Sean Paul

Jamaican dancehall singer and rapper Sean Paul broke into the global mainstream in the early 2000s with pop-friendly party jams like "Get Busy" from his Grammy-winning Dutty Rock album, plus the chart-topping smash "Temperature." An early proponent of the dancehall pop movement, Paul also earned a reputation as a worthy guest star, appearing on s hit "Baby Boy," then enjoying a career resurgence in the latter part of the 2010s when he was introduced to a fresh generation of fans via high-profile collaborations with artists like , , and . His 2018 EP Mad Love: The Prequel thrust him back in the spotlight, boasting major hits like "No Lie" with  and "Mad Love" with  and . Paul carried his success into the next decade with a barrage of singles including 2020s  collaboration "Calling on Me."

Born Sean Paul Francis Henriques on January 8, 1973, the multi-ethnic Paul (his parents had Portuguese, Chinese, and Jamaican forebears) grew up comfortably in St. Andrew, Jamaica; his mother was a renowned painter. He was a skilled athlete, excelling in swimming and especially water polo, playing for the Jamaican national team in the latter. Although his education was enough to land him a prosperous career, dancehall music remained Pauls first love, particularly crafting rhythm tracks. He became a DJ after he began writing his own songs, patterning his style largely after  and finding a mentor in ; he also found contacts in several members of the reggae-pop band  in 1993, which helped him foster business connections.

Paul released his debut single, "Baby Girl," with producer  in 1996; it proved a significant success, leading to further Jamaican hits like "Nah Get No Bly (One More Try)," "Deport Them," "Excite Me," "Infiltrate," and "Hackle Mi." In 1999, Sean Paul started to make inroads to American audiences; he was first commissioned to collaborate with fellow dancehall hitmaker  on a production for rapper ; titled "Here Comes the Boom," the song was included in director Hype Williams film Belly. Also that year, Paul scored a Top Ten hit on the Billboard rap charts with "Hot Gal Today."

That fall, Paul released his first album on . The sprawling Stage One collected many of his previous hit singles and compilation cuts, plus a few brand-new tracks. His breakthrough arrived in 2002 with sophomore effort, Dutty Rock (/). The Grammy-winning album featured the hit singles "Get Busy," "Gimme the Light," and "Baby Boy" with . In addition to topping the Canadian and U.S. Reggae charts, Dutty Rock entered the Billboard Top Ten and was certified multi-platinum.

Paul followed with The Trinity () in 2005. The album peaked at number seven on the Billboard 200, his highest showing to date, and included chart hits like "We Be Burnin," "Temperature," and "(When You Gonna) Give It Up to Me" with . Four years later he returned with Imperial Blaze. Featuring the singles "So Fine" and "Hold My Hand" with , Imperial Blaze topped the Billboard rap chart, but did not capture the same mainstream attention as his prior two releases. The loose Odyssey Mixtape dropped in 2011 and was followed a year later by Tomahawk Technique, a more pop- and dance-oriented album with production from the likes of , DJ Ammo, and Benny Blanco. While the set yielded a handful of international hits, it stalled in the U.S. Although his sixth studio album, Full Frequency, topped the U.S. reggae chart in early 2014, it didnt make much of a splash in the pop mainstream. The effort spawned the singles "Other Side of Love," "Entertainment 2.0" (featuring , , and ), "Turn It Up," and "Want Dem All" (featuring Konshens), which helped Paul score his fifth Grammy nomination for Best Reggae Album.

In the years that followed, Paul would appear on notable singles by , , and , but it wasnt until 2016 that he would experience massive chart resurgence, appearing on hits by  (the Grammy-nominated "Cheap Thrills"),  ("Hair"),  ("Rockabye"), and  ("No Lie"). After Paul signed a deal with , he returned to the studio to record his seventh album. The first single from the album, "Mad Love" with  and , arrived in early 2018. Mad Love: The Prequel was issued later that year and included collaborations with , , , , , and more. Paul extended his prolific streak in 2019, pairing with  on "Contra La Pared" and , , and  on "Boasty." In early 2020, he and  collaborated on the single "Calling on Me." ~ Steve Huey & Neil Z. Yeung

CONCERTS / EVENTS 

Sat May 14 , 2022 Las Vegas Festival Grounds , Las Vegas

Sat May 15 , 2022  Las Vegas Festival Grounds , Las Vegas

Friday July 8 , 2022 Festival Fete Du Bruit Dans Saint Nolff

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Las Vegas Festival Grounds, Las Vegas
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The GRAMMY Museum, Los Angeles
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California Roots Festival, Monterey
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The NOVO, Los Angeles
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Palges du Prado, Marseille
Wed, Jun 29 • 11:00 AM
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Plaine De La Filhole, Marmande
Thu, Jun 30 • 7:00 PM
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