Hip Hop is still celebrating 50 years of existence, and living legend Sean Paul was on hand to celebrate with other music veterans on Saturday night at Madison Square Gardens, where he was the only dancehall act billed to headline the show.
The 50th Anniversary Hip Hop celebration was put on by Hot 97 and hosted by Mariah Carey. The event saw a massive turnout as fans grooved to performances from icons like Mary J. Blige, Wu-Tang Clan, EPMD, Tyrese, Diddy, and Sean Paul.
Sean Paul is a Grammy-winning artist with several crossover hits and has spent his career making hits that have been enjoyed by fans across the world and across genres. Fans were treated to a full set from his diverse catalog, including hits like “Gimme the Light,” his iconic track “Temperature,” and others. The Jamaican legend also treated fans to a preview of his new single “Summa Hot,” which saw them rocking out in their seats.
In a comment to Urban Islandz, the artist says he was happy to be invited to participate in the hip-hop celebrations.
“Tell you truth, it’s an awesome feeling and I am honored to be the only dancehall artist to be billed on the show, I got a half-hour performance. It meant a lot to me,” he said as he also shouted out Teejay, who was brought out as a guest performer at the event.
The artiste also said that he felt it was a good accomplishment to be included in the celebrations given that hip-hop “is a musical genre that I look up to and love and feel its heavily influenced by our culture and we