20 Questions With Sean Paul: Dancehall Legend Discusses Greatest Tour, Clashing & Crossover Collaborations

Back in 2002, Sean Paul’s “Gimme the Light” reached No. 7 on the Billboard Hot 100, kicking off one of the most prolific crossover careers in dancehall history. Two decades later, Ice Spice, one of the hottest names in contemporary hip-hop, announced her own “Gimme the Light”-sampling single during her 2024 Coachella performance — just one example of how seminal Sean Paul’s contributions to the fabric of American pop culture have become.

On May 2, Paul willl launch a 22-date U.S. trek – crowned the Greatest Tour – at House of Blues in Orlando, Florida, marking his longest Stateside tour in over 10 years. The production will visit major U.S. cities such as Las Vegas, Brooklyn and New Orleans, before concluding at the Fillmore in Charlotte, North Carolina, on June 16.

“I feel that the people are ready for me again,” Paul recently told the Associated Press. And he’s correct: His last two studio albums – 2021’s Live n Livin (No. 9) and 2022’s Grammy-nominated Scorcha (No. 6) — both reached the top 10 on Top Reggae Albums, becoming his seventh and eighth consecutive titles to hit that region. 

With timeless classics like “Get Busy,” “Temperature,” “We Be Burnin” and the Beyoncé-assisted “Baby Boy” to his name, Sean Paul is armed with an arsenal of smash hits that few can rival – and he intends to re-explore his sprawling catalog on his new tour. Far from a mere nostalgia grab, the Greatest Tour also grants Paul the opportunity to bring his recent Latin music collaborations to life across the U.S. So far in the 2020s, the dancehall legend has already joined forces with major Latin stars such as Wisin & Yandel (“No Sales de Mi Cabeza”), Manuel Turizo (“Dem Time Deh”), Feid (“Niña Bonita”) and Billboard 200 chart-topper Karol G (“Kármika”).

“I’ve been doing a lot of different types of genres, stepping into the Latin world and stuff like that,” he says. “I’m just ready to connect back with everybody who loves dancehall, and the people who are being drawn to the new music that I’ve been doing lately in the States.”

Between the promising crossover success of recent dancehall hits like Teejay’s “Drift” and the box-office-busting success of Bob Marley: One Love, the worlds of reggae and dancehall are gearing up for another wave of global attention, and Sean Paul is here to help guide those genres once again – both as a mentor and as a performer.

In an entertaining conversation with Billboard, Sean Paul details his new tour, explains his controversial stance on the Jada Kingdom-Stefflon Don clash, ponders the dynamic between dancehall, afrobeats, and reggaeton, and recalls his earliest musical memories.

1. Where are you in the world right now? How’s the day treating you? 

Sean Paul: I’m good! I’m in my studio Downstairs in my house and I just put my kids to watch [the 2024 Netflix docuseries] Moses — because I’ve been reading them Moses, so I’m trying to get them interested more. 

2. In just over a month, you’re kicking off your Greatest Tour. What are you most excited about for this specific tour? 

I’ve been touring the world for a long time… it’s been quite a long time [since I’ve hit] the States in terms of a long tour. I’ve done [one-off] dates here and there, but the last time I did a long tour like this [was] probably 10 years ago. I’m very excited about connecting back with people. 

3. What are your three favorite songs to perform live and why? 

That would definitely be “Temperature,” “Get Busy,” and probably “Gimme the Light” — because it didn’t hit No. 1 on the Billboard charts, but it was the [biggest] video that I had back in the day for a minute. “Get Busy” was my first [Hot 100] No. 1 and “Temperature” was my second No. 1. It’s always fun to perform those. 

4. Which cities are your favorite to perform in? Are there any cities or venues that surprised you with how hype they were?

