Beenie Man

Says apology to gay community had no influence

Queens, New York:

Mere weeks after doing a controversial video in which he was said to have apologised to gays and lesbians, Beenie Man's United States work permit was reinstated, but he says the video played no part in the development.

In May, the artiste made a video that was more than a minute long, which addressed a few issues. In the address, Beenie Man pointed out that he respects everyone regardless of their sexual orientation.

Although many interpreted the video as an apology to gays and lesbians, Beenie Man says the video had no bearing on when and why he was given the work permit.

"Dat nuh have nutten fi do wid anything. Mi nuh business weh people waan seh. People conception of I only prove to I that I am important cause weh people waan seh people seh. A Jamaica dat enuh, you just have to understand Jamaican people," he told THE STAR, following an energetic performance at Groovin In The Park, that was held at Roy Wilkins Park, Queens, New York.

a lot of us small-minded

"A lot of us is intelligent but a lot of us small-minded. You see the people dem weh have brain know dis, mi pay mi lawyer over US$10,000 (J$890,000) and him work wid di embassy and the embassy work wid him. Dem give me mi visa without any prejudice nor no argument," he said.

That aside, Beenie Man was extremely excited about his first performance in the United States since getting back his work permit.

"It's nice because of the fans dem. That is the only reason why I fight to get a work permit, and that is to come and perform for the fans, so the fans can get the music that they have been supporting all over the years. You have to feel good because you get a chance to come into the United States to work," said a beaming Beenie Man.

While he had a visa to enter the country, he said it was very difficult not to be able to perform at events.

"When you cannot get to perform and you are a performer, a entertainer, a music you sing, you nuh do nutten else. Mi nuh sell drugs, mi nuh sell gun, mi nuh fix tyre, mi nuh change bulb, mi nuh do nutten. Mi sing music and perform pon stage and entertain people. So when you cannot get the chance to do your job, it is a deep feeling," he said.

Although he was not able to perform in the United States for two years, Beenie Man says there was not a major loss of income because he was still doing shows in places like Europe and Canada on a regular basis.

Jetting off to Europe for a little over a week before returning to Jamaica, Beenie Man says he will be releasing the first two tracks from his upcoming album, which are Summer Is Here and Dweet Again.