Sean Paul, who has been controversially outspoken since the recent Grammy Awards, has ended a seven-year hiatus by releasing his latest studio album – and has another planned for May.
‘Live N Livin’ was out on his own record label of Dutty Rock on 12 March, and will be followed by the album ‘Scorcha’ in two months. His previous album was ‘Full Frequency’ in 2014, which blended dancehall, hip hop and pop.
The Kingston-born superstar dancehall singer has been busy since ‘Full Frequency’ making videos for his array of singles and turning his attention to being both a deejay and producer. On his latest release he is hammering home the unity in dancehall, which features over twenty artistes.
‘Live N Livin’ offers a plethora of illustrious talents from across the island, including veterans like Buju Banton, Busy Signal and Mavado. Yet the album does boast one artiste who is not a Jamaican citizen, Ghana’s Grammy winner Stonebwoy, who features on the remix of his song ‘Guns of Navarone’ that also has the intricate vocals of Jesse Royal and Mutabaruka.
His seventh studio album is Inspired by the perception of members of the music industry that dancehall is dead, Paul believes dancehall has a strong pulse so is alive and kicking.
The multi-award-winning 48-year-old has deliberately birthed future stars on his two albums to prove that dancehall is flourishing and to showcase the diverse talents of Jamaican artistes. He has previously gone on record to explain that the reason he believes that many of his compatriots do not become stars outside the Caribbean is because of their use of hardcore patois.
Never one to shy away, Paul has been extremely vocal and gone public following the Grammys. He doesn’t believe that the reggae genre gets the respect that it deserves at the annual award show, so has taken a number of controversial swipes through interviews in the music media.
His second studio album of ‘Dutty Rock’ (local patios meaning Dirty Rock) in 2002 won the Grammy Award for reggae, although most of his albums since have been nominated for the annual award ceremony in the United States.
Paul has surprisingly failed to claim an award for his songs since the 2017 MTV Europe Music Awards, when he scooped the coveted prize of Best Song for ‘Rockabye’ with Anne-Marie and Clean Bandit.
However, his last accolade was two years ago when he received the Order of Distinction, Commander class, from the Jamaican government. It was announced in October 2019 that he would receive such an honour for his lengthy contribution to the global popularity and promotion of reggae music.