Usually, New York’s really dope, Miami as well, and I would say most of the East Coast. But L.A. has come up! Traditionally, L.A. would be a more reggae area. On the West Coast, it’s a lot more reggae-oriented — but L.A. kind of surprised me in terms of the love they have for my music, and for dancehall especially. It has grown over the years.  

But I haven’t been to Chicago or Atlanta in a long time. I’m looking forward to [being] back in those states because I used to have fun there. I have friends that I’ve seen in a minute, so it’s good to connect. I don’t think I’ve been [in Atlanta] since COVID, so that’s gonna be a good vibe. 

5. What’s the first concert or tour you remember attending? 

Young MC! [He] came to Jamaica and he was in the Guinness Book of World Records for the most words in a rap song, and that night Papa San was also there and he was in the Guinness Book of World Records for the most words in a song. So, we all thought they was gonna clash, because [Jamaica] had a thing – we still do – with clashing, and I thought that was gonna happen. We was like, “Yo, what’s going down?” I remember the girls shouting, “Marvin! Marvin!” because Young MC’s name was Marvin. They didn’t clash, but I had a great time. It was in National Arena in Jamaica. 

The next one I went to was a group called 2 in a Room. [Sings “Wiggle it, just a little bit.”]  My aunt had a sound system, so she was a person that was chaperoning them around, and all of her equipment was being used at the show. So those two first come to mind in terms of big concerts that I’ve been to. 

6. Who are your biggest influences in terms of live performance and crafting your stage show? 

One of my biggest influences from my genre is Capleton. He’s a very enigmatic. He’s full of energy all the time, no matter how old or how much time passes, the dude is amazing to me and I think he should be revered much more than he is. [He’s] someone with a message, but he also keeps the crowd very entertained.  

Of course, Bob Marley is someone who we all look up to. He’s like a national hero to me. When he performed, you felt his soul. You feel the content of his lyrics, it hits you that it means that much to him. Most of the time, he performed [with] his eyes closed, so you can tell it’s coming from a deep place. Of course, Super Cat and Shabba Ranks. I do have influences from hip-hop, like LL Cool J [and] Rakim — all these influences come together to make me the dynamic performer that I am. 

7. You’ve done a lot of crossover collaborations for the Latin market recently and you even picked up a crossover artist of the year nomination at the 2023 Billboard Latin Music Awards. What drew you to that market and those sounds? 

Reggaetón is very close to what dancehall has been for years. I like to say that reggae is the father of the music, and hip-hop and dancehall are brothers. It’s a vibe. 

8. Why do you think cross-genre collaborations are important? 

The music is here to connect people. It’s just another form of reaching out to another side that’s maybe not familiar with your music or wants to see more of you.  

I always learn from my collabs, man. There’s no time that I don’t learn. I might go and collab and I’m doing what I do, and then all of a sudden, the producer or the artist himself might step in and be like, “Yo, do a harmony right here!” And I’m like, “Oh, I didn’t ever think of doing something like that.” It may be influenced from their style of music, maybe R&B, maybe hip hop, maybe reggaetón, even Afrobeats. I learn something every time and I take that with me, so it helps my songwriting. 

9. We’ve been seeing a lot of Afrobeats and dancehall crossovers recently. What do you think is the potential of that musical dynamic and is there anything you think that two genres and industries can learn from one another? 

Jamaican dancehall music, to me, back in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s, was the most Afrocentric genre coming out of the Western world, so to speak. We didn’t, at that time, connect with African artists — but we spoke up [against] apartheid in Africa. The sentiment was always there that we are closer than we think, and that we can learn from each other. Sly Dunbar is a great producer and someone I learned from; the style of drums and how we played was very Afrocentric and reminded me of our African roots here. 

Then, years pass by, and I’m an artist and I go to Africa, and they are so appreciative of what we brought to the table. It’s been a symbiotic relationship back and forth over the years. We’re using drums from the sound that’s been Afro music, people like Fela Kuti and all of these great musicians, and we’re producing it the way we hear it [and] feel it. In Afrobeats [now], they have taken the hint from how we produce and done their own thing with it.  

