sean paul gives us the light
wild hare, 9/29/02
interview, article, pictures: montana
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chicago-with sean paul's recent US fame , courtesy of the video for the single "gimme the light" that is in heavy rotation on BET and MTV,   the sold out crowd was anxiously packed into the wild hare, awaiting a performance from the man of the hour.

after a bevvy of openers, the crowd became very anxious around midnight for sean to take the stage.  around 12:40 sean came out in a matching jean outfit like the one in "gimme the light" and went into a whirlwind performance (to a DAT, no band for this one) featuring his hits with a mixture of new and old tunes and even using the 'i get high' riddim that is also currently popular in hiphop.  his lyrics stayed purely true to dancehall though and after a short encore, he wrapped up the show with 'tiger bone' and of course, 'gimme the light'.

 
the entire front of the venue was filled with 99% female fans who screamed and cheered throughout sean paul's performance.   judging from their reactions, we're going to be seeing a lot more of him in america.

backstage, sean, dripping with sweat, was nice enough to pose for pictures for the press and fans alike, and  to do interviews with the press, which of course chicagoreggae.com had to take part in as well.

chicagoreggae:    did the success of 'gimme the light' in the US surprise you?

sean paul:  not really, it just shows you that there's a lot of space between popular music and the underground tunes.  people like shabba have had their turn <at success in the US>, now it's my time.  but you have to make it in jamiaca first in the dancehall or you get no respect. this didn't happen overnight.  i've put in a lot of work.   shabba, beenie had their time, now it's my time.

chicagoreggae: right, because when 'gimme the light' finally became popular in the US, it was already considered old in the dancehall.

sean paul described how people are suddenly vibing off some of the older tunes in jamaica again.  it's seems like the  US success of the song has had an   overall effect on the dancehall in jamaica.   he also said that he gets a lot of support in the US and emphasized that new york is the place where most of it comes from.
 
chicagoreggae: last time i was there, i noticed that you go out and have fun in your hometown of kingston jamaica just like anyone else.  has your success changed how people treat you at home?

sean paul:  i just have to be more careful. a lot more people come up to me...

chicagoreggae: what is the next single and video going to be?

sean paul:  "like glue" on the buy out riddim.

we talked some more about how sean paul is the first dancehall artist since shabba in the US to have a hit with a hardcore dancehall riddim as well as patios lyrics (usually the songs that crossover are watered down, meaning, there is an r&b track, or an american hiphop artist/ singer along with the dancehall dj like recent crossover tunes by beenie man and shaggy).  it's been over 10 years since shabba had many americans who had never liked reggae, listening to the tape 'telephone tracks' and interested in dancehall music.   it seems  we may be in for a resurgence in dancehall popularity with sean paul, beenie and latest arrival, but a veteran in the dancehall industry,  super cat, all signed to american labels.