Sean Paul - Femalefirst Exclusive

16 September 2005

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By Sarah Williams At one time an underground sound that began with kids partying under streetlights in Jamaica, dancehall has since exploded in a massive way. Like its predecessor, underground hip-hop, dancehall has now reached mainstream audiences all over the world, becoming one of the biggest selling music genres along the way. It's also put Jamaica back on the map in a way that hasn't been seen since Bob Marley And The Whalers brought there very own sun-filled, ganjafied, Jamaica rhythm into our hearts.Over the years there have been many reggae acts that have embodied the carefree Jamaican party spirit, but there is possibly none more famous right now than Sean Paul.Since the release of his multi-platinum selling album Dutty Rock in 2003 Sean Paul has successfully infused his unique dancehall rhythm with party friendly hip-hop beats on songs like 'Gimmie The Light', 'Shake That Thing' and 'Like Glue.' All have seen him leap over the great divide to work with some of the most influential musical artists today, like Beyonce, Jay Z, Busta Rhymes, and more recently Santana, just to name a few.But Sean Paul, or as some may know him, Sean Paul Henriques has in fact, been a massive star in his hometown Jamaica for almost 10 years. When his first single 'Baby Girl' blew up in 1996 it got him recognised as a pure, raw talent that saw him develop a solid fan base in the party scene, it also held him in good stead for the future that lay ahead.Somehow he is still amazed at just how he got from there to here. "I used to think back in the day in like 96, when I started," he said, "I would see Puffy or whoever on the screen and I thought dancehall music could be represented in that way, but it probably never will its underground music. So I just kept doing it because I loved it and when it blew up to levels, selling like five or six million records, it blew my mind."Even though Sean Paul has the lavish lifestyle that some people can only dream of, his heart is still rooted firmly in the place of his birth. He calls Jamaica a 'happening place' and tells me that he still misses the little things that are going on there. He even regrets not being there when hurricane Ivan hit in 2004. But his new found status did allow him to help his people by donating $1 Million dollars to the relief effort, because, as he explains, "I have been blessed because of these people and I thought I should give them something back." continued..Its pretty clear that Paul has a infinite connection with his homeland, but sometimes when an artist rises from a small, tight-knit musical community, like Paul did, the fans that made them, can turn their back on the artist for 'selling out.'

When I ask Paul about this, he is reflective and adamant that this never happened to him, because he didn't try to make dancehall fit in with the mainstream, instead the mainstream fit in with him.

"I don't think I have ever gotten that response at all because I didn't do hip-hop or R&B, I went out and represented dancehall and I took part in my culture. I do get doubtful questions, such as, do I feel pressure, stress, and can I do it again? To those people I'm saying, you know, I felt pressure in school doing chapters and chapters of work. I felt pressure when I was in swimming league, having to swim 8,000 meters a day."

"I felt pressure when I was a young artist in Jamaica trying to prove myself to the great tradition of music and prove to the Jamaican people that I can take part in the culture and uphold the culture. No I waved the flag and 5-6 million people noticed it. They were interested in my work and simple enough I do that same thing, in terms of putting that energy back into each chapter that I do. There is no pressure or stress on my part, just a simple responsibility."

But whether he likes it or not there is pressure in Sean Paul's life and he may have to face his harshest critics yet with the release of his third album The Trinity.

The story behind the title of the album is quite intricate, when I ask him about the title he reels off a well rehearsed spiel that goes something like this; The Trinity is so called because its was produced in the 'third world', it is his third album, its been three years since Dutty Rock hit the streets, its dropping on the 27th of September, 9 divided by 27 equals three and lastly it has three different moods that have never been explored by Paul before and deeper vibe that may shock some of his more hardcore fans.

The first mood as always, is party tracks, which is what this Jamaican MC is most well known for, has based most of his career around and is, after all what dancehall music is about. On The Trinity there are songs like Breakout, Give It Up, Temperature and new single We Be Burnin (Recognize it). The song was originally called 'Legalize it' but the lyrics had to be changed for a more 'radio friendly' feel.

Everyone knows that Jamaican music is synonymous with a bit of weed, so why change the lyrics? "I changed the song because TV stations were saying, it's gonna be a big song, but we can't use the 'legalize it' word, so please change that word. So then instead of it being a shame, I though, I am going to change the whole song, I'm gonna make people aware that I'm lyrically skilled and I'm the boss so I did it and I change the song to be a club song.

"It has the same melody and cadence its just different words. Its not that I'm running away from the reality of me that I did a weed song at first, it's just that I'm trying to show lyrical skill."

The second mood on The Trinity is Paul talking to the critics and the doubters that he has encountered over the last few years. In a cappella burst he tells me, where he is right now "my main aim is to maintain/ my main aim is to stay sane/ I never did like fame." He says it doesn't matter if he sells thirty copies or three million all he really cares about is the music. But the fact that he has done tracks that hit out at the haters may suggest otherwise.

The third mood is a lot darker. During the making of The Trinity, Paul had to come to terms with the loss of two of his closed friends which lead him to deal with more serious material and reflect on the growing violence in Jamaica.One of the friends was Bogle, an icon in reggae music whose last legacy was the riddim dance 'The Willie Bounce,' which I am told is the biggest dance in Jamaican dancehalls right now. Bogle was killed in a drive-by shooting and only a week later Daddigon, the founder of Paul's original posse, The Dutty Cup Crew, was shot dead in Kingston.

"I was writing a new album and I wanted to say something about them." He tells me. "It was even talking to them one of the songs is 'Never Gonna Be The Same.' It goes, Never gonna be the same/ we keep burning up the flame/we have to remember those who passed before us/because they help to make us who we are today. It's like a prayer and I'm saying "I know I'll see you again" that bring my album into a different place that other people have not heard before."

The album also heralds a new energy of music coming from the Jamaican dancehall scene. Paul believes that on a whole the talent coming out of Jamaica is growing. With the likes of Daman Marley, Elephant Man and even the Caribbean beauty Rhianna creating a fresh, brand new synergy of Jamaican music.

Reggae itself seems to be coming in for a well deserved revival, with the likes of Willie Nelson and even Robbie Williams allegedly doing reggae albums. But surprisingly, Paul thinks that's great, "when hip-hop was a struggling music, trying to prove it's self to the people who didn't like it, when people started to do hip-hop music in Japan and France and Germany and started listening to it, it proved that the music was growing bigger and stronger and it will last. Dancehall music has been done by people like R Kelly and people like Beyonce and Busta Rhymes, so we are willing to share this great music."

Even though Sean Paul is boastful about his achievements and has a right to be, he is never arrogant. He is after all, as some call him, the saving grace of dancehall a fact that has helped him make dancehall music known all over the world while also raising the flag of Jamaica proud and high once again.

So now that he is arguably the biggest dancehall artist in the world, where does Sean Paul go from here? What else is there to prove?

"I think music is to bring people together and its to reflect life and you should approach it like life, so naturally instead of trying to plan to much, just do what is natural to you and what you have been blessed with, just do it. And that's what I am trying to do, to get more into production, my brother just produced two tracks on the album and I am getting into it with him. That's where I'll be man, I'll be in the studio, I'll be touring, and I'll be partaking in my culture and taking it to different lands."

The Trinity released on 27th September / new single We Be Burnin is out now.

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