But as he evolved, he became more pop.įrom the start, his ganja-puffing and cornrow-touting style fit the anti-authority attitude that is the foundation of the genre. Young SP was likened to legendary toaster Super Cat, framing him within a lineage of dancehall which he clearly fit into as the next chapter. Sean Paul’s songs like “Infiltrate” and “Deport Them,” from his first album Stage One, prompted many a Jamaican to lift their trigger fingers skyward as a sign of respect to the artistry. The ultimate sign of appreciation of a song is the gun finger salute - the equivalent of gold star from a teacher - and it is no easy feat to earn. Jamaicans are an actively hostile audience - if a song displeases us at a party we will stand immobile in protest, noses turned up, and death glares lasered at the selector. To understand the story of Sean Paul, the first thing to grasp is just how difficult it is to please a Jamaican listener. “But I love it.” We loved him because he represented Jamaica - he was a real dancehall artist that by his second album, had also figured out the tricky act of also appealing to a global market. “I have no idea what he is saying,” they told us. My cousin’s foriegn friends bounced along too. As I followed around my cooler older cousins, there he was on car rides, the shopping mall, trips to the supermarket. His second album Dutty Rock had just blown up when I spent the summer with family in Ireland, and there he was willy bouncing on MTV all day long. In my bedroom in Jamaica, I slept with a poster of him above my bed, until my mother took it down deeming it inappropriate for an 11 year old.
At the end of the night, that's all it is, slow-dancing.It was impossible to be alive in the 2000s and not be shaped by his music. That's why some guys had on the du-rags, it's not like they had on suits. It’s not all just aggressive kinds of dances it’s more like, you’re partners, you’re guiding each other. Things like daggering and the roughness that comes with that? "I'm Still In Love" was the opposite. I wanted to make sure that there was something soft and romantic about it. The clubs and the DJs made it happen organically. I remember that it was Christmastime, when the music industry slow down, and this song was just everywhere. Actually, "I'm Still In Love With You" wasn't even supposed to be a single. The kind of slow jam that’s popular in clubs, at the end of the night when you’re leaving the club, it’s the kind of thing you’re used to hearing. Like what our parents generation would’ve done if they were at a party back in the day. SCOTT: I really wanted to showcase a kind of couples dance that was inspired by ska. She explained some of the most important moves and cultural references in five of Paul's most iconic videos. We really pushed a new thing, we really set a new standard that changed music and music videos forever," said Scott, who also coached Drake through his "Hotline Bling" video. Indeed, Paul had been successfully making dancehall tracks for years before the massive hit that was 2002's Dutty Rock but the combination of Scott's genius choreography and clever directing by the filmmaker formerly known as Lil X put dance at the forefront of his image, and drove his crossover into global pop stardom. "He may not be technically trained, he may not have all the tough moves, but he loves to dance and he loves to big up dance." "Sean is a true dancer in his heart," longtime choreographer and collaborator Tanisha Scott told The FADER. Sean Paul may not be a technically skilled dancer - a friend once joked that his confidence is an inspiration to all people who love to dance and aren't particularly good at it - but his emphasis on incorporating dancehall moves in music videos is an important part of his legacy. There are few feelings more human than the eyes-closed, hips-squared euphoria of dancing to a song you really, really love, whether your move of choice is a casual two-step or a complex back-bending, limb-isolating routine.