10. Beenie Man feat. Sean Paul and Lady Saw – “Bossman” (2002)
Three years after Beenie Man made a major splash with the Neptunes on Art and Life, Moses revisited his chemistry with Chad and Pharrell on ’02’s Tropical Storm. “Bossman” was the second single, a more mainstream posse cut featuring two of the biggest names in dancehall at the time, Sean Paul and Lady Saw. It made sense that Beenie Man brought along his contemporary hit-makers with him for the ride on the Virgin Records release.
All three artists appeared in a bashment party-themed video. Yet, with all those pieces in place, the song never charted on Billboard in the U.S. How strange is that? A single produced by the Neptunes in 2003 that didn’t reach the charts. It could have been ahead of its time, sonically. To have three major dancehall artists on the same track that wasn’t a riddim was rare, so there was nothing like it at the time. Plus, coming off the romantic sensation of his collab with Janet Jackson, Beenie Man touting that he’s a gangster for life (before Mavado) might have lost fans who were just warming up to his charm.