It goes to show you, no matter how far away you are, there are still things about the culture that are important, that are upheld and that continue through life. The connection of blood, the connection of family through culture has been an important thing — and it lives in the music and it affects us symbiotically. 

10. In 2022, you dropped Scorcha, which earned you your 10^th Grammy nomination. Where do you personally rank that album in your discography? 

I think albums define artists in a certain time period, so I don’t judge my own work in the respect of how well they do for sales or how well they do [in terms of] impact on the on the community. I judge it as, me then, right? So we had just been in COVID [with] the lockdowns and I  did two albums that year. I feel very proud of the work. Live n Livin [released on March 12, 20221] was a collaborative effort of me and about 19 other Jamaican artists, which I was very proud of. I hadn’t seen anybody in my genre do so much collabs, with each other, which I think has been needed.  

For Scorcha, it was definitely a statement of me still feeling myself. It’s still fun music, it’s music that people can vibe to and forget about their problems. I don’t call it escapism, but it does give you that space and time that you can feel like life ain’t so monotonous and hard and difficult to deal with. It gives you a little bit of light — that’s no pun intended, but that’s what my music is for. 

11. Do you still buy albums yourself? What’s the first album you remember buying and falling in love with? 

Oh man, I’m streaming now! [Laughs.] I’m in the modern day! It’s weird to me, because I liked owning the vinyl. I liked being able to just look at one picture all day long and imagine everything about Donna Summer that I could ever imagine. There was a lot to the imagination at that time and it was very magical. Nowadays, [with] streaming, I don’t own the album, but I stream songs for sure. 

Of course, my parents’ collection was there, so I mentioned Donna Summer, I can mention The Beatles, Neil Diamond — this is my mom’s music and influences on me — Paul Simon and Garfunkel. But the first one I bought was [Breakin’], to tell you the truth. Hip-hop was just becoming the “in thing” in my generation. It was around from before and we heard songs, but now, I was identifying stars and the break dancing was kicking off, so [Breakin’] was something that I wanted to own. 

It’s funny what happens when you’re coming up as a young kid, [buying] an album like that and then [learning] something from it. I didn’t know of Chaka Khan before that album. And then I found out more about Chaka Khan, and I was like, “Yo!” I got an introduction to her music through that album. 

My mom did buy me Steel Pulse[’s Earth Crisis] that same year as well — she’s someone who liked their music because it was kind of reggae, with a little difference. It had different melodies and harmonies, and what they spoke about, she was really into that. 

12. Who from the younger generation do you think is leading dancehall right now or charting a new path forward for the genre? 

Definitely Masicka. I’ve been supporting his career for a long time. He just reminds me of freshness. Every time that you hear a song from him, you could tell that he really put a lot into the wordplay, that’s very commendable as a younger artist. I like Skeng, I think his voice is awesome. I would like to hear some different topics from him, but still love the voice, love the vibe, it’s the right energy.  

I know I wasn’t around when rock’n’roll started, but the raw energy that I feel when I listened to the early rock’n’roll — Chuck Berry and all of that – it’s the same feeling I get [with these younger dancehall artists]. It’s not overproduced at all. Big up to the younger dancehall artists. Skillibeng doing his thing. Big up to Popcaan, he’s a little older generation than them, but [he’s] somebody who still is making music that is making an impact here for me. 

13. You had some controversial thoughts on the Jada Kingdom and Stefflon Don clash from earlier this year. Some people noted how global audiences really tuned in and paid attention to that clash, which brought more eyes to the contemporary dance hall scene. What purpose do you think clashes can serve in this particular era of dancehall? 

I’m against the clashing right now. I’ve been for quite some time — reason being, I’ve seen negative impacts in the community when it comes to people being childish about supporting their artists. Clashing does bring about attention, but does it bring important lessons? [That’s] what I think music is supposed to be. 

