Sean Paul Ryan Francis Henriques[1]
(born January 9, 1973),
[1][2]
simply known as
Sean Paul, is a Jamaican reggae and dancehall
musician.
Biography
Early life
Sean Paul was born in Kingston, Jamaica, and spent his early years
"comfortably"[2] in
Upper Saint Andrew Parish, a few miles north of his birthplace. His parents
were both talented athletes, and his mother Frances is a well-known painter.[3]
His father Garth is a Sephardic Jew[4]
of Portuguese descent, and his mother is of Afro-Caribbean and Chinese
Caribbean descent; both were born in Jamaica. Many members of Sean Paul's
family are swimmers.[5]
His grandfather was on the first Jamaican men's national water polo team.[6]
His father also played water polo for the team in the 1960s, and competed in
long-distance swimming, while Sean Paul's mother was a backstroke swimmer.[5]
Sean Paul played for the national water polo team from the age of thirteen
to twenty-one.[5]
However, he gave up the sport in order to launch his musical career. He
attended the Wolmers High School for Boys, where he was trained as a
classical flautist, Belair High School and the College of Arts, Science, and
Technology (CAST) which is now known as the University of Technology (UTech).
Success: Dutty Rock and "Get Busy"
In 2002, he began working extensively with a team of producers and
choreographers from Caribbean-friendly Toronto, namely Jae Blaze and Blaze
Entertainment and announced the release of his second album, Dutty Rock.
Pushed by the success of the singles "Gimme the Light" and the Billboard Hot
100 topper, "Get Busy", the album was a worldwide success, eventually
selling over six million copies. Simultaneously, Sean Paul was heard on
Beyoncé's single "Baby Boy" and Blu Cantrell's "Breathe", both chart hits in
2003, and helping to push his reputation further still in the United States.
During this period, he appeared on Punk'd, 106 & Park,
Sean Paul Respect, Making the Video ("Get Busy", "Gimme the
Light", and "Like Glue") and his music videos have been broadcast on MTV and
BET. Paul's biggest hits included "Get Busy", "Like Glue", "Gimme the
Light", "Baby Boy", and "I'm Still in Love with You".
The Trinity (2005-2007)
Sean Paul's third album The Trinity was released in on September
27, 2005. The album has a number of hits: "We Be Burnin'", "Ever Blazin'",
"Give It Up to Me", "Temperature" and "Never Gonna Be The Same".
The video of "(When You Gonna) Give It up to Me" (featuring Keyshia Cole)
was also featured in the movie "Step Up" in 2006.
He was nominated for four awards at the 2006 Billboard Music Awards,
including male artist of the year, rap artist of the year, hot 100 single of
the year, and pop single of the year for his hit "Temperature".[7]
He also won an American Music Award for "(When You Gonna) Give It Up To Me"
beating Kanye West and Nick Lachey who were also nominated for the award.
His song "Send It On" from "The Trinity" featured on the 2005 Vauxhall
Corsa advert.
Sean Paul often contributes his songs to various Riddim Driven
albums (by VP Records). In March 2007, he returned to his native Jamaica to
perform at the Cricket World Cup 2007 opening ceremony.
The Next Thing (2009)
The newest Sean Paul album The Next Thing is to be released
sometime in early 2009. Up until now there have been seven music videos:
"Always On My Mind (with Da'Ville)", "Give It To You (with Eve)", "Watch
Them Roll", "Back It Up" (with Left Side/Mr. Evil), "(I Wanna See You) Push
It Baby" (with Pretty Ricky), "Hit 'Em" (with Fahrenheit and his brother
Jason "Jigzagula" Henriques) and "Come Over" with Estelle.
He has recently been featured in Shaggy's video, "Save A Life" which also
includes appearances from Elephant Man and Da'Ville, among others. In an
effort to raise money for a children's hospital, Shaggy, Sean and the others
will be having a benefit concert. All proceeds raised will go towards
getting new equipment and technology 'For Aid to the Bustamante Hospital for
Children'.
|
"So do I think it is worth buying - yes I do, it has renewed my interest in keeping fit and that can't be a bad thing." |
Discography
- Stage One (2000)
- Dutty Rock (2002)
- The Trinity (2005)
- The Next Thing (2009)
Awards
- 2004: Grammy Award - Best Reggae Album (Dutty Rock)
- 2005: Billboard Music Award - Selling Reggae Artist of the Year
- 2005: Billboard Music Award - Top Selling Reggae Album of the Year (The
Trinity)
- 2006: Priya Awards - Best Hardman
- 2006: American Music Awards- Favorite Pop/Rock Male Artist
- 2006: Billboard Music Awards - Hot 100 single of the year
"Temperature"
- 2007: Jamaican Awards - Best male reggae singer
Trivia
- Sean Paul appears on the game Def Jam Fight for NY as part of Snoop
Dogg's crew and again in the games sequel Def Jam: Icon
- He also has an exclusive track in the game as well titled "All Out"
- He is a member of the prominent Henriques family that played a
significant role in the Trans-Atlantic slave trade.
- Apart from Jay-Z, he is the only known artist to have produced hit
singles with both Beyoncé Knowles and Rihanna.
- He made a quick cameo appearance in the 1998 film Belly on stage
performing.