Girls Dem Sugar is a

reggae fusion Reggae fusion is a Music_genre#Subtypes, fusion genre of reggae that mixes reggae and/or dancehall with other genres, such as pop music, pop, rock music, rock, hip hop music, hip-hop/rap, Contemporary R&B, R&B, jazz, funk, soul music, soul, disco ...

song by Jamaican deejay

Beenie Man Moses Anthony Davis OD (born 22 August 1973), professionally known as Beenie Man, is a Jamaican dancehall deejay. His awards include DJ of the Year Award eight years in a row. His twelfth studio album '' Art and Life'' received a Grammy Award ...

and features singer-songwriter

Mýa Mya Marie Harrison (; born October 10, 1979), known professionally as Mýa, is an American singer, songwriter, dancer, record producer, and actress. She was born in Washington D.C. and studied ballet, jazz, and tap dance as a child. Her ca ...

. The track was produced by

The Neptunes The Neptunes were an American record production duo composed of Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo, formed in Virginia Beach, Virginia, in 1992. Williams often provided backing vocals and music video appearances on the duo's productions, while H ...

for Davis' 2000 studio album '' Art and Life'' and inspired and conceptualized from his 1997 Jamaican hit single " Who Am I (Sim Simma)". "Girls Dem Sugar" was written by Beenie Man,

Chad Hugo Charles Edward Hugo (born February 24, 1974) is an American musician and record producer. Alongside childhood friend Pharrell Williams, he formed the production duo the Neptunes in 1992, with whom he has produced numerous hit records for variou ...

, and

Pharrell Williams Pharrell Lanscilo Williams (; born April 5, 1973), also known mononymously as Pharrell, is an American musician, singer, songwriter, rapper, record producer, and fashion designer. He first became known as one half of the music production duo ...

. "Girls Dem Sugar" was released September 14, 2000 in the United States as the second single from Davis 2000 studio album '' Art and Life''. The single achieved minor successes on ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

''s

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100, also known as simply the Hot 100, is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), o ...

chart; peaking at No. 54 and No. 16 on ''

''s

Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by '' Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 ...

chart. The single was a success internationally; it peaked at No. 13 in the United Kingdom. The song was included on ''Billboard's'' 12 Best Dancehall & Reggaeton Choruses of the 21st Century at number seven and ranked 84th on Billboard's 100 Greatest Songs of 2000 list.

Background

In a retrospect interview with

BET Black Entertainment Television (BET) is an American basic cable channel targeting Black American audiences. It is the flagship channel of the BET Media Group, a subsidiary of Paramount Global's CBS Entertainment Group. Originally launched ...

, Beenie Man recalls creating "Girls Dem Sugar" with

Pharrell Pharrell Lanscilo Williams (; born April 5, 1973), also known mononymously as Pharrell, is an American musician, singer, songwriter, rapper, record producer, and fashion designer. He first became known as one half of the music production duo ...

. According to Beenie Man, "It was not my idea; it was Pharrell's." Commenting, "He had this great idea to remake "Who Am I (Sim Simma)" adding Pharrell "also came up with the catchy chorus." "So he harrellgoes, '(Sim simma) Beenie Man, ah dem girls dem sugar / (Sim simma) The girls dem world class lover,' and that's how it was put together. And we got a Grammy Award for it. It was a great thing, and then we put

on the track and the rest was history."

Reception

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

gave the song a positive review:

The 1997 original, entitled "Who Am I (Sim Simma)", was a Jamaican smash, which crossed over into American markets extremely well reaching peaks of #6 on the US Billboard
Hot Rap Singles Hot Rap Songs (formerly known as Hot Rap Tracks and Hot Rap Singles) is a chart released weekly by ''Billboard'' in the United States. It lists the 25 most popular hip-hop/rap songs, calculated weekly by airplay on rhythmic and urban radio statio ...
charts and No. 15 on the Hot R&B/Hip Hop singles charts. It was a simmering dancehall hit that confirmed the nickname that Beenie Man's father had given the DJ as a child, what with the young boy's winning ways with the little ladies. Years have passed, but Beenie's charms have only grown, and on "Girls Dem Sugar", they flower fully. However, it took the help of
The Neptunes The Neptunes were an American record production duo composed of Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo, formed in Virginia Beach, Virginia, in 1992. Williams often provided backing vocals and music video appearances on the duo's productions, while H ...
and featured artist
Mýa Mya Marie Harrison (; born October 10, 1979), known professionally as Mýa, is an American singer, songwriter, dancer, record producer, and actress. She was born in Washington D.C. and studied ballet, jazz, and tap dance as a child. Her ca ...
to add a new sound and style for international crowds.The song quickly became a smash hit at urban dance clubs and urban radio in the U.S This version is notably different from the original, with the production team creating a stuttering rhythm, shot through with old school scratching, whilst simultaneously conjuring up a rich and romantic atmosphere, fed by Mýa's sweet, sultry vocals. The song quickly became a smash hit on urban radio and in urban dance clubs. It is considered somewhat of a classic dancehall song because of its crossover appeal and its ability to get partygoers on the dancefloor. And while Mýa sweetly coos about being his girl, Beenie "zagga zagga"'s along, in between chatting her up and bragging how badly all the girls need him. And so it seemed, for "Sugar" shot up the charts around the world, and in the UK even entered the Top 15.

Track listing

;U.S. 12" Single & Vinyl Single :A1 Girls Dem Sugar (Radio Edit) – 3:57 :A2 Girls Dem Sugar (Album Version) – 4:17 :A3 Girls Dem Sugar (Instrumental) – 4:18 :B1 Ola – 4:05 :B2 Ola (Instrumental) – 4:05 ;UK 12" Single & Vinyl Single :A1 Girls Dem Sugar (Architechs Main Mix) :A2 Girls Dem Sugar (Architechs Instrumental) :B1 Girls Dem Sugar (Colin Emanuel Extended Mix) :B2 Girls Dem Sugar ;Jamaica 7" Single & Vinyl Single :A Girls Dem Sugar :B Girls Dem Sugar Instrumental

Charts

References

{{authority control 1999 songs 2000 singles Beenie Man songs Mýa songs Song recordings produced by the Neptunes Songs written by Chad Hugo Songs written by Pharrell Williams Reggae fusion songs Virgin Records singles