Sean Paul caught up with Vibe Magazine while in the Big Apple recently to discuss his brand of music and the state of dancehall. In the conversation he revealed that he was most disappointed about Shenseea “dabbling in dancehall” statements.
The pop hopeful said during an Instagram Live in January, “I told myself I’m gonna do Dancehall for five years. I have given myself to Dancehall; I have given y’all hits upon hits, upon hits, upon hits, upon hits, for five years bro… And I am not leaving Dancehall because I could never,” she said laughing.
“But I have much a bigger dream for myself ever since I was a child; I am going to achieve it, because at the end of the day it is my life and it is what I want and it is what I’ve always dreamt of. And I’m gonna get that for myself…,” she added.
The Lodi singer released mostly R&B and Pop songs to promote her debut album Alpha and made the dancehall songs album cuts.
Another time on her Instagram story she posted, “I have a dream and I work too hard to get where I am. Even if I wanted to, I can’t live my life to please anyone 😭 God has truly blessed me with so much talent to fulfill my destiny. I just can’t stop now,” the Blessed singer wrote.
Again she posted, “if you’re no longer a fan, I’m ok with losing you 🙏🏽 I started this journey ON MY OWN. I hope I inspire others to follow their dreams NO MATTER WHAT.”
Persons responded with tweets,
“Sean Paul never changed his sound and kept it grounded in dancehall. Shenseea is noticeably changing how she sounds to be a more generic pop act. You can want an artiste to succeed and still criticize them when, you know,” and “Shenseea’s switch up is making her lose the one thing that made her unique and stand out. Sean Paul never had to switch up his dancehall sound to be successful,” another said.
Several industry players have warned Shenseea not to “dumbed down her skills” to appeal to American audiences.
Billboard writer Patrica Meschino in a conversation with media personality and Tv producer Debbie Bissoon at the US Embassy said, “Some female deejays within the American landscape getting attention, but right now, she is getting the most attention. So I would just love to see her capitalize on who she is, embellish who she is and where she comes from and make the best music she can as who she is.”
Sean Paul has said before that he spoke privately with Shenseea about the moves she is making and the things she is saying about dancehall, but now he shares what those conversations entailed publicly.
He Told Vibe Magazine, “Shen is, to me, one of the most exciting things in Dancehall right now. And it’s so crazy, because she came and said something that disappointed me, but…”
He continued, “She said on her [Instagram] live that she was giving Dancehall five years, and she’s going to do her real love, which is Pop music. I called her a couple days later. I was like, “Yo, that kind of hurt me.” She’s like, “Well, me and you is always good.” And I’m like, “Yeah, but our culture needs our soldiers, and we have supported you up to this point, and we love you, Shen.” Because we’re at a point in Dancehall, where, in a few years, we could get pushed out of the way.”
As reggae and dancehall makes up less than 1% of total global music consumption, there are also other young artists who aren’t akin to falling in line with preserving the legacy of the music and culture.
Last year upcoming dancehall artists Jahshii made remarks on Entertainment Report about Shabba Ranks’ relevance in modern dancehall culture. Host Anthony Miller asked if he and his cohorts could achieve at the level of “Shaggy, Sean Paul and Shabba (Ranks).”
To which the Born Fighter artists dismissed the question and asserted that his generation is the ‘powerful’ thing now and thats who should be talked about.
“Skeng, 450 and Silk Boss and me and Yaksta, Dane Ray, Nation Boss. Bredda, dem man deh a powerful yute. Yuh nuh haffi question dat. Da question deh nuh haffi ask…dem man deh a guh teck music to a way different level. Dem just need exposure bredda,” he said.
He then increased the intensity in his voice and said, “Suh yuh si Shabba Ranks dem bredda, an di whole a dem name deh weh yuh fi call, fi gi dem man deh collaboration fi guh expose dem to di world inna music form… dem man deh fraid fi gi di exposure!”
Sean Paul, 49, who has been in the music business since the late 1990s told Vibe, “Me as a youngster, I would never diss a Shabba [Ranks], I’d never diss a Super Cat, or somebody who played a role in me getting where I am.”
The We Be Burning Deejay said he is hurt by sentiments that reflect any kind of under-appreciation of the genre, “by her (Shenseea) saying, “I just was dabbling in Dancehall,” it really hurt because she’s an awesome artist. I understand she wants to express herself because she is that talented. But, yet, I want to hear some more of what she was spitting on “Crocodile Teeth” on [Funk] Flex. I think a lot of people want to hear that.”
Sean Paul 8th solo album Scorcha is now available on all streaming platforms.
