Sean Paul Doesn’t Think Drake Understands Dancehall

Artists like Drake, Major Lazer and Justin Bieber have played a pretty big role in re-popularizing dancehall in the U.S. The role they've played has been so big, in fact, that artists who've built their careers on being pioneers of the genre might feel like they aren't given the recognition they deserve. Dancehall star Sean Paul says as much in an interview with The Guardian.

“It is a sore point when people like Drake or Bieber or other artists come and do dancehall-orientated music but don’t credit where dancehall came from and they don’t necessarily understand it,” Paul says. “A lot of people get upset, they get sour. And I know artists back in Jamaica that don’t like Major Lazer because they think they do the same thing that Drake and Kanye did–they take and take and don’t credit.”

Later in the interview, the "Gimme The Light" performer explains that he appreciates that dancehall is back in the spotlight --  even if it differs from the brand that still reigns supreme in Jamaican clubs. On his new album, Paul is working to re-establish conventional dancehall while also connecting it with the more popular sounds of today. He's recorded more than 200 songs for the project, including at least one with Wiz Khalifa.

“Dancehall is back but this time it’s also infused with Afrobeat, with hip-hop, with trap, and that’s fine with me," he explains. "Sure, I would like what we do in Jamaica, that authentic dancehall, to be on top, but it simply isn’t. So I want this album to bridge that gap.”

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