When I look [at] Marley’s career, people like Jimmy Cliff, Third World, Black Guru — this is where our music comes from. We are like hip-hop in a way, but we also have that root of the Burning Spear and all these people who spoke culture to us and fought Apartheid, as I said before. I just don’t want to see my people feel the need to clash talents. In that respect, I think our talents can be used more towards a greater upliftment of everybody. 

I have spoken about being against the clash with all types of artists — male artists from a long time ago, when Mavado and [Vybz] Kartel was clashing. Kids would ask me, “Gully or Gaza?” And I’d say, “Nah, mi seh Jamaican flag.” Even though my little utterances didn’t make a difference then, people still clash, people still enjoyed the clash, it showed them their technical skills. I didn’t feel the need as an artist to show my skills against another artist when I know exactly how hard it is to break in this industry, and how much I feel we should collab together more. 

When I spoke up about Jada and Steff, it’s because I know those two people. I also believe that women’s energy should reflect a different type of energy than a man. Yes, you can be a strong woman, you can be a leader, you can be someone that rebels against something that’s wrong. But the energy, and where they’re putting it, I just don’t find it attractive for women to be to be doing that to me.  

[There was] a lot of backlash. I got a lot of people saying, “Oh, so men can do it and women can’t do it?” And I’ve always said in my genre, the mandem shouldn’t be clashing. I was answering back everybody I could [on Instagram]. I’m not the type of vocal artist like that all the time, but when I do believe in something, I’m gonna say it. 

I just believe that those two women especially have a lot more talent and a far way to go in the business than to cement themselves to be known more as a clash artist. I’ve seen that happen with some of the males too. Some of the dudes come out, they’re clashing, and then you’re just known as a clash artist. I haven’t heard anything else from them. Not a song to entertain, not a song to educate, not a song to uplift, just a song to be derogatory about the other artists. I think we do that too much in this genre, also in hip-hop.  

I’m tired of it. I’m tired of childish behavior. I just think that we could spend our time doing way better things as a genre, especially coming from the root of reggae and what that’s been in the climate of music in the world. 

14. What do you love most about where dancehall is right now, and what do you wish was different? 

I wish clashing wasn’t as prominent, I’ll just say that first. [Laughs.] What I do love about our genre is that it’s been so infectious that other people have gravitated towards doing their own music that sounds [like] the same type of backbeat or feeling in the songs. 

For me, it’s a spirit. It’s an ancient spirit that comes through the music. When Sly Dunbar was making the music in the late 80s [and] early 90s, I felt this Afrocentric feeling. It felt third world, [like] this is my identity, and it still has that feeling and it’s giving that feeling to other genres as well. 

I’m proud of the fact that there are more producers and more artists. One thing that’s uneasy to see is that there’s a lot of people who just come up and they don’t go through a gauntlet like I did or artists before me, where you have to stay [in the studio] all day long sitting down, waiting for your turn to be recorded. It’s all on your phone right now or your laptop [with FruityLoops] and everything’s a lot easier. Sometimes when you don’t go through the fire, you don’t get to the point where you’re diamond. 

15. What made it a fire or a gauntlet? 

Back in the day, having to wait in those lines, having to take the criticism from the producer himself — because nowadays the kid could just do his own thing and put his song out. Soulja Boy broke from that scenario. But the discipline ain’t there to me, and that discipline is a deepness that can help you to have more longevity, which I think I’ve had, and so I give thanks to everybody who, behind the scenes, criticized me, pointed the finger at me and told me, “Go do better.” 

It’s happening not just with my genre, but with many other genres. Yes, there can be prolific artists like Prince, who will play everything on his album, but that’s a one in a million or one in a billion. You do need the guidance as a younger artist, and I think that’s missing from most genres, but especially this one. 

16. What business advice would you give younger artists who are striving to have a career with as much longevity as yours? 

