“Get Busy” was Sean Paul’s dancehall follow up to ‘Gimme The Light’ from his album Dutty Rock. The song was on the Steven ‘Lenky’ Marsden produced Diwali Riddim, and was the only song that never made the “Diwali” rhythm album on Greensleeves Records.
May 9th 2003 was the day the song went to the top of the US Billboard Hot 100 for three weeks and also reached number one in Italy and the Netherlands, becoming a top-10 hit in an additional 11 countries. He also performed live on Saturday Night Live in May 2003.
The “Get Busy (Clap Your Hands Now Remix)”, features rapper Fatman Scoop-and the Crooklyn Clan, the remix uses the instrumental of Sean Paul’s previous single, “Gimme the Light“, on the near end of the song.
“Gimme the Light” was the first single from the Dutty Rock album (2002). That song was originally released in Jamaica in 2001 as “Give Me the Light” and was issued internationally in 2002. “Gimme the Light” was Paul’s first hit single, peaking at number seven on the US Billboard Hot 100 and becoming a top-20 hit in Canada, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom. It is the most popular hit single from the “Buzz” riddim, which was the debut hit production for Troyton Rami & Roger Mackenzie a production duo of Black Shadow Records in Miami, Florida.
The Little X directed video for “Get Busy” was shot in Woodbridge, Ontario, and released in February 2003. The video was also nominated for two MTV Video Music Awards for Best Dance Video and Best New Artist in 2003. At the end of the video Paul’s brother Jason introduces a song, noting it as a brand new single, and Paul then sings part of “Like Glue“. Shortly into the second song, renewed banging on the pipes leads the homeowner to come back down to the basement and declare the party over. Kardinal Offishall also makes a cameo appearance in the video.
The song was used in the DANCE! Onlineonline game, and in the game Dance Dance Revolution Extreme 2. The song’s remix was played in the club scene of the 2003 film Grind. The song also briefly appeared in the season two episode of The Wire, Hot Shots. The song was used in DJ Hero 2. The song was featured in a scene from the 2004 film Chasing Liberty. An acoustic version of the song appeared on season 2 of The Office. The song was also played in a dance scene in the film Baby Mama. The song also featured in a scene in the season two episode of Bad Education.
It was used in the first trailer for the 2015 DreamWorks film Home.
Sean Paul told World Music Views that all of his it’s including Get Busy, are owned by VP and Atlantic records.
“It has taken years because VP records and Atlantic Records own all my hits. They were a big distribution link so those are owned by them but I have the right to re-record them after 15 years and I own those,” he contemplates.
“I haven’t done it yet but this new relationship with Island Records allows me to record and release in Jamaica so I decided to put out singles. With them, I own my masters but I lease it to them for a few years and when they are done I get it back for ownership. It took me twenty years,” he continued.
