And now that the dancehall craze has caught on Stateside through pop artists like Justin Bieber and Drake, Paul is criticizing the acts for lifting the sound, and calling on them to give credit where it’s due.
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With artists such as Drake and Justin Bieber incorporating dancehall into their music like never before, Sean Paul has come out slamming these artists for their uncredited use of the Jamaican genre. “A lot of people get upset, they get sour”.
In the interview, Paul also explains how he hears dancehall influences in Taylor Swift’s smash hit “Shake It Off” and had this to say about Drake: “I love some of his songs, but I don’t think he’s the best rapper”.
Over the past few years, there’s been an increased interest in dancehall. “I know artists back in Jamaica who don’t like Major Lazer, as they think they do the same thing Drake and Kanye did – they take and take and don’t credit”.
The “Cheap Thrills” hitmaker – who defined Dancehall in the early 2000s – also admitted he has anxious in the past that he’s not relevant anymore and that he feels like he was once a massive star and now he’s starting over again. In 2015, rapper D.R.A.M said Drizzy’s “Hotline Bling” “jacked” his song “Cha Cha”, which was released first.
“On the records that Jamaican artists are sampled, no one even sees their names”, he explained. “You don’t know anything about Unruly or OVO”. “Sure, iIll like what we do in Jamaica, that authentic dancehall to be on top, but it simply isn’t”.
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For Sean Paul, however, he hopes his new music will meld Americanized dancehall and authentic Jamaican music. “So I want this album to bridge that gap”. “I was like, ‘I was up here and now I’m nothing to people'”. She said that it reminded her of a Sean Paul video, “except not as fly”. I’m just going to be straight up if it’s bullshit.
