Sara Brittany:
Tell me about your New Album.
Sean Paul:
My New Album is called Live N Livin. It’s more of an adopted dutty rock production thing. So, basically, the more of Hardcore Dancehall features people like Buju Banton, Jr Gong, Busy Signal, more established zone of what I would call successful dancehall, and then also younger contingent, you know what I mean, people like Govana, Intence, Masicka, Skillibeing, Squash. So, it’s an attempt to kind of show the unity in the Dancehall community. It’s an attempt to bring on board more collaborations and clashes; it’s an attempt to bring the traditional song with a new song. And it’s something I’m very proud of. So, yeah. Good vibes!
Sean Paul:
There’s more… there’s, there’s good sounds on this album, sounds that people know me for, more meaningful songs, songs to combat social issues, and the violence in society there.
So for me, there’s a very… a more mature approach to a Hardcore Dancehall album.
Sara Brittany:
This is your seventh studio album?
Sean Paul:
Yes, the last one I did was an EP, so it doesn’t count as an album.
Sara Brittany:
Have you found that the advent of the pandemic has hindered your creative process at all? Or do you think it’s fueled your creative process?
Sean Paul:
I have Asthma. So, I was like, I’m going nowhere. I didn’t leave the house for months. At first, it threw me off, and I was hiding for five months. And during that time, I was doing rhythms at home, and I couldn’t find the words for anything.
I went back to the studio, and then the lyrics just started to flow, and different ideas just started to come. I had a few songs here and there that I hadn’t finished, and I was like, let me try to complete these. What helped me was to call other people to help to finish them. Busy Signal, Suku from Ward 21, we did a brand-new song, but some of the tracks were around that weren’t finished. I could say the Busy Signal one, which other one, the Govana one, was kind of something that I had before.
And I had had quite a lot of songs done for an album with Island, which will come out sometime over the Summer. We’ve dropped the first single for that one, and it’s called SCORCHA, which is the title track of the album. SCORCHA, I would say, is a vibez tune, you know, a fire tunes that mi av. But in general, that just kind of helped this to spark up my creativity.
Also, on the New Album. So, these two Albums, Live N Livin was the first, and they came out on March 12th. And then, the Second Album is called SCORCHA, and it’s more internationally oriented, I would say, production-wise.
So, people like Sia are on it; Ty Dollar Sign is on the album. I have people like Gwen Stefani, Shenseea in one song. So, it’s definitely back to what my younger crowd would appreciate and like.
The two projects I love both reflect parts of me that just want to be heard. So, the Hardcore dancehall part, and then me trying to keep up with what’s going on internationally, and the other one has perfect feel-good sounds and meaningful songs on there.
Sara Brittany:
You’re known for your crossover appeal, and you’ve always been known for collaborating with a plethora of artists from Hardcore dancehall to more roots to international stars. I remember you collaborated with the American Boy singer, Estelle.
Sean Paul:
Oh, yeah, yeah, Estelle.
Sara Brittany:
She’s more of like a British Pop Artist. So, you have impressively run the whole gamut of collaborations. Â When you worked on these collaborations, did you have to go into the studio separately or at different times? How did you coordinate the logistics of everyone being on lockdown and making music?
Sean Paul:
People came to the studio, mainly for Live N Livin, or I went to theirs. Like Buju Banton, I went to his studio. I recorded the song with Jr Gong before the pandemic, but we fixed up the rhythm after that. We did a lot, production-wise, with that. So, he came to Jamaica and did it at the studio with Chi Ching Ching and me. With Live N Livin, people did it pretty much in my studio. Assassin did his verse from his studio and sent it to me. There’s a little bit of both, but most people came to my studio for that one.
ON COVID:
Sara Brittany:
Was there a lot of like OCD handwashing and sanitizing of microphones and other gear?”
Sean Paul:
Yeah! Crazy. If you know me, I’m very, very… kind of like… wayacallit?
Sara Brittany:
Germophobic?
Sean Paul:
Yeah! (laughs) Germophobic! Shaggy was laughing at me on the plane coming back from Australia. Both of us were touring over there. And two cases had hit Australia. That was last March. And I was wearing my mask, and I was spraying alcohol everywhere. And he was like, (Imitating Shaggy) “Yo! You’re making everywhere smell like a hospital! Hahahaha!” He was laughing at me, and he was, like, “Yo! What are you doing wearing a mask this whole time?” I wore it for like 22 hours.
Sara Brittany:
22 hours?
Sean Paul:
Yeah. Just to go from Australia to South Africa, take another plane to England, and then take another plane home. So, I was freaking out, and when we got to the studio, I was like, “No one is allowed to come here. Nothing!”
We put up hand sanitizers on the wall. We put up posters. Like, “Yo! Anybody coming in here, you’re going to get your temperature checked, you’re going to have to clean your hands,” and whatnot. Those protocols are still in the studio, but I think we’ve become a lot more –I wouldn’t say lax, but a lot more– used to the fact. So, yeah, it’s been crazy because my studio is tiny. I get panic attacks when a lot of people come there. I like to go outside and sit down, then everybody else is like, “Where you at?” I’m smoking under the tree, don’t worry.
Sara Brittany:
Well, I’m with you. When I flew home from Dubai for 15 hours, I wore a mask and the clear Stormtrooper blast shield.
Sean Paul:
(Cackles) Yeah, I totally get it. It’s nuts.
Sara Brittany:
And I was still trying to eat underneath it. I’m glad to hear you’re taking everyone’s safety and security into consideration. I find that a lot of Jamaicans, in general, don’t believe that the pandemic is real. I’ve heard dem seh [sic] “plan-demic,” and I’ve others suggest that the virus is manufactured. There was an unfortunate incident recently with our beloved journalist, Michael Sharpe, passing away a short time after receiving a vaccine. Many Jamaican citizens are attributing his death to the vaccine. How do you feel about that?
Sean Paul:
I’m afraid. I would say I’m cautious of the vaccine because of it being developed so quickly. My grandfather was a doctor. He used to tell my mom and me that there’s no way that they release medicines or vaccines that haven’t been studied over seven to ten years. So, when they started several months ago, and they were like, “Yo! Come take this vaccine,” and there’s places like paying you and entering you into a lottery to get the vaccine, that’s weird to me, I’ve never seen it before.
However, they’re saying it’s a very deadly disease; whether it’s man-made or not, it’s something I haven’t been able to decide for myself. I have listened to all the news reports, I’ve been listening to many conspiracy theories too, and both have sides that I would gravitate towards.
So, I’m still stuck. Like, not knowing where I stand. My wife, aunt, and a very close cousin to me have gotten a vaccine. Almost everybody in my band has gotten a vaccine and management, except for my brother (Jason, aka Jigzagula) and me. It’s something I’m coming to terms with that I believe. I do not like mRNAs. The process that I’ve understood how they are created sounds weird to me. And so, I would be looking towards getting more of the traditional ones or the DNA ones.
The development process has just been so quick. People claim it’s been 20 years that they’ve been studying to make a vaccine for Coronaviruses. This one is aggressive, it’s different, and it’s also mutating. So, it’s all those questions in my head. I’m trying to get it done, right. You know what I mean? I plan for two years for myself. I was like, all right, I’m going nowhere for two years, but it’s been crazy here. Like we’ve been having lockdowns, all our weekends are locked down for the past seven weeks. So, it’s like total lockdown from like Friday evening. Then Saturday morning, you’re able to go out and then lockdown again Saturday evening and then before Sunday. And on long weekends until Tuesday morning.
So, there’s no beaches, nothing like that, so it’s been straining on us, and on myself too. I have friends that have been affected by the disease terribly. They’ve been in hospital. They’ve been back and forth in ICU two times and out. That’s frightening, and I see crazy reports. So, I think it’s inevitable, but I haven’t taken that step yet for the vaccine, for me.
Sara Brittany:
I appreciate your honesty. Living here (in Jamaica), one of the things that I’ve noticed is that Jamaica has the AstraZeneca vaccine only, it seems. And that one has not even been approved by the United States yet. I find that a bit strange.
Sean Paul:
Yeah. I find that very strange that the whole world has signed something saying that if some sh–, stuff, happens… it’s crazy. Also, with swine flu in ’76, 53 people got affected and died. And they discontinued that vaccine when one million-odd people already got that vaccine, and they discontinued it. They were like, okay, 53 people died.
But from December ’til now, there’s been almost 4,000 people that have died from these vaccines. I guess it’s a different situation, but to me, it’s like, and I’ve heard it from my doctors here that the only reason why AstraZeneca is not approved in America is that the U.S. took the stance that they want to produce their vaccines. It must be manufactured in America.
We’re having a big problem here now where many people here got vaccinated, and they are waiting on the second dose, and there’s fewer vaccines available here now. I’ve heard that the next one we’re getting is Moderna, and I don’t want to take an mRNA. I have a cousin that took an mRNA, Pfizer, and she’s okay. One of my management team took Pfizer and was fine for a week and then got mad sick for five days – fever, burning, aching, and crazy stuff.
So, I’ve been told that the nano thing is not a robot. It’s just tiny, but it just seems weird. So, I’m taking my time. You know, I do have music that’s popping off, right now, like me, Shaggy, and Spice, and they want me to travel and do these morning shows, and I’ve come up with different ways to do it. I’m taping some of my performances.
But yeah, in general, I’m just honest with you. It’s something that I didn’t see myself running into. I’ve taken vaccines before for sure, but nothing that has been such a rush.
It’s funny because people here (in Jamaica) are like, “You hear what’s happening with Moderna in California? People who have plastic surgery, you know, lips did, breast augmentation, or whatever, Moderna is mashing them upright, making all of it swell up!” There’s a lot of people in California who don’t want to take Moderna for that reason.
So, there’s different things. I mean, Johnson & Johnson was the one-shot, and I was waiting on that one. I was like, yeah. But then, everybody reminds me of their talcum powder giving people cancer and stuff. And I’m like, Damn! And now it’s giving you clots in your brain. It’s just so much stuff. And so, for that reason, for all this stuff, it feels like planned warfare to me. It honestly does. I’m not pointing any fingers at anybody anywhere. I don’t know who would benefit, whether it be a country like China or, you know, the people that run economic things in the world – who knows?
For me, I’m just stepping one step at a time. I’m trusting in my creator, getting used to the idea of maybe taking something, but who knows.
Sara Brittany:
I’ve heard the conspiracy theory that it was developed in a lab and got out accidentally. We’ve always had these viruses, but when they turn zoonotic and transfer from animal to human, they wreak havoc. As far as the mutations go, that’s what viruses do – evolve and survive. And that’s why we can’t even cure a common cold or the flu because they’re tenacious.
Getting everyone vaccinated was supposed to create “herd immunity.” But now they’re saying herd immunity might not even be possible with these mutations.
Sean Paul:
It’s funny to me too. It’s funny. I know people in the music business here who were planning on going away to do some work. Then they went to take their (PCR) tests and were told they have Covid. They were shocked, like, “What? I don’t have any symptoms. I’m not sniffling. My sense of smell is turned up. I can smell the cat out there!” They were told they couldn’t travel. So, Left Side goes back home, stays home for two weeks, and he’s not sick, not achy at all, no cough, no fever. His smell is on like a thousand percent. He was like, “I smell people smoking weed waaaaay down the road! And nobody else around him can smell it!”
I’m like damn! So, bizarre things. When I think about herd immunity, I think, ‘so, he’s okay for now,’ but the same thing, if it was like how it has done in India, Brazil, England, South Africa, and different places. What about these vaccines we’re getting now? We’re going to go have to get more again, and it seems with the conspiracy-like, oh, that’s what they’re doing, they are setting us up to get used to this.
There’s more solutions for me then, oh, the world’s getting populated, let’s kill everybody off. I mean, we can grow stuff in our backyard; there’s hydroponics. There’s resources right there.
Sara Brittany:
I feel safer in Jamaica than I do in New York because in Manhattan, if you can’t use your credit card, maybe you can’t eat. In Jamaica, there’s food in the trees. We can survive.
Sean Paul:
Yeah! There’s breadfruit, mango, bananas, all kinds of stuff.
Sara Brittany:
Yeah! People were worried about me spending the pandemic lockdown here because they were concerned about the lack of hospital infrastructure, but I feel safer here because it’s less densely populated and there’s more fresh air–
Sean Paul:
And sunlight! The sun is shining on you.
Sara Brittany:
Yeah. I’ve spent the entire pandemic here, and it’s been okay, thank God. How do you soldier through specific episodes of stress?
Sean Paul:
Yeah. I just ganged up on ginger and garlic and that kind of stuff. I make sure I take my vitamins. I’m trying to be healthy. I stopped smoking last year, the whole year, again, and then I started to smoke ganja on Christmas, and now I’m smoking every day. So, it’s something that you have to work on in terms of just trying to be the optimum health that you can be if this thing does come my way. And some people believe that I had it already, which is crazy because it doesn’t show in an Antigen test. I’ve never. I’ve done two Antigen tests where there were times when I was like, “I feel weird,” and they’re like, “You don’t have; you never had it.”
But in January of 2020, right before I did that Australia tour, I was mad sick. I was in Miami for four days to do some recordings, and I could do nothing. My eyes were red. So, my brother called me, and he’s like,” Yo, you have the ‘vid, right now.” I’ve never had red eyes like this. I swim, smoke weed, and get red eyes because of both activities, and when I do them together, I get really, really red eyes. But, in January last year, I had the worst red eyes I’ve ever had, except it wasn’t itching me. So, the doctor said, “I think you have conjunctivitis.” But, I’ve had conjunctivitis before. It’s never been like this. I couldn’t breathe. I stopped smoking then. You know, I was taking my Asthma Inhaler. It wasn’t doing much for me. I couldn’t get rid of this cold.
So, the doctor in Miami said he wanted to do a blood test. I was like, “I’ve never done a blood test for conjunctivitis.” And he was like, “Different things are going around. I just want to see what you have.” And when I got there to shake his hand, he was like, “Don’t touch me!”
So, this is January 2020. So, most of the news hadn’t come out. I’d seen some stuff about China, but as usual, it seems far away from me,
Sara Brittany:
Right. Until like February, March.
Sean Paul:
Yeah, when we started to be like, OMG! So, he took a swab on the back of my throat, said he was testing for “a virus,” and I should go to Australia, and he put me on antibiotics. He said, “That should clear what you have, and I’ll see if it’s this virus I’m thinking of.”
So, I was like, okay, and I went to Australia. He called me and said, “You don’t have what I was thinking of. So, just continue to take those tablets, and you should be fine.”
And I took them, and I was fine. And then two cases landed in Australia, and I freaked out. I spent all that time playing with a mask. Shaggy laughed at me. And then Shaggy called me back in April and was like, “Yo! You’re like a prophet! I never saw this coming – then the lockdown.
I’m like, “Bro, I’m just listening to the news reports and the conspiracy theories that are out there. I don’t know. You should try that.”
 On FAKE NEWS:
People were like, “Nah, nah, it’s bullshit. It’s not coming over to this side of the world. It’s just crap.” And then when it did, and then we got the lockdowns, people were looking at me like, “What!” I’m like, bro, there’s a lot of info on the net, and you can decide for yourself. There’s a lot of misinformation as well. But again, that’s why I’m stuck where I am. I’ve heard that for a virus to mutate this quickly is crazy because it’s supposed to take 800 years for a virus to mutate and jump from an animal to us. So, where do I stand with that? I have no idea.
 Sara Brittany:
I think it’s interesting, though, how SARS was kept in the Middle Eastern region. SARS never really exploded the way COVID-19 has. I remember coming back from Dubai and wearing a mask, but the virus seemed to become contained. By comparison, COVID-19 appears to be mutating at a rapid pace. If it did come from the lab and not from an animal, that could be the reason. I guess we’ll never really know because that is above our pay grade.
Sean Paul:
Lately, I’ve seen reports saying that they know it came from the lab in China. It’s a crazy thing. With the crisis happening in India, there’s new things happening after you get COVID. You’re getting this fungus. It’s crazy. So, it’s really pushing me now to check out this vaccine thing. Then I’ve seen silly videos of people putting magnets on their hands and being like, “Yo! Look.” If that is so, I’ve always heard that there’s a certain amount of lead in many vaccines. But I know people who have taken the vaccine, and they have no magnets sticking to dem. So, it’s all weird misinformation, but again, with all the different sides of thought and the different theories out there and the news reports, it really does seem like warfare. Like, wow! There is so much contradictory information, one in this direction, one in that direction, some up here, some down here. Who knows?
Sara Brittany:
Yeah. It’s a lot. You have to read through and process it all with a filter and try to take the kernels of truth from whatever sounds the most credible if you can. But it’s difficult. Even as a media member, I can acknowledge many mistakes that the media makes that go viral – no pun intended– when many outlets just copy things from other outlets. Like the time one Jamaican blog reported that Vybz Kartel broke out of jail, and then even MTV picked it up and reported that his detailed jailbreak, smuggled out in a laundry cart!
Sean Paul (laughs)
Sara Brittany:Â
How could a credible, reputable outlet like MTV, which is part of this vast Viacom conglomerate, publish something that they read on a dancehall blog without fact-checking it? Maybe they figured that if it happened in Jamaica and a Jamaican outlet is reporting it, it must be true. Right?
Sean Paul: (cracks up)
Sara Brittany: But that’s lazy. Often the media doesn’t do corroborating research anymore, which spreads misinformation.
Sean Paul:
It Just goes to show you the craziness of how lazy the internet has made people.
Sean Paul:
First of all, we forget each other’s phone numbers because we have our phones. Then we forget how to do things in it, like how to really report and gather information. Oh yeah. It’s easy just to do a song over the internet, but then, you know, where is that real magic sometimes? Who knows?
Sara Brittany:
Another example is the Wall Street Journal, which used to be a credible, reputable paper publishing a story insisting that the DEA granted Federal Cannabis Licenses to researchers. People were celebrating, like “Yay! Prohibition is over.” But that didn’t occur! It was a click-bait headline. It hadn’t happened. I think the Journal jumped the gun.
Sean Paul:
I also see that in politics too, year after year. The whole vote manipulation ting. Have you watched that documentary, The Great Hack? You should check it out. It’s nuts. Because the girl who made the algorithm to kind of hook people onto either side, she’s American. She was like, “I didn’t think I was unpatriotic. I was just doing my job.” People were pointing fingers at her, and she’s in a court case, I think. That’s why I’ve always been the type of person not to be the click-bait guy.
I see things come up. I’m like, I don’t want to watch it, I don’t want to see it. I would instead think of something in my head and then go to it. But then the algorithms, they notice that, and they come for you! When I see too much of it coming, I’m like, I’m not watching that. So, I do have that defense mechanism, I guess. But it’s still really crazy.
Sara Brittany:
Talking about them coming for you – When you’re voice noting on WhatsApp, or you’re talking to someone on the phone, within five minutes, the following ad you receive will be for something you’ve just mentioned. It’s creepy!
Sean Paul:
I don’t rely on it. I just know that the mic is picking up what keywords you might say. I found that annoying from the beginning. They’re gathering info on who you are so that they can better suit the ads. Maybe I checked out a racing car once because my friend showed it to me on my phone. But I don’t want to see no more racing cars after dat. Hey, you know what I mean?
 Sara Brittany:
Right, exactly.
Sean Paul:
It was just something someone was showing me, but they’re sending it to me now, forever. But I don’t think an algorithm could ever figure me out. I can’t figure myself out either. So, fuck that! Hehehe.
Sara Brittany:
(Laughs) I want to pivot back to Cannabis for a sec. You said you stopped smoking for a year. Did that year coincide with the pandemic? Is that why you quit smoking?
Sean Paul:
Yeah. That’s the reason. That was in March. I came home, March 5th. I was supposed to meet my wife in Miami. I’m like, “I am not going nowhere. You come home now!” She was like, “What?” And She was pissed with me!
I was like, “Come home. We’re not going nowhere. They’re about to lock everywhere down.” And when she came home, they locked everywhere down, and she was like, “Wow.”
At first, and I was like, I’m not risking this. I’ll spend 20 or 40 something hours flying home with a mask, and I’m not doing that again. I haven’t flown since that date, since March 5th.
Sara Brittany:
That’s what happened to me in New York. I went to a UN briefing on March 4th, and I found out that a colleague I spoke to afterward came down with COVID on March 5th. I was so freaked out. Luckily, I didn’t get it. I messengered him a bottle of Vitamin C and took off for Jamaica! I was supposed to stay here for only a couple of weeks, assuming the situation would be contained, like SARS. Then my return flight got canceled, and I thought, “Well, I guess I live here now.”
 Sean Paul:
It’s a sign!
 Sara Brittany:
I’m Jamerican now. You did the right thing, telling your wife to come home. I’m sure Jodi forgave you once she realized you were right about the gravity of the situation.
Sean Paul:
She did – especially after Miami blew up after that. I stopped smoking for that. I was still smoking about that time, and then I was like, you know what, I didn’t smoke for five years, so I’m going to stop again now.
So, I started making tea again and my oil, and I was doing that up until Christmas, and on Christmas, I was like, “just one celebratory spliff…” which got me back into that old lifestyle.
So, I do smoke a lot less than I was smoking before. I was smoking big—Â
Sara Brittany:
Baseball bats?
Sean Paul:
Crazy baseball bat spliffs! Now, I’m smoking one or two smaller ones, sometimes a little bit more, but yeah, you know, it’s a thing. I’ve become a lot more fit since I’m swimming a lot. So, hopefully, that, and the sunshine, and the vitamins, ginger, and all that can help me.
Sara Brittany:
Swimming is beneficial for Asthmatics.
Sean Paul:
Yeah, it has been. And hopefully, all that can help me just with my immune system and my Asthma in general. Someone who was here at my house two weeks before he got it, and we were talking, you know, “don’t catch this shit, man,” and he’s like, “Yeah, for real, same thing,” and then he left.
Two weeks later, I hear he’s in the hospital. And then he goes into ICU, and he battles for like two weeks, and then he comes out. He’s out for like four days and goes back into the ICU, and when he came out, he went to a regular ward and then got released. He’s fine.
Then like two months later, he went back! Not in ICU, but a regular ward. Just being that close to someone who was so sick is like, “Wow!” And then, the other hand, as I said, Left Side, he caught it and had no symptoms, nothing. His smell is on point. So, all of this does seem like somebody’s big experiment to me. And then there’s one more side of it that a lot of us don’t speak about: Mother Earth naturally purges at times. Sometimes we have giant Tsunamis that wipe out 400,000 people in 2004. Do you remember that, right?
 Sara Brittany:
I do.
 Sean Paul:
So, like sometimes we must deal with this. If you want to say it’s religious or Biblical, or even talk from a spiritual standpoint, sometimes there is a purge. I don’t hear a lot of people talking about this.
Sara Brittany:
Is Mother Earth shaking off some people?
Sean Paul:
Yeah. Mother Earth, sneezing, like. “Achoo,” get some of these people off me, you know? Some people, Christians, do look and say, oh, this is happening now – End of Days. There’s a lot of sides that I do check out. And again, it all just seems too… coincidental for Covid to be something natural.
Sara Brittany:
Right. Not one random bat in a wet market, or one random Chinchilla, or whatever.
Sean Paul:
Yeah. Not one snake that ate a bat that went to someone’s table and gave Covid to them.
Sara Brittany:
Like the South Park Pandemic Special.
Sean Paul:
Yeah.
 On WEED:
 Sara Brittany:
Is smoking your preferred method of consumption, given all the options?
Sean Paul:
It depends on the mood I’m in. Like for the last year, my mood was like, I want my lungs clear. I don’t want to wake up with any phlegm. You know, when you smoke a lot, that happens. In general, smoking, to me, it’s a habit I got into. I love the feeling of euphoria and creativity and the insights I feel I get from smoking. But I also get those things with ingesting it, and it lasts for a long time.
So, it was easy for me to make that transition last year. However, back to my oils, to my teas or whatever, but it’s just so quick to roll up a fatty and smoke, you know what I mean? So, it depends on my mood.
Sara Brittany:
Well, it’s quick for you. Some people are utterly inept at rolling a joint, but I feel you.
Sean Paul:
(Laughs) True, Right? But, but it’s easier for me. And it does bring about a quicker high, and it doesn’t last as long. So, there’s moods I’m in. Like, I feel like I want to zonk out and just check stuff on the net tonight. So, I want to eat some oil, you know? And it would last the whole night, without me having to go outside to smoke or whatever.
Sara Brittany:
Be careful of those internet rabbit holes!
