SEAN PAUL DEBUTS "Watch Them Roll" VIDEO
This time last year Sean Paul had just been nominated for an American Music Award in the category “Favorite Male Pop/Rock.” The Jamaican dancehall artist would go on to win that award, beating out the likes of Kanye West and Nick Lachez. Sean Paul was riding high, fresh off his two-million-plus-selling third album The Trinity (Atlantic 2005), powered by his number-one pop single “Temperature” and his hit duet with Keyshia Cole “Give It Up To Me.” But nothing quite prepared him for taking home the coveted AMA trophy. “The first thing I did was wash my face and look inna the mirror good,” Sean Paul recalls. “Me say Wah dis, my youth? I couldn’t believe that happened. A Reggae artist gets a Grammy every year, but a reggae artist don’t get an American Music Award.”
After collecting a trailer-load of accolades for The Trinity, Sean Paul wasted no time heading right back into the studio. First he teamed up with Rihanna to record the hit duet “Break It Off” and then joined forces with Eve for “Give It To You Girl.” The artist hints that he is now sitting on several still-unreleased bangers recorded with certain A-list names in rap and R&B. But as usual, Sean Paul prefers to focus most of his energy on working with Jamaican talent, particularly seventeen-year-old production prodigy Stephen “Di Genius” McGregor, the son of roots reggae legend Freddie McGregor. The recent graduate of Kingston’s Ardenne High School produced numerous dancehall hits over the past year, including DaVille’s slow-burning love song “Always On My Mind.” Sean Paul jumped on the remix for the song, which became the title track for DaVille’s debut album on V.P.
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But Sean Paul was just getting warmed up. “I got busy this year,” he says, no pun intended. “Since January I wrote so many songs. Songs like ‘Gal Dem Roll’ for Stephen McGregor ‘Pick Up And Drop It’ with Birch from Big Yard. Songs like ‘Ticky Fe Yuh Body’ with Lefside. ”
Although these songs were not recorded as “official” singles for the international market, this is exactly how hits from “Gimme The Light” to “Like Glue” were first created. “I did them just keep my ears, you know,” Sean Paul explains, “to keep my audience out there hearing me.”
The latest Sean Paul selection to bubble up on the Jamaican scene is “Watch Them Roll” a high-energy dancefloor banger in the tradition of “Get Busy.” A home-made YouTube clip of the song had already clocked 100,000 views by the time Sean Paul’s actual video was uploaded. Rich Newey of Uncle Productions directed the black and white clip, sprinkled with a few strategic splashes of color for emphasis.
Speaking from 2Hard Studios in Kingston Jamaica, where he has been finishing up his highly anticipated fourth album for Atlantic Records, Sean Paul took a moment to look back at the trail he’s blazed since his classic 1999 debut Stage One (V.P. Records). “Before ‘Gimme The Light’ bust, people would say ‘Tell us about this dancehall music,’” Sean Paul says with a laugh. “I’d say it’s the most underground music in the world and our artists are the most misrepresented. But we’re gonna do it, star. We’re gonna show the world. So here we come.”
So is this the song that’s gonna take Sean Paul back to the top of the charts? Check out the video, leave your feedback here, and let 'em know.
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Posted on November 5, 2007 11:43 PM
