With hit after hit, dancehall reggae superstar Sean Paul is on fire. His album Dutty Rock sold over six million copies worldwide, and may be soon eclipsed by his third album, The Trinity. HOOP got a chance to speak to Sean from his 2 Hard Studios in Kingston, Jamaica.

It’s been a whirlwind year for you; tell us where you’ve been.
“Wow. We were in Turkey and Eastern Europe, the first time I’d ever been there. Then Europe, then to North America, all over the East Coast, New York, Boston, then the Midwest, Detroit, Chicago. It was 41 days nonstop on tour … It’s been hectic, shows almost every night. So when I came back to Jamaica, I took two weeks and just slept. [laughs] Since then I’ve been in the studio. But being in the studio is very relaxing to me. It’s a creative space, to think about the song and what it means.”

It seems as if there’s a real hunger for that dancehall sound worldwide.
“There have been other times where dancehall music has come to the forefront, but it seems that since Dutty Rock there’s been a lot more emphasis on dancehall in general. People want to hear that Caribbean flavor, they want it represented in their music, be it dancehall, hip-hop, whatever.”

What are you listening to these days?
“Gnarls Barkley is quite interesting to me. Outkast from Atlanta, I was listening to Idlewild the other day. I like music that combines funk, rock, different rhythms. I’ll listen to anything once, I love all types of music.”

You’ve worked with some great artists and musicians, is there anyone else out there you’d like to work with?
“I would love to work with Alicia Keys. She has such a beautiful soul, you can feel her soul coming through her voice. I’m open to work with many artists, as long as it’s a good fit and we can make a hot track.”

We’ve read that you were a serious water polo player before you started making music.
“Yes, my parents used to swim for the national team back in the ’60s, for Jamaica. And when I was a youth they taught me to swim and play. As a teenager I swam with the national team, representing Jamaica. We went to Puerto Rico, Orlando, Bahamas, Trinidad … I got used to touring before I started making music. It gave me discipline, learning how to achieve goals. Now I go to swim every two days, go to the national pool and swim 2000 meters. That used to be a warm-up for me, but I’m getting old [laughs].”

You played in a celebrity game at NBA All-Star a couple years ago and showed some skills…
“That was crazy! We played with some NBA players [Richard Jefferson and Cuttino Mobley], and they were just playing around, but they were incredible. Just to compare their skill level to when I play with my friends on the block…it’s a totally different thing. When they moved, I was like ‘wow…’”

Do you consider yourself a basketball fan?
“Oh yeah. Lately I’ve been watching more of the NBA and what’s happening. I know LeBron James and a few other players. The first team I watched was the Bulls, with Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen, that’s my idea of great basketball. I’d been following Michael Jordan, and to see him win three titles, then come back and win three more… To me, he’s a tower of strength. I look up to people like him and Muhammad Ali, great champions.”

From the Jan/Feb 2007 issue