I’ve never been [a good businessman] — I just feel what my crowd needs from me. I feel what works and what doesn’t. I don’t produce a hit song every day! For every one song you hear, I may have 25 songs that you will never hear. It’s about the work ethic, keeping your ears to the ground where the genre is concerned, but also keeping in tune with your crowd. 

A lot of ladies gave me the ideas to be like, “Yo, they like hearing this from me!” It’s a lot of gangsterism in music and hardcore stuff. While I don’t think I’m a soft artist, I do think that I give some form of romance to the ladies, and some form of closeness that you know that that they need from the music. 

You may be an artist that doesn’t connect in that way. I’m not saying everybody has to do that type of music, but connect to whatever it is from you that people are connecting with. Pay attention to that. 

17. How do you think mentorship can be most effective in dancehall right now? 

I think what I’m doing has been helping a few artists. I help to mentor people like Chi Ching Ching and a young cat Quan-Dajai [Henriques], who [was] in the Bob Marley movie.  I produced their music right now. I think it’s important because just by being in the studio one day and telling them a story about something I’ve seen in the business or some crazy stuff that happened behind the scenes with the red tape, the lawyers and other producers —  they learn from me.  

It’s important because it’s a slippery slope that we have as an artist. We create, we sit in the in the in the studio — we’re away from real life, but we’re talking about real life. It can be a very hard road, at times, for people, especially if you’re not being heard. To have someone to help you navigate through those times is an important thing. I feel that I’ve been helping to do that with quite a few artists. 

18. What’s the last song you listened to? 

Some music that I just did in LA last week. One’s called “Ginger,” nice vibe. It’s kind of like a blend of Afrobeat and dancehall music. It’s an Afrobeat producer and artist I worked with, so I’m really feeling that one. It sounds like now. I listen to a lot of my music because I have a lot that hasn’t even come out yet.  

I have listened to the verse that Kendrick [Lamar] spit. I’m more hearing the verse than the full song, but he did step on some toes there! So, some clashing a gwan again. [Laughs.] For me, all those artists have proven themselves to be great. I don’t need [a clash] to know that they are great. I might revere Kendrick’s lyrics more than Drake’s, but I still think Drake is a talented person to be where he is at this point. 

19. For you, what makes the perfect dancehall song? 

It definitely has to do with the beat a lot. A lot. you could have a very great reggae song that’s an acoustic – there have been acoustic dancehall songs, for sure —  but the main driving force of our music is the riddim. It’s the drum and the bass. That’s what’s changed a lot with the younger [producers] nowadays, who don’t have that gauntlet to [and] don’t have the guidance of other people. It’s a lot more chord-oriented and keyboard-oriented, and it don’t have the crazy bass. I miss that. There’s a few songs that that still reflect that now, and those are the ones I enjoy more. 

I think that that’s the important thing that makes a dancehall beat. For me, Ed Sheeran’s “Shape of You” is a dancehall beat. I’ll beat you. The drums and the bass reflect that. When the radio people say, “Dancehall ain’t playing in the States no more on the radio, sorry!” I’m like, “F—k you, because you’re playing Ed Sheeran and to me, that’s dancehall.” Good songs are good songs, but the backbeat — the drum and the bass — is definitely what helps to make our genre the infectious thing that it’s become and that it is. 

20. What’s your all-time Carnival anthem? 

When I was a kid, you know, soca music comes from Trinidad and that’s the carnival music here. As a kid, I didn’t love it as much. I have five aunties, my father’s sisters, they loved it and I didn’t like it. 

But I’ve grown up now and I have a wife, so she’s immersed in Carnival. She makes costumes, so she’s giving me good insight as to what music is great. I think that one of my favorite anthems is a song from 2005, [sings Shurwayne Winchester’s “Dead or Alive”]. Also, “Like a Boss” by Machel Montano was probably just the baddest song. He’s like challenging me to party more! Those two songs for me are Carnival anthems. 

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