DANCEHALL NICE AGAIN

Misunderstood in many ways, dancehall artiste Sean Paul has had to forge his own unique image in the local and international arena. At the end of the day, all Sean Paul wants is to be heard.

Sean Paul seems to have the whole package, a pretty face, snappy lyrics accompanied by good beats. Yet he has fought long and hard to get respect in the music industry. Not your typical dancehall act, Sean Paul has far exceeded the expectations of many of his peers. Coming from the uptown yet doing ‘downtown’ music, growing up in a place that wasn’t the ghetto, has been one of the biggest stereotypes Sean Paul has had to face in his career. One that has plagued him outside of Jamaica where persons have long criticised the authenticity of his music.

However Paul has proved that while dancehall arose form the ghetto, it doesn’t have to stay there. Ironically even though Sean Paul has won international acclaim, local persons are always quick to play the ‘colour card’. Assuming that since Sean is an uptown ‘browning’, he has been more accepted by fans across the globe. Speaking on the issue, Sean Paul claimed “those things have to do with the perception of the general public, some people call it the system, some people say it’s the way things are. I call it an injustice of society, and it just shows you where we are still. Cause if someone can be a great artiste and put out many songs and people feel that he’s reached there because of this or he didn’t reach there because of that- it is a bias that people have. I don’t have it, I just do music”.

According to Paul, the issue is not where the music came from, but that it sounds good. However that doesn’t mean he won’t use the system to his advantage.

“Listen to the music, the image is a bias thing, but we use it in the industry, just like you use a car to go to the pharmacy we use dat, we use dem likkle picture deh, I use that image to sell records it’s a bias in the world I mek use of it, sorry bout it.”

Real authentic

While Sean has learnt to sell his image, its selling the music that is problematic. After the journey of Dutty Rock which pivoted Sean Paul on the cusp of superstardom, how to market the artiste the second time around with The Trinity should have been easy. However Sean claims that some of the same problems kept arising, this time around communication was still a problem.

Sean Paul elaborates about his journey with The Trinity, “you haffi understand dese companies are big and these people want to keep their jobs. So whatever is selling at a time that’s what they’re working on. I had to prove to everybody back that this was real authentic, this is also something that is of standard of voice, song, vibe that you’re gonna get from the artiste cause its Sean. I had to prove it back to them cause they didn’t believe and I think its gonna be the same way next time. Not only for me, from the industry there’s a lot of artistes coming from Jamaica. I’m seen as ‘I don’t really know what he is’,” Sean says.

This fact was clearly shown at the American Music Awards where Sean Paul won ‘best male pop act’. While Sean Paul admitted it was mind blowing to have won, he used the award as an example of what his music is classed as in the United States. “Right now I’m up for an American music award, pop award and I can’t believe, I’m not a pop artiste. I know I’m popular but I don’t think of myself like that. To me Micheal Jackson is pop and Britney Spears, I don’t think I’m like that.

“Its suppose to be dancehall. There’s so many dancehall artistes and everyone needs a chance. It just happens like that, people just don’t know where to put this music” he said. The advent of reggaeton has added more confusion to the mix. Sean attests that there are instances where people assume he speaks Spanish because he does dancehall music, obviously confusing dancehall with reggaeton.

Despite all the things that have been said about Sean Paul the artiste, no one can now deny his success and he plans to keep on bringing his music to the fore.

Since coming back from tour Paul has been working with numerous young producers, voicing riddims for his local fans to enjoy. For him music isn’t about record sales or music videos but voicing songs for people to hear. The Middle East and Africa will soon be hearing the DJ as he embarks on a tour there in December. “Come January I’ll be taking three months to heal from a knee surgery, do some records, I’ve been doing some lately, working with Renaissance, working with producer Stephen McGregor, looking for hot riddims otherwise,” Paul says.

Success isn’t alien to this newcomer. She already has two albums out in Japan, and both were among the top 40 albums on the charts.

STAR: What do you call your music?

Miss Triniti: “I call it ‘ragga hop’. It’s a mixture of dancehall, reggae, R&B and hip hop. Everybody was always like, ‘What is this?’ So I just named it.”

Have you done any collaborations with anyone as yet?

“I have gone on tour with Sean Paul, but in terms of doing a song it depends on if we get the right track. I wanted to work with Cham as well, and I did that with Love It Like That; it’s on his album. I would also like to work with Machel Mantano. He’s known some of my stuff and says he’d like to work with me … I also did a California tour with Jah Rule and I opened for D12 once. Another thing is that a few of my songs have been in movie soundtracks. There is Dangerous, that was in the Like Mike movie, in Two for the Money and Zoom I did the song Big Ups.”

Do you want to collaborate with any female entertainers?

“I really want to do some work with some females and have sort of a girl flex. I like Tanya Stephens, Sasha, Tami Chynn and so many others.”

What were you doing before you ventured into music?

“It’s been approximately four years, before that I had music on the back burner. I was in England up to age 18. I was a professional tennis player from 16-18 years old, and I got a tennis scholarship to go to California, and I got a degree in physiotherapy and when I finished school I moved to LA.”

How have Jamaicans responded to your music?

“For the most part, it’s pretty much a good response from people.”

Who are some of your musical inspirations?

“I admire a lot of artistes like Bob Marley, Supercat, Sean Paul and as far as R&B goes, there is Stevie Wonder, Mary J. Blige, Tupac, Common, and I could go on and on.”

Where do you see your career in five years?

“Hopefully, I would have planted the seeds to grow into something bigger and more worldwide, instead of just Japan. I also want to explore the big screen as well. Living in LA, people are always asking me about acting, so I would like to try that.”

Gargamel Music, Inc. is pleased to announce that Buju Banton’s “Nothing” Refix/100 Watt Medley video has been added into rotation on BETJ and VH1 Soul. Produced by Banton and his Gargamel Production team, “Nothing” is the first single from his critically acclaimed new album, Too Bad. The refix [aka remix] features dynamic contributions from Ghost, East Coast, Mr. Vegas, New Kidz, Assassin, Mitch and Mr. Lex.

Shot entirely on location at Buju’s Gargamel Music compound in Kingston, Jamaica by director Troy Antonio (“Magic City”) and director of photography Salvador Bolivar, the “Nothing” Refix/ 100 Watt Medley video takes viewers behind the Gargamel gates where highly spirited and creative energies converge on the daily.
The video is set to air on several BETJ programs including Soul Sessions, Wick’d, and international music show Music Passport. VH1 Soul will play the clip on their Island Soul block. Additional US outlets that have just added the Buju Banton “Nothing” Refix/100 Watt Medley video include: Music Choice, Video Explosion (NY), Ebonny Eyes (NY), Video Music Box (NY), Rootz to Rhythm (Boston), VMS (Las Vegas), Irie Vision (San Francisco), Mystic Vibes (Chicago), Rase TV (Montreal), Video Mix (Florida).

Vybz Kartel has been in the lab working with the young genius, Stephen McGregor, on a couple of songs. One of those songs is ‘Imagine’, a remarkable magnus opus of a song that paints a portrait of what the world would be like were the structures of world economics, politics, and power different. The song also attempts to formulate creative solutions, from a black man’s perspective, to some of the problems such as poverty, hunger and crime which the world faces today.

“Right now, I am working on some different songs, I have 12 exclusive tracks completed which will appear on my upcoming album, ‘Vybz Kartel Presents Addi the Techa’, it ah go mad,” he told YardFlex.com.

The deejay denied that a recent collaboration he did with fellow deejay, D’Angel was an overt diss of Bounty Killer. He said that he had no intention of dissing the ‘Killer’.

“Mi just build a song fi Arthur Wails and him say him have a girl fi sing pon it and dem mi find out say ah D’Angel, ah so the ting go,” he explained.

Now that’s crossover success. Jamaican dancehall artiste Sean Paul on Tuesday night won the award for Favourite Pop/Rock Artiste at the American Music Awards.

The awards were presented at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles. Sean Paul beat out Americans Nick Lachey and Kanye West in the category to win the award.

“This is the first time I’ve been able to go up there and thank people,” he said. “It’s been a great day.”

Sean was nominated for two rap/hip hop AMAs in 2003.

He also joked about West’s outburst at the MTV Europe Movie Awards when he lost.

“I was kind of looking out. If Nick had won and Kanye had gone up there, I would have gone up with him!”

West, apparently disappointed at not winning for best video earlier this month, had crashed the stage with an expletive-filled tirade.

Bad Boy CEO Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs says he plans to sign more reggae/dancehall artistes to his Bad Boy Entertainment label, after seeing the potential of local star Elephant Man.

Diddy, in a statement sent to The STAR, says he wants to work with more danchall acts and seems confident that dancehall music has the potential to reach higher heights. “The dancehall audience is a worldwide audience,” he said. “We love the music and we have to give the reggae artistes an avenue to express themselves through Bad Boy Entertainment.”

energetic acts

The hip hop impressario who recently joined heads with one of dancehall’s most energetic acts, Elephant Man, describes Ele as “one of the greatest entertainers in his genre of music.” “When I saw him at Madison Square Garden ripping down the stage, I knew that he was the one. He will be a great addition to our team,” Diddy Said.

Bad Boy Entertainment has begun to collaborate with VP Records to market and distribute Elephant Man’s music across the globe. This will be the confirmation of a long time interest in dancehall and reggae music.

“Bad Boy has always been interested, since Dolly My Baby by Super Cat featuring myself and Biggie. Elephant Man happened to have the personality, energy, star power, and veteran stage presence that we love so much,” Diddy said.

An overjoyed Elephant Man plans to release his new album in the spring of 2007. His album was to have been released in summer of 2006 but was delayed due to the deal with Bad Boy.

As a part of the Bad Boy family, Ele is currently working on a remix with Diddy for his upcoming album and he will accompany Diddy on tour for his new album Press Play.

Ele’s first performance on the tour will be in Connecticut with Diddy and fellow rap artiste Ludacris. He has further cemented his position by doing a collaboration with Nicole Scherzinger of the Pussy Cat Dolls for the song Come Gimme. “Puffy requested the remix, him want me on it. Me and dem have that kind of relationship. He’s even planning on calling an official press conference, but him doing his own promotions first,” said Elephant Man.

Elephant Man maintains that he will continue doing the brand of dancehall music that has signified his style. He claims that Bad Boy signed him knowing he did dancehall music and that it has potential. He doesn’t plan to change.

The ‘Energy God’ plans to take his music to another level by working hard to achieve his goal. “I expect a lot, him (Diddy) a one hard worker, his artistes haffi work hard too. Promotions count and him haffi do a lot of it, I’m a workaholic so it will work,” Ele said.

Ele’s positive attitude seems to have made a big impression on the hip hop mogul as Diddy stated “we will be signing more reggae artistes.”