only “King of the Dancehall” as he was the one who “buss” Vybz Kartel on the world stage with their  The Specialist  (2004) collab supposedly via the Billboard chart. While the track was successful in Jamaica—as Kartel acknowledged in 2009—it did not chart on Billboard. Beenie may have confused The Specialist (sometimes called Breast Specialist or Picture Dis) with Kartel’s solo hit, Picture This (You & Me), which did chart on Billboard in 2004.

Beenie also claimed his mentorship of Kartel began after the infamous Sting 2003 clash, where Kartel’s onstage fight with Ninjaman led to backlash from promoters. “Das why wi have one king and not two…,” Beenie asserted in the interview.

Meawnwhile, Kartel hasn’t shied from challenging Beenie’s claims.

In his 2022 track White House , he praised Bounty Killer while calling out Beenie: “Real like Bounty, nuh lie like Beenie.”