Issue 29 / July 2011


Issue 30 / August 2011 EXCLUSIVEINTERVIEW


SEAN PAUL


The man who is partly responsible for the love of Jamaican Dancehall in this country is back. Sean Paul recently took on Wembley and he’s showing no signs of stopping.


REGGAE / DANCEHALL www.guestlist.net


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Mr Wondah @guestlist


The man himself, the shotta Sean Paul, is right here on Guestlist TV. How are you feelin’ bredrin? Good, man. With an intro like that I can’t help but feel good; see this big smile on my face.


You did the work still my brother? Yeah, but it still feels nice to get that big up, to hear you say that. So I give thanks.


Yeah man, no problem. I know you are here in the UK for the One Love Reggae Peace Festival and you have another show at the Bristol O2 Acad- emy in Bristol? Yeah, I ain’t been to Bristol since... 1998.


1998? So that’s going back to ‘Deport Dem’ days ? Yeah, back to when I first started out, so it’s going to be like a reunion going back over there.


You come from Jamaica and I understand that you come from a very sporty back- ground. We almost lost you to sport from what I hear? I think sport lost me to music really. I used to swim for Jamaica and play water polo, me and my brother, for the country. We have been to the Carifta Games and Pan American Games and these things. My father and mother met at the National Stadium pool and they used to swim for Jamaica also, so they were teaching swim- ming when I was growing up. I was the kid throwing people in the pool and if they started drowning, I would jump in and get them out! Yeah, I was very good in the water. The last time I played Water Polo for Jamaica was in 2006.


So what was the transition that made you decide that it was now ‘music time’? You know, over the years I was more and more interested in music and when I was about 15 I thought that I was going to be a producer. I got a little keyboard and started building beats be- cause it had a drum section, but never really manifested to that. I


still stayed in school and did what I had to do. By the time I was 19 I started to write songs and that took over. So I was working in a bank at the time, counting people’s money, and then I left from there and went to Hotel Management School. All during those times I was going to the studio in the night. That’s how I was grinding it. On a double-timing thing every day it was; studio at night, get up in the morning tired and go to school, then swim training in the evening, then studio again. Then the absolutely big album in 2002, Dutty Rock; now that was an absolute worldwide smash. Nobody saw that one coming! Not even me, for real. I give thanks for it every day. For every step of life you have to give thanks but that was a big monumental mo- ment for me.


It sold six million records sold worldwide and counting? Yeah, and then when it was released, it was like... Wow. Then you think to yourself, “Let me try to expand the sound and make the same thing but on a different level.” Since then it just been that; I have been trying to grow. That


is what my whole vibe has been since stage one too. Just trying to grow and evolve as an artist...


One thing I have to ask you brother; I don’t get to meet a Grammy Award Winner very regularly. So what was it like winning a Grammy? All those events, as you have men- tioned (the MOBOs, the Grammys, I got a Source Award, an American Music Award, a Soul Train Award), all these things are the cream on the top of the pie. The thing to me is that I love being in the studio.


You seem to take it all in your stride and it seems to be a humbling experience for you but off the back of all of that you have worked with the queen of RnB right now, Beyoncé, Blu Cantrell... I did songs with Busta Rhymes, who is one of my heroes in the business, Keyshia Cole, I did songs with Rihanna...


Of all those collaborations, which one is the most memo- rable and why? Well, Beyoncé is the most memo-


rable because of all the contro- versy that came out with it and it was my first number one song, but also working with Rihanna was great because she is from the Ca- ribbean too so she gets the sense of humour. Keyshia Cole was real easy to work with too; I loved that. Those artists I mentioned, includ- ing Busta Rhymes too, was just like a great vibe to me. I loved the experience of being able to work with them.


So you took it to another level with ‘Temperature’ as it was your first individual number one. What was the concept behind the album Trinity and why did you name it Trinity? Well, it being my third album, and I was noticing a lot of threes in my life. People were saying, “trees that you smoke?” and I said yeah... But apart from that, it was things occurring three different times. So I thought I would just name it ‘Trinity’ because it took me three years to build it.


You have a new album in the offing later this year. Tell me about this; who is producing on it?


On Imperial Blaze, the last album, I felt like staying by myself. I felt like I reached the point where I am the fire that brings people towards kneeling down to this king, reggae music. So I called it Imperial Blaze; I am the person who brings people towards it. On this album now I am feeling more to do work with other people, but not these great big stars. I mean, I am not saying that I wouldn’t like to work with Shakira, as I have been saying to her in interviews for years! This time around, I think I want to use some fresh people. So Alexis Jordan was perfect; she is from America and not much of their population know her, or her music. I figured it would be a great way of breaking her to the masses of America and the rest of the world too. So it’s a symbiotic thing.


Sean Paul’s new single, ‘Got 2 luv U’ featuring Alexis Jordan is out now.


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