Sean Paul Ryan Francis Henriques (born January 9, 1973), simply known as Sean Paul, is a Jamaican reggae and dancehall musician.
Dancehall music was Sean Paul's first love, and he became proficient at crafting rhythm tracks. He became a deejay after writing his own songs, basing his style largely on the works of Super Cat and Don Yute. The latter was later to become his idol and mentor. Sean Paul was closely connected to the reggae-pop band Third World. His brother, Jason "Jigzagula" Henriques, and his best friend Zameer Masjedee helped him open up business connections. In 1996, Sean Paul released his debut single "Baby Girl (Don't Cry)" with producer Jeremy Harding. It proved a significant success, and led to further Jamaican hits such as "Nah Get No Bly (One More Try)", "Deport Them", "Excite Me", "Infiltrate", and "Strategy".
In 1999, Sean Paul started to attract audiences in the United States. He was commissioned to collaborate with fellow dancehall hitmaker Mr. Vegas on a production for rapper
DMX, entitled "Top Shotter". The song went on to be included in the film Belly (directed by Hype Williams). Paul also recorded the Jamaican chart-topper "Ladies Man" with rapper Spanner Banner, through the latter's label, Sweet Angel Productions. The success of "Ladies Man" resulted in Sean Paul being approached by the then little-known Harding, who burst on the scene with his production of Beenie Man's crossover hit "Who Am I" and most famously recorded "Baby Girl (Don't Cry)" with Sean Paul. The following single, "Infiltrate", joined the singer's combination hit in the Jamaican top charts. Also that year, Paul scored a top ten hit on the Billboard Rap chart with "Hot Gal Today", which quickly became his signature tune. Sean Paul fell out very publicly with Mr. Vegas over the packaging of Vegas' remix of "Hot Gal Today", but this did not slow Sean Paul's career momentum.
In March 2000, Paul released his first album, Stage One, on VP Records, which included many of his previous hit singles and compilation cuts, plus several new tracks. He played the Summer Jam 2000 in New York City, where he was held in high acclaim. Sean Paul's fanbase grew tremendously with fans from all over the world. In 2001, Sean Paul appeared on Canadian rapper Kardinal Offishall's Quest for Fire: Firestarter, Vol. 1 on a song called "Money Jane" (remix), which was released as a single in Canada the previous year and featured Jully Black. The video for "Money Jane" won Best Rap Video at the 2001 MuchMusic Video Awards, and the song was nominated for Best Rap Recording at the 2001 Juno Awards.
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".
