Sean Paul Says He Would Collaborate With Shakira, Alicia Keys And Billie Eilish
Jamaican Dancehall artist Sean Paul has amassed an impressive list of star-powered team-ups but that doesn’t mean that he’s worked with all of his dream collaborators. Even though he has made music with big names like Rihanna and Beyonce over the last two decades, there are still some artists that he is hoping to work with someday.
The Temperate singer revealed that there were two dream collabs with Shakira and Alicia Keys that didn’t happen due to unforeseen circumstances.
“I almost got a chance to work with Shakira some years ago,” he said during an interview with Monk Music. “We actually did the song and a bag of red tape got in the way and we never released it, so that was very disheartening.”
Paul added that he was so disappointed that he reacted angrily and never messaged the Columbian superstar back. “I think when she sent that message, I don’t even think I answered her because I think I threw my phone across the room [laughs]. I was just so upset.”
Something similar happened when a potential collaboration with Alicia Keys was in the works.
“You know, Swizz Beatz reached out to me one time. He had a nice reggae track and sent it to me. I’m like “This is dope”, he was like “You and Alicia,” When I was ready, I was calling him back and I didn’t get a response,” he said.
Outside of the R&B space, he had another interesting choice on his wishlist for future collaborations.
“So those two artists, I would love to but outside of the urban, kind of R&B type thing, definitely Billie Eilish,” he said. “I just like her melodies and would just love to make a dope song with her.”
Eilish is best known for her single Bad Guy, and for being the youngest person in history to win four main Grammy categories—Best New Artist, Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Album of the Year—in the same year.
An even more left-field choice was the Alternative Rock & Pop duo Twenty One Pilots, which he explained was influenced by his young son.
“They have dope melodies and their music is infused with so many different sounds like Hip-Hop and rock. When I saw Super Cat work with a group like Sugar Ray, which is a Pop band, I was like, ‘Damn, dancehall can really mix with anything’,” he said.
It shouldn’t come as a big surprise though as Paul is always looking for innovative ways to put Dancehall on the world stage. As he puts it: “It just goes to show my versatility.”
Sean’s biggest international collaborations include Here Comes The Boom (1998) with DMX and Mr. Vegas, Baby Boy (2003) with Beyoncé, Breathe (2003) with Blu Cantrell, Give It Up To Me (2006) with Keyshia Cole, Break It Off (2006) with Rihanna, Got 2 Luv U (2011) with Alexis Jordan, and Rockabye (2016) with Clean Bandit and Anne-Marie.
He also teamed up with Australian singer Sia for Cheap Thrills in 2016, which topped the Billboard Hot 100 and was certified platinum four times. Paul’s next album, Scorcha, is expected sometime in May 2021 and during the interview, he revealed that he will have another collaboration with Sia on the project titled Dynamite. He added that it “feels huge to me, so I will keep my fingers crossed on that one.”
Gwen Stefani and Shenseea will also appear, on another track titled Light My Fire.
Scorcha will also see contributions from American singers Ty Dolla Sign and Nicky Jam, Dancehall artists Jada Kingdom and Stylo G, Reggae artist Damian ‘Jr. Gong’ Marley and Swedish singer Tove Lo.
His last album Live N Livin was released earlier this month. The official video for one of its standout tracks, Guns of Navarone with Jesse Royal, Mutabaruka and Stonebwoy, premiered yesterday.