Sean Paul Wants Dancehall Artists To Tour Together: “Unify And Push To The World”
Just before jetting off for his Australia/New Zealand tour, Dancehall superstar Sean Paul gave Plantation Cove in St. Ann, a taste of his show on the road with his debut performance in Rebel Salute’s 30 for 30. In a conversation with DancehallMag backstage, Paul once again expressed displeasure with clashes between artists, and his desire for unity in Dancehall.
“It’s a big part of our culture for clash, sound especially, but when it comes to artists clashing, I have seen violence from it because people argue and I have seen it personally, so it’s no longer necessary for us to put so much energy into something that has us going in circles, instead, unify and push to the world.”
Paul, who is father to two young children, recently spoke out against Stefflon Don and Jada Kingdom’s lyrical feud, reprimanding the females to set a better example. The Temperature artist said he strongly believes that Dancehall artists should make music that will keep them touring, not music that exalts disunity within the industry.
“We’ve been there, not just myself and Shaggy but there are so many artists that have songs that broke internationally and if all of us can tour, which we all talk about a lot; like back in the day, Junior Gong used to talk it, and he was one of the firsts to put it together the way he did with the cruise, so I would love to see all of that, all of us touring, not just one or two places, but places that don’t know us that much, and they have heard one or two songs and they get to see us and say oh that’s the guy, so I think we need that in the genre.”
Paul said he remains unmoved by the notion held by some that he has gone soft.
“Some people believe that there is a certain weakness in saying it and that I don’t want to be tough anymore, but I disagree, me saying this to the culture is for us to get to a better place, because hit songs have us touring and sustaining way more than clash songs, clash songs are for a shorter time,” he explained.
“There have been some that are legendary and will always be a part of our culture, but then we are over saturating it and when you over saturate something it gets stagnant.”
Sean Paul has been leading by example. Since 2017, he has shared his stages with Chi Ching Ching on the global scene, who he also brought out during his Rebel Salute set. Ding Dong later made a quick appearance.
Shenseea, in the earlier part of her career, has also been blessed to be a part of the Dutty Rock founder’s international tours.