Sean Paul

Sean Paul Ryan Francis Henriques, born 9 January 1973 in Kingston, Jamaica, became an international dancehall star with 2002’s Dutty Rock. The album produced “Get Busy,” which topped the US Billboard Hot 100, and earned the Grammy Award for Best Reggae Album. It also included “Like Glue” and “Baby Boy,” his collaboration with Beyoncé, while its title later supplied the name for his Dutty Rock Productions label.

Paul released his debut album, Stage One, in 2000 through VP Records and Universal Music Group. Its first single, “Deport Them,” was the record’s best-known track. Blending dancehall and reggae with hip hop, R&B, pop and electronic dance styles, he moved between Jamaican recordings and mainstream pop collaborations without leaving behind the rhythmic vocal approach that defined his early work.

His third album, The Trinity, arrived in 2005 on Atlantic Records. “Temperature” became another US Billboard Hot 100 number one, while the album also produced “We Be Burnin’,” released in radio-edited form as “We Be Burnin’ (Recognize It),” and “Ever Blazin’.” He followed it with Imperial Blaze in 2009, featuring “Press It Up,” “So Fine” and “Hold My Hand,” then released Tomahawk Technique in 2012. That album included “She Doesn’t Mind,” “Body,” and “Got 2 Luv U,” featuring Alexis Jordan.

Across his career, most of Paul’s albums have received Grammy nominations for Best Reggae Album. He has also appeared on a string of major pop singles, including Blu Cantrell’s “Breathe,” The Saturdays’ “What About Us,” Clean Bandit’s “Rockabye,” Sia’s “Cheap Thrills,” and DJ Snake’s “Fuego.” “Cheap Thrills,” “Rockabye,” and Paul’s 2016 single “No Lie” have each passed one billion YouTube views, with “Rockabye” exceeding 2.7 billion.

Paul has often used the nickname “Chanderpaul,” a reference to the resemblance between his first two names and those of cricketer Shivnarine Chanderpaul. In the Vice documentary The Story of ‘Get Busy’ by Sean Paul, he recalled being called “Chan-der-paul” by others before adopting the phrase in performances and recordings.