You don’t have to look far to find its influence on the American Top 40. Recent singles by Missy Elliott, Janet Jackson and No Doubt rely on slamming dancehall rhythms and cameos by such Jamaican stars as Beenie Man, Bounty Killer and Lady Saw. The raw island style adds a much-needed edge and eccentricity to commercial pop and rap. And now, with the hip-winding “Gimme the Light” from his made-in-Kingston album “Dutty Rock,” Paul has a megaselling pop single in the United States (it’s No. 8 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and peaked at 3 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop chart). Other dancehall artists have crossed over by appearing on albums of established U.S. artists or, like Shaggy, by moving to the States and Westernizing their sounds. But no one before Paul has released a Jamaican-made dancehall single with such wide appeal here–thanks in part to Queens, N.Y.-based VP Records, the most prominent American sponsor of Jamaican music, which just formed a multimillion-dollar partnership with Atlantic Records.
Sean Paul has been deejaying (which, confusingly, means emceeing in Jamaica) since he was a teenager in his hometown of Kingston. Back then, Paul, a mix of African, Asian, Portuguese and Anglo ethnicities, attended a technical college for hotel management, where they also taught him how to cook. (He can still debone a chicken in six minutes.) But in 1996, Paul’s career goals shifted as his single “Baby Girl” became a local smash, and by 2000, his other Jamaican hits “Hot Gal Today” and “Deport Them” were released on Paul’s American debut, “Stage One.” He became a club favorite and a fresh voice on urban radio, collaborating with rappers Jay-Z, Mya, De La Soul and DMX.
Paul is the most successful of the Jamaican artists at incorporating hip-hop without compromising what he calls “dat authentic dancehall sound.” “I’m doing da same ting dat hip-hop industry been doin’ to us for years,” Paul says. “I just turned da tables–instead of puttin’ a little dancehall into a rap album, I put a little rap into my dancehall. I even have a few cameos here and dere–Busta Rhymes, Rahzel from The Roots. Dancehall was just too underground. No videos. No nuttin’. We trying to push it to a level where kids go ‘Dat’s hot! I gotta buy it right now’.” He smiles. “I tink it’s workin’.” Kids in Kansas could soon be chanting, “Me want fi hear you shout shout shout!” Middle America may never be the same.
