Kampala — JAMAICAN star Beenie Man is coming to Kampala next weekend, but his influence has been in Uganda for years, inspiring Jose Chameleone and Bobi Wine.

IN his formative singing years, Chameleone did everything he could to sound like Beenie. Bobi Wine, meanwhile, was a clear Bounty Killer wannabe. The two eventually carved out their own vocal identities, but traces of their Jamaican idols are still visible in them.

Chameleone has since maintained that crazed, as though demon-possessed stage persona of Beenie's, while Bobi Wine's obnoxious ruffian-style swagger and raw street image both emulate Bounty.

One of the ugliest artiste feuds to ever plague the Jamaican music industry is actually that between Beenie and Bounty Killer. This is the exact same feud that Bobi and Chameleone have transplanted into local showbiz. Like the latter, Bounty and Beenie have made up and broken up over and over again, perhaps partly because they know the feuding is for their ultimate professional good.

Actually, Chameleone freely concedes: "The Jamaican music structure is the same as here."

"Beenie Man has been a big inspiration to me. If you look at his history and profile, I share a lot of similarities with him. All of us have that in-built courage to handle the pressures of the music industry. In fact, I will be asking him how he handles all the pressure."

Chameleone is surprisingly candid in his next revelation: "Beenie Man groomed Vibes Cartel and they split bitterly after Cartel also became big. That is exactly the same thing that happened between me and the Good Lyfe Crew. I groomed them, and look what they are doing to me now."

Chamili adds that Beenie Man is as good as Jamaican musicians come. "His closest competitor is Bounty Killer, but Bounty is only big in the Caribbean and reggae-loving countries, while Beenie has international appeal."

And this could be true to the musical profile of the man who takes after Bounty Killer locally: Bobi Wine. Compared to Chameleone, Bobi's appeal is a lot more geographically and demographically curtailed. While his music is at its best when capturing the literal heart of Kampala and its socio-economic contradictions, Chameleone's music has been known to capture a nation's sentiment. Not only that, he has a bigger regional and international profile.

"He is a true dancehall music superstar," is how Chameleone's nemesis, Bobi Wine describes Beenie Man. "He was a very big influence on me until I discovered myself. His voice is just magic."