Jamaican hitmaker Sean Paul is credited with leading the charge of popularizing dancehall music upon its arrival to American shores in the early 2000s. With a wave of hits such as ‘Gimme Da Light,’ ‘Get Busy,’ and later ‘Temperature’ and ‘We Be Burning,’ the noughties saw Paul burn up Billboard charts with some its hottest hits.
While most of the 2010s had the genre taking a back seat to EDM and later trap music, 2015-17 has seen a resurgence of sorts in island-influenced music. Thanks to the likes of Tory Lanez (‘Luv’), Justin Bieber (‘What Do You Mean’ & ‘Sorry’), and Drake‘s massive hits ‘One Dance’ and ‘Controlla,’ the Hot 100 has been set alight again with dancehall-tinged offerings.
Because of this, Paul thinks today’s artists – especially Drizzy – should give more credit to the genre. Taking to Metro UK, the ‘I’m Still In Love With You’ crooner lent the Canadian rapper and some other big named stars a little advice about using dancehall music without paying proper respects.
Read more below:
Sean Paul [via Metro UK]:
“I think at the time when it was popping off, it would have been good for him [Drake] to actually put accolades towards the whole culture. [Drake is] friendly with a few people in the business in Jamaica and that’s good, I love it,” he continues. “But if he had given more accolades when he was actually making it and said ‘this is the music I love,’ it would have been cool.”
Paul, reflecting on 2017’s biggest hit so far (Ed Sheeran‘s ‘Shape of You’), also notes its island influence.
“Ed Sheeran has done one song that is huge and it’s dancehall reminiscent,” he explains. “But that is one song, [Drake] had an album full of dancehall, so I think he should have paid a bit of an accolade and told people in the press ‘that is where I’m coming from, I have a love for that music.’”
*****
Longtime fans of Paul know this isn’t the first time he’s called out Drake. Just last Fall the ‘We Be Burnin’ beau took to The Guardian to call out Drizzy, Bieber, Major Lazer and Kanye West.
“A lot of people get upset, they get sour,” he said of the frustrations of dancehall fans. “And I know artists back in Jamaica that don’t like Major Lazer because they think they do the same thing that Drake and Kanye did – they take and take and don’t credit.” [source]
Your thoughts?
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Sticks to dancehall like glue, he should show respect, yeah.
But if he’s constantly making dancehall music that’s kinda let the world know that he got a thang for it, why he have to say it?
I get it…kinda, It’d be like Robin Thicke never giving accolades to the pioneering R&B artists that he took influence from to reach the top of the charts consistently and being cool with people thinking he was starting a movement. I’d look at him a lil funny. Idk if it was worth going to the press about tho smh
Replace Robin Thicke with Justin Timberlake and your post makes more sense. JT is even starting to win “Trailblazer” awards.
? No one seems to give Jon B. his credit
Robin always let it be known who he looks up to. But robin also wrote for black artist,like brandy, Brian McKnight, mya . so he didn’t use rnb he is rnb
I agree with some of the other comments. Mr Thicke showed love by being consistent regardless of sales and dint jump on the bandwagon with a matching image (anyone remember the long hair and skateboard) and as said before he wrote classic hits for other R&B artists including for Ushers masterpiece confessions. As for the comment re Jon B. That man was headily underrated but always kept it real and never turned his back, i think the soul train awards should have a Teena Marie award (no shade) for all those white artists who sang soul/R&b and never used it for fame or a come up.
I’m not one for JT
@Dev I agree with you 110% on everything you wrote.
Ed Shereen’s record is NIGERIAN AFRO BEAT. ANYWHO… CALL ALL THAT STEAL FROM AFRICANS ALL OVER. Even half AFRICANS NEED TO BE CALLED OUT YES DRAKE
Thank you ??????????
Contemporary Afrobeat definitely borrows from Caribbean music. Long ago afrobeat did not sound like this. Nowadays its very hard to distinguish sometimes between afrobeat/dancehall/soca music.
S*** Dance Hall & Pop artist, I still say his music is Pop-Rap!! ??♂️
Pop-Rap!! #Adjourned
This is 2nd I’m reading this fool make comments another drake. Like someone explain to me what exactly does Sean paul want drake to credit? he is acting like Drake is out here acting like he invented dance hall. Everyone know some of his music is dance hall influenced, he doesn’t have to spell that out. He is from Toronto where it is a heavily Caribbean infused culture.
The real reason Sean is mad is because no one is calling his tired a**. Drake has the hottest dancehall artist in his camp and had the legendary Beanie man on controller. He is crediting dancehall enough without Sean Paul
Very true! For Drake and the others it is a plan to get a Hit but for those who are true to the Dancehall, its a culture!
I can see where the issue lies. It is similar to how Justin bieber can act like a fan of a reggaton song and get on stage and not even learn how to sing the song in Spanish or even how to say the words at all.
When u don’t give credit, it looks like u are stealing. And ppl can’t cry culture approbation and ignore when ran feels his culture is being used as a way to male someone else money who doesn’t fully care about it.