Sean Paul Henriques

Born on January 8, 1973, Sean Paul Henriques (known simply as Sean Paul) grew up in Jamaica in a very artistic family. In high school he was a prized athlete, earning prestigious awards in swimming and water polo and representing Jamaica in a number of international competitions. His attention turned to music when he was introduced to dancehall reggae in his teens. He worked as a DJ in his youth, spinning dancehall favorites like Major Worries and Super Cat, and started to rap and sing at parties. His musical life left this environment after he met Cat Coore, Carrot Jarret, and Bunny Rugs, and they introduced Sean Paul to a number of dancehall producers and artists in Jamaica. After a few years of gaining confidence, he eventually worked on producer Jeremy Harding's 2 Hard Records to record his debut single, "Baby Girl," in 1996. His "Baby Girl" spent time in heavy rotation in the Jamaica dancehall scene, encouraged his notoriety as an artist, and led to a string of other dancehall hits including "Infiltrate," "Deport Them," "Nah Get No Bly," and "Excite Me." In 1999, collaborations with Mr. Vegas and well-known rapper DMX lead to work on the 1999 Hype Williams' movie Belly. This propelled Sean Paul to international fame and he worked with Mr. Vegas again to produce "Hot Gal Today," which eventually found itself at number 12 on Spin Magazine's Top 20 dancehall singles of the year. This attention lead to demand for a full-length release, which came in the form of Stage One in March of 2000. Stage One's astounding 25 tracks more than satisfied the demand of the public and despite the deafening buzz that surrounded Sean Paul prior to its release, the debut met with a lackluster critical response. With partner Daniel Abbot, Sean Paul launched his own Bassline Records in 2000. ~ Nate Cavalieri, All Music Guide