Pearls : Sean Paul
"Every time you think a negative thought, it's one step in the wrong direction" - Sean Paul
A Day In The Life Of Sean Paul
A Day In The Life Of Sean Paul
For an international superstar, Sean Paul is unbelievably humble. There are artists with inflated egos in the music industry, some who are far less accomplished than the Grammy Award-winning dancehall star. So if anyone has the right to act out in don-like fashion, it's this multi-platinum-selling performer. However, Sean doesn't. He carries himself almost as if he's still the newcomer who climbed the charts a decade ago.
On Sept. 13, just a week before the release of his fifth studio album, Tomahawk Technique, The BoomBox finds Sean at the Mondrian hotel, tucked behind a row of green arches on Crosby St., in the SoHo area of Manhattan. It's 12:45PM, and Sean has descended to the lobby area of the dimly lit establishment. Wearing black Dolce & Gabbana sunglasses -- which he wore the entire day -- his eyes are hidden. This could make the man mysterious rather than approachable. But his smirk and light laughter early on suggest otherwise. He's open from the very beginning.
"I don't really have a routine," he says, walking out the back door of the hotel to hop in a van taking him to his taping of BET's "106 & Park." "I get up this morning. I eat something. Light breakfast. Fruits, some chips, coffee. But no routine."
He remains easy-going about his life, which could explain why many Americans haven't heard from him in a while -- three years to be exact -- since releasing his 2009 LP, Imperial Blaze. However, he isn't pressured by the fast pace of the music industry, where artists seem to drop new tracks or free mixtapes often.
"When you don't hear an album from me right now, I'm still doing tours,: Sean shares. "I have done 100 countries all over the earth. So my thing is not so cookie cutter as people put together music nowadays. I do take time."
Sean arrives for the "106 & Park" taping at CBS headquarters in midtown Manhattan after 1PM. A handful of fans lingering near the entrance ask him to pose so they can capture a shot of him with their camera phones. Upon making it up to his dressing room, he sits down until his segment is ready to be filmed. The taping is running late. As he waits, Sean opens up about how long he's been on the road. "Since April I've been touring in Europe," the 39-year-old entertainer reveals. "So France, Germany, Spain."
Attention is brought to his necklace, which bears a small wooden ax emblem. Much different than the flashier gold chains worn by his wealthy hip-hop counterparts, this one has some meaning. "It's kind of like you use it to dig the ground and cut down trees," Sean discloses. "So you use it to replenish where you have to, or chop off where you have to. Ax [is the] Tomahawk Technique. It represents that."
For Sean, the idea of "replenishing" his presence in the U.S., has been filling his mind lately. Before its release stateside, his Tomahawk Technique album was already well-received in Europe, where it charted in the top five in Switzerland and France. But it's taking more time to catch on in America. During his 2002 Dutty Rock days, he spawned his most successful songs in the states, including "Get Busy" which hit No. 1 on the Billboard charts in 2003. With his latest projectm he desires to bring back similar energy.
"I guess that's why these days I'm kind of searching," Sean states. "People still like the music but I need to find some new energy to inject and this is why I did work with new producers to kind of go in that respect."
Walking towards the "106 & Park" set, his fluent aura denies any questions of nervousnous. "Not really, I'm used to it," he shrugs off. Before his segment, the small crowd of teenagers dance near their seats as popular dancehall tunes from Serani to RDX fill the air. One audience member waves a Batian flag and others wear sunglasses decorated with the Tomahawk Technique album art inscribed on each lens.
"I love you Sean Paul," a female fan yells as he enters the stage. Sans hosts Terrence and Rocsi, two fresh-faced newbies ask Sean about working with American producers on the album. This includes songwriter Rico Love, who has five songs on the project including "Hold On," a motivational track inspired by the Jamaican track and field team -- they won 12 medals in the Olympics this year.
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Sources : Sean Paul Photo | Sean Paul Biography
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