Over the past several years Sean Paul (SP) has been the most exposed Reggae artist in the United States. Sean Paul is leading the way for Dancehall and Jamaican culture. Sean Paul proved that in today s music landscape Jamaican riddims (beats) and patios can be successful. Some even argue that Sean Paul s early success prompted Beenie Man to take it "Back To Basics". After Beenie had collaborated with several overseas artists and producers with limited success.
Sean Paul s singles help promote the Reggae/Dancehall sound in the States. Temperature and We Be Burning, at the time of this writing, are number 8 and 40 on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart respectively. Temperature and We Be Burning were produced by local Jamaican producers; Snocone and Renaissance respectively. When Sean Paul put together Trinity he recorded several songs with American artists such as Ashanti and with American producers such as Scott Storch and the Neptunes. But Sean realized that he is straying away from his Jamaican roots and choose to stick to Yaad (Jamaican) producers. "In January, I had the opportunity to go work with The Neptunes, work with Scott Storch and also did demos with Ashanti. None of these things will be featured on the album, reason being that I looked at myself and asked, "What inspires me?" I then realized that it was the kids in Jamaica that gave inspiration. Basically, I made a conscious decision to keep it at home and give people the new energy and synergy of Jamaica - producers and entertainers. That is why I named the album Trinity. I m trying to show the people that these kids leftside, people like Don Corleone, Renaissance Sound System...people like my brother, Jigs Jugular can be some of the top artists in the game." says Sean, in a recent interview.
Some say Sean Paul sells because of his looks? The statement sounds true but on further inspection what artist sells because of their looks? Some of the top artists of today and of yesteryear weren t the best looking. Take for example Biggie who once said "Heart throb, never, black and ugly as ever", and Notorious BIG went on to be one of the best selling rap artists of our time. It is true, an artist looks (image) has a lot to do with their believability - imagine a gangster rapper who went to catholic school? I believe that the saleability of an artist lies more with their music rather than their looks. Many people become acquainted with songs via radio where the artist cannot be seen. So it is then the burden of the artist to impress you with their musical ability. Who would argue that Gimme The Light, Temperature, or any of Sean Paul s current songs are not good songs; riddim, lyrics, and chorus included.
That being said lets examine the singles that have catapulted SP to the top of American pop culture. Top Shotta introduced him to the American hip-hop, r&b audience. Other songs such as Deport them kept him current. Gimme The Light and his four other singles from Dutty Rock gave SP a strong footing in the US. Dutty Rock later went on to sell over 6 millions units worldwide (2 million in the US). "I consider it a
success when I can make a good song that expresses how I feel and the people can understand it. I ve been making songs with English hooks, that people can understand. These songs have terms that hip-hop kids know and understand. These songs use English hooks.", says Sean. This strategy has again paid off for Sean Paul resulting with Trinity being certified gold in the US (2 million worldwide), and being awarded Billboard s 2005 Best Selling Reggae Artist of the Year, and Top Selling Reggae Album of the Year (Trinity).
Since Gimme The Light Sean Paul has been one of the most requested Caribbean artists to collaborate with. Below is a list of his collaborations with international artists:
Top Shotta - DMX, Vegas & Sean Paul
Dem Nah Ready - 50 Cent Featuring Sean Paul
Breathe - Blu Cantrell featuring Sean Paul
Feel It - Erick Sermon featuring. Sean Paul
Esa Loca - Tony Touch feat. Sean Paul
De La Soul Shoomp - De La Soul feat. Sean Paul
What They Gonna Do - Jay-Z feat. Sean Paul
Make It Clap Remix - Busta Rhymes, Spliff Star & Sean Paul
Baby Boy - Beyonce Knowles feat. Sean Paul
It s Alright - Fabolous & Sean Paul
Cry Baby Cry - Santana, Joss Stone & Sean Paul
Boss Man - Beenie Man, Lady Saw, & Sean Paul
Connection - Nina Sky feat. Sean Paul
Punkie (Remix) - Sean Paul feat. Tego Calderon
