Who Am I (Sim Simma) Explained

Who Am I (Sim Simma)
Border:yes
Type:single
Artist:Beenie Man
Album:Many Moods of Moses
Released:1997
Genre:Reggae, dancehall
Length:3:16
Producer:Jeremy Harding
Prev Title:Dancehall Queen
Prev Year:1997
Next Title:Tell Me
Next Year:1998

"Who Am I (Sim Simma)", or simply "Who Am I", is a reggae single released by dancehall artist Beenie Man in 1998. It is the second track on his album Many Moods of Moses released in 1997.

The song is based on the "Playground" riddim (instrumental accompaniment), which was produced by Jeremy Harding. According to Harding, "Beenie Man had heard the riddim 'Playground' on several occasions and loved it. He had even written a tune already when he arrived at the studio to voice without any prior notice. I heard a knocking one morning...and couldn't believe when I saw Beenie Man sitting outside complaining about how long he had been banging down the door. I turned on the equipment, and he went straight into the booth to record a perfect version of "Who Am I" in what seemed like one take."[1]

The song samples the intro of the song named "Section" by The Roots from their album "Illadelph Halflife". Because of this, members of The Roots Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson, James "Kamal" Gray, "Malik B" Abdul-Basit and Tariq "Black Thought" Trotter are credited as co-songwriters of this track.[2] [3]

The track helped to introduce Beenie Man to the world as a new reggae star in the pages of Newsweek and other major media outlets. He used a portion of this song in his reggae fusion single "Girls Dem Sugar" featuring Mýa which was released in 2000.

This song was featured on the NBA 2K22 soundtrack.

Chart success

The song reached No. 10 in the UK Singles Chart and was his first top 40 hit in the UK.[4] On the US Billboard charts, the song reached No. 6 on their Hot Rap Singles chart. On the Hot R&B singles chart, the song reached No. 15.

Charts

Year-end charts

Pop culture references

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Young Entrepreneurs . Whaddat.com . 15 March 2012.
  2. Web site: Jeremy Harding's 'Playground Riddim' sample of The Roots's 'Section' - WhoSampled . 2024-08-12.
  3. Web site: Questlove Froman, on Instagram “I’m biased...my first gold record I ever got was #WhoAmI (my second was @redmangilla’s #IllBeDat —-who sampled....said Bennie jawn lol) but…”. Questlove on Instagram . 2020-05-20 . 2024-08-12.
  4. Web site: BEENIE MAN | full Official Chart History. Officialcharts.com. 8 January 2022.
  5. Web site: Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs – Year-End 1998. Billboard.com. 12 October 2021.
  6. Web site: Like, la-di-da-di, who got the keys to my Audi?. Genius.com. 8 January 2022.
  7. Web site: Joyner Lucas - Zim Zimma (Evolution). 8 January 2022. YouTube.
  8. Web site: Sim Simma, who got the keys to my Beamer?. Genius.com. 8 January 2022.