Producer Sean Paul drops dancehall 'Material'

Krista Henry, Staff Reporter

International dancehall artiste Sean Paul is, without a doubt, one busy man. Despite having his hands full with the upcoming release of his fifth studio album, the artiste has not slacked off with his new role as producer.

Sean Paul was in the island recently to oversee the medley video for his 'Material' Rhythm which was produced on his own Dutty Rock label.

Officially released last week, the rhythm has been getting steady airplay on radio. The party-oriented rhythm features the likes of Sean Paul himself, in a collaboration with Spragga Benz titled Call Pon Jah, Wayne Marshall, Tami Chynn, Chi Ching Ching and Fambo on a collaboration, Ce'Cile with a remake of Madonna's Material Girl, Laden, Nicky B, Mr Vegas, Voicemail, Raine Seville and Trever Off Key

The 'Material' rhythm is the second rhythm released by the artiste-turned-producer, the first being his old school dancehall beat 'Blaze Fia.'

Speaking with The Sunday Gleaner recently, Sean Paul said the two rhythms were done at the same time late last year but now he feels is the right time for the 'Material Rhythm' to make waves. He said, "the production process takes a lot of time, to determine what sounds to use and when they would be most welcome. Material rhythm is a party rhythm, its different from 'Blaze Fia' in terms of the groove, 'Blaze Fia' was more of a late '90s sound. Over the last few years, I've been learning the drums; so you'll hear more drums in this rather than the synth chords which most young producers are using today."

something different

With the 'Material' rhythm, Sean Paul wanted something different on Jamaican radio. And with the medley video for the rhythm, he is also looking to bring a different look. The video was shot in Kingston yesterday and directed by Mykal Cushnie, who gained recognition recently with his direction of the 'Matrimoney' medley video. Alongside Cushnie, Sean Paul has also brought down a Canadian photographer/cinematographer, Zsolt Halupa, who will be adding a different look to the video. "We're planning to change up the thing a little bit, give the video a different look from everything that's going around. I think Halupa will add his own vision to it," he said.

The medley video will also see the touch of Sean Paul's longtime choreographer/dancer Tanisha Scott, as Sean Paul said, "I'm looking forward to the video." The medley itself will be a 10 minute video that will be divided into three segments. He said, "the video is 10 minutes but it will be cut into three parts and show most of the songs. The premiere itself will show all of the video, but then, its designed in such a way that the stations can choose to play whichever part of the video they want. So its like three videos in one. I tried to be as strategic as possible, cause I really believe in music from Jamaica." Mr Vegas, he says, will not be in the video due to him being on tour during the shoot. Nor will the video feature Spragga's song, which Sean Paul said might have a separate video.

According to Sean Paul, he is hoping for the best with the video, and that it gets recognised overseas. "What I know is that I believe in the rhythm," he added.

Outside of that, Sean Paul has been busy on the artiste side of things releasing his fifth album in February 2012. Describing himself as a champion of dancehall, Sean Paul said he would be doing things a little differently this time around. Whereas on previous albums he worked with local producers such as Stephen 'Di Genius' McGregor and Don Corleon, among others, this time, he says, he will be working with overseas producers and will let them give their take on dancehall music.

local producers

He said, "I'm still recording with a lot of local producers, I had a song out with Don Corleon earlier this year, I have a song coming out with Stephen McGregor soon. I've done stuff with Leftside and Washroom, but this time, I've asked overseas producers to give their perspective on dancehall." One of the producers who did this was Stargate, who produced the album's first single Got 2 Luv U featuring Alexis Morgan. Stargate is a Grammy-winning Norwegian record-producing and songwriting team. The video for Got 2 Luv U was shot at the Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas, and was directed by Ben Mor.

American producer Benny Blanco produced the album's second official single called She Doesn't Mind. Blanco has helped to write and produce number-one singles for female pop superstars such as Britney Spears, Katy Perry and Ke$ha, as well as artists like Justin Bieber, Mike Posner and Taio Cruz. Sean Paul has also been working with American songwriter and producer Rico Love, who has recorded hits for the likes of Usher. Sean's aim is to blend dancehall with other genres such as R&B and dance, so as to get more people involved in the dancehall world and genre.

"So the album has a lot of different foreign producers but also songs like Wedding Crashers which was done by Washroom with Future Fambo. People really like the concept of that song, and it has a good energy. Plus, finally, Fambo and I were able to work together cause he's someone who has supported me from day one," he said.

The video for She Doesn't Mind, which was shot in the Long Island airport in New York, will be released soon. In the meantime, a single from his album was leaked online this week called Touch The Sky. This is a dance song done with DJ Ammo. When the album is released in February, his next single Body, a club song produced by Rico Love, will be dropped at that time.