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Sean Paul
 His fans better know Sean-Paul Henriques
by his first 2 names,
Sean Paul. He was born 27 years ago in Kingston, Jamaica and raised in
the parish of St. Andrew.
Back in 1994, Sean Paul wrote his first full tune and went to the
studio. His first tune called 'Baby Girl' was released in 1996. The
track was produced by Jeremy Harding of 2 Hard Records
who also produced
Beenie Man's smash hit 'Who Am I' and later went on to produce another
hit for Sean, 'Infiltrate'.
After Sean did 'Infiltrate', he was bombarded with requests from
producers asking him to voice for them. Sean ended up voicing for a
number of producers doing 'No Bligh' for Penthouse, 'Faded' for King
Jammys and then 'Deport Them' on the Bookshelf rhythm for Tony
Kelly. As he recalls, "A so de business go, it open up".
Sean got into the business because he says, "I always been a fan
of music". He started expressing himself whilst at school when
"everyone used to lick dem hand pon de table and try DJ 4 lines
straight". Even though it started out as a joke, Sean found he
started putting tunes together stemming from experiences he would see
or be involved in such as arguments in the street, etc. He saw it as a
way of "self-expression" and has written his own lyrics ever
since. He writes tunes that he feels will "get de crowd
hype".
This form of self-expression for Sean definitely hit the mark and he
can't even begin to think what his most successful single to date has
been. He says, "All of dem do different works" and cites a
few as being successful such as 'Deport Them', 'Hot Gal Today' with Mr Vegas,
'Infiltrate' and 'My Name' which is doing very well in Jamaica. His
first album, 'Stage One', is also doing well with copies being sold
worldwide.
Sean has performed in a number of shows including Hot 97's Summer Jam
in New York alongside the likes of DMX and other big names in
Hip Hop. He has also been on the line-up for Sting and Sumfest and
performed in Barbados, Panama, Costa Rica, the Caribbean, England, the
East Coast and Atlanta. He hopes to get a chance to go to Japan
although he says, "Me hate long flight".
His talents have given him the opportunity to work with a number of
artists such as Vegas, DMX, Angie Martinez, Salt (of Salt 'n'
Pepa) and
Pras to name a few. Sean has also worked with "most of de prominent
producers in Jamaica" including Steely & Clevie and Shocking
Vibes.
Recently there was rumoured to be a rift between Sean Paul and Mr
Vegas over the 'Hot Gal Today' track and how it was being marketed as
Sean Paul's track and not a combination. Sean wanted the record set
straight and explained, "Tune came out here (Jamaica) a year
before any a dat hype start tek off. One a de biggest tune on de
Streetsweeper (rhythm). VP (Records) already owns such records as
'Infiltrate', 'No Bligh', etc. All a dat time, de tune was equal, but
what Vegas was upset about was when VP come now an seh dis is their
tune dat they license from Steely & Clevie, they own it and they
basically the right to promote their artist who is signed to them
which is Sean. So, when dem put out de tune, dem put a picture of me
on de cover an put Sean Paul an never put featuring Mr Vegas. On de
back dem give him credit and he was kinda upset bout dat and certain
tings I don't have any control over. VP asked Greensleeves (Vegas'
record label) if he'd feature in the video, so is pure politics now,
but no vibes between me an him".
Currently, Sean feels good about Dancehall Reggae music as he likes
how "big stations in de world now a play (Reggae) music an
royalties have to get written down... They're playing Dancehall, not
crossover".
Talent must run deep in Sean's family as his brother, Jason 'Jigzagula'
Henriques, spins for Coppershot sound system. His other favourite
sounds include Stone Love and Renaissance, but when it comes to
favourite artists, the list is long and includes the likes of Flourgan,
Super Cat, Pinchers, Shabba, Major Worries, Spragga, Cobra, Buju, Beenie
and Bounty.
It's funny that Super Cat is one of Sean's favourite artists as he has
been likened to him in terms of vocal sound. Sean says, "Is just
a style. Dat a dat, but he was a big role model for me as a kid. Me
jus start DJ dat way".
Sean is currently working on a new album and says he wants to "do
as much combination wid any foreign artist right now an some old
vintage". He has a chance to work with Barrington Levy
and Gregory Isaacs and says of this album, "Me wan spread
out... get a different vibe. Tings like crossover, Hip Hop an One
Drop". He hopes this album will be released in early 2001.
Not many people will know that Sean likes keeping fit by playing
basketball and was also on Jamaica's swim team between the ages of 14
and 22. He also used to play water polo and says, "My dream back
then was to go to the Olympics".
We're sure his fans are happy Sean decided to pursue his musical
career instead of an athletic one. His final message is, "Respec
for checking me out that way... Is jus a feeling from me heart and me
glad fe know seh people can share dat feeling deh. In a word me wan
seh unity. Unity, peace and love. There is one creator, so we mus be
one". Check it deeply.
The album 'Stage One' is on stores now.
Anyone interested in booking Sean Paul should contact Jade Promotions
on 876-960-6143 or 876-908-4258 or by email on jadepromotions@cwjamaica.com
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