Sean Paul’s “We Be Burnin'” Certified Gold In The UK
We Be Burnin’, the lead single from Sean Paul‘s third studio album The Trinity (2005), has been certified Gold in the United Kingdom, the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) announced on Friday (October 18). The certification marks a milestone of 400,000 units sold, as measured by The Official Charts Company.
This is Sean Paul’s 14th single to be certified Gold or higher in the UK.
Produced by Andre Saunders and Delano ‘DJ Delano’ Thomas, We Be Burnin’ was recorded on the Stepz riddim alongside other songs like Agent Sasco’s Idiot Thing That, Capleton’s Oh Wah, T.O.K.’s Survivor, and Tami Chin’s Hyperventilating.
The song initially featured lyrics about marijuana, with references to “trees,” “weed,” and “herb” and smoking for “meditation.” This version, sometimes titled Legalize It, was later modified for radio release, creating the Recognize It version, which replaced most of the ganja-related lyrics with ones focused on women.
It spent 22 weeks on the UK Singles chart, peaking at No. 2. In the US, the song reached No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100, where it spent 28 weeks.
The video, shot by Jessy Terrero in the Southern California deserts, has over 127 million views on YouTube.
In 2017, We Be Burnin’ was certified Platinum in the United States after it surpassed one million units sold in the country. It’s also currently certified Gold in Canada, Denmark, Germany and Japan.
Sean Paul’s Temperature, No Lie with Dua Lipa and Breathe, a collab with Blu Cantrell, are all currently certified 2X Platinum (1.2 million units) in the UK.
His singles She Doesn’t Mind and Get Busy, as well as his featured collaborations, Baby Boy with Beyonce, What about Us with Saturdays, Boasty with Wiley and Stefflon, and Dangerous Love with Fuse Odg, are all currently certified Platinum (600,000 units) in the UK.
His UK Gold-certified singles are Got 2 Luv U with Alexis Jordan, Like Glue, Mad Love with David Guetta and Becky G, and Do You Remember with Jay Sean and Lil Jon.