Sean Paul Ryan Francis Henriques (born 9 January 1973) is a Jamaican rapper and singer who is regarded as one of dancehall and reggae's most prolific artists.
Paul's singles "Get Busy" and "Temperature" topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the United States and most of his albums have been nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Reggae Album, with Dutty Rock winning the award. Paul has also been featured in many other singles including chart-toppers "Baby Boy" with Beyoncé, "Breathe" with Blu Cantrell, "What About Us" by The Saturdays, "Rockabye" by Clean Bandit (featuring Paul and Anne-Marie), and "Cheap Thrills" by Sia. "No Lie", "Cheap Thrills", and "Rockabye" each have over 1 billion views on YouTube, with "Rockabye" having reached over 2.7 billion views.
Early life
Sean Paul Ryan Francis Henriques was born in Kingston, Jamaica, on 9 January 1973. His mother Frances, a painter, is of English and Chinese Jamaican descent. His Portuguese paternal great-grandfather's Sephardic Jewish family immigrated from Portugal to Jamaica in the 17th century, while his paternal grandmother was Afro-Jamaican.
Paul was raised as a Catholic, though he also attended the Jewish private school Hillel Academy in Jamaica. Many members of his family are swimmers. His grandfather was on the first Sri Lankan men's national water polo team. His father also played water polo for the team in the 1960s, and competed in long-distance swimming, while Paul's mother was a butterfly swimmer. When Paul was 15, his father was arrested on charges of manslaughter and sentenced to 15 years in prison; he was released for good behaviour when Paul was 19.
Paul played for the national water polo team from the age of 13 to 21, when he gave up the sport in order to launch his musical career. He attended Wolmer's Boys' School and the College of Arts, Science, and Technology, now known as the University of Technology, where he was trained in commerce with an aim of pursuing an occupation in swimming. In 1992, Paul worked as a bank teller and enrolled in a hotel-management program, learning the basics of French cuisine.
Career
1994–2000: Early beginnings and rise to fame
Former manager and producer Jeremy Harding's brother told him about a singer at a small open mic event in Kingston who sounded a lot like dancehall DJ and toaster Super Cat. Harding eventually met the singer when Paul came by his studio to ask for some advice. During the meeting, Paul recorded a vocal over Harding's rhythm track and in the process created the song "Baby Girl". Paul began hanging out at the studio every day, and the pair collaborated on several more tracks. When they recorded "Infiltrate" they decided they had something good enough to get on the radio. As Paul started to attract local attention, Harding began looking after his affairs. He later told HitQuarters that his support of Paul's fledgling career initially led him assuming the roles of "DJ, manager, road manager and security guard." Paul made a cameo appearance in the 1998 film Belly on stage performing. He made a successful collaboration with DMX and Mr. Vegas, "Top Shotter", to the soundtrack of the film. In 2000, Paul released his debut album, Stage One with VP Records.
2001–2015: Atlantic Records deal and international success
In 2002, Paul continued his work with manager and producer Jeremy Harding, and after a joint venture deal with his label VP Records and Atlantic Records, announced the release of his second album, Dutty Rock. All of its hit singles would receive heavy airplay and rotation on MTV and BET. The first single "Gimme the Light" was an instant worldwide smash hit, reaching number 7 on the Billboard Hot 100. The second single "Get Busy" would end up topping the Billboard Hot 100, making it Paul's first number-one hit, it was also the first ever dancehall song to top the chart. Dutty Rock was a worldwide success, peaking in the top ten on the Billboard 200, was certified double-platinum by the RIAA and eventually selling over six million copies worldwide. Dutty Rock won the Best Reggae Album at the 46th Annual Grammy Awards in 2004. "Get Busy" was also nominated for Best Male Rap Solo Performance in that year. Simultaneously, Paul was featured on Beyoncé's U.S. number-one hit song "Baby Boy" and Blu Cantrell's "Breathe", although didn't perform well in the United States but was a massive hit in Europe. Both helped to push his reputation further still in the United States. This album not only further popularized dancehall music in the 2000s, but also helped developed and popularized the genre of dancehall pop, a musical fusion between the rhythmic styles and melodies of dancehall and pop music.