Dancehall artist Sean Paul, will receive the Entertainer’s Key to New York City.
The Grammy Award-winning performer will accept the honor during a Rise Up NYC concert on Saturday, August 24, at Roy Wilkins Park in Queens.
The key will be presented by New York Mayor Eric Adams as part of the Rise Up New York Concert series, which has 18 summertime events scattered throughout the five boroughs.
For Sean Paul, the honor will be another great NYC moment to add to his memory bank.
“I feel honored to be able to do something that I love and to help take part in my culture and wear the flag in a big city like New York. I’m giving thanks,” the artiste born Sean Paul Henriques shared. “New York is a very important place for artistes, especially in dancehall. It’s the first city that I went to that I could do four shows in one night, with all the clubs full.”
Sean Paul acknowledged that New York is a Mecca, like a melting pot of many different cultures, and Caribbean culture, especially Jamaican reggae and dance, which is a huge part of that.
“It feels like people are understanding us in a big city, like that is a great feeling. So it feels like we’re connecting. That feels like we are bridging the gap between the cultures and The States,” he continued. “NYC is an iconic city and I feel iconic.”
Other awardees for the Rise Up New York concert series include Pattie Labelle, who will be presented with the award in Brooklyn; Keith Sweat, Harlem and Fat Joe, The Bronx.
Paul’s first album, Stage One, was released in 2000. He gained international fame with his second album, Dutty Rock, in 2002. Its single Get Busy topped the US Billboard Hot 100 chart in the United States, as did Temperature, off his third album, The Trinity.
Paul frequently invokes the nickname “Chanderpaul”, originating from the similarity between his first two names and cricketer Shivnarine Chanderpaul.
Most of his albums have been nominated for Grammy Awards for Best Reggae Album, with Dutty Rock winning the award. Paul has been featured in many other singles, including chart-toppers Baby Boy by Beyoncé, Breathe by Blu Cantrell, What About Us by The Saturdays, Rockabye by Clean Bandit, Cheap Thrills by Sia, and Fuego by DJ Snake. Cheap Thrills and Rockabye, along with Paul’s own No Lie (2016), each have over 1 billion views on YouTube, with Rockabye having reached over 2.7 billion views.
Recently, Sean Paul was also recognized as one of two recipients of the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 14th staging of the Jamaica Poetry Festival on August 11. He was also highlighted as one of the 12 dancehall industry players, who supported Spice during her 25 years as an artiste in the genre at the launch of the Queen of Dancehall’s Mirror 25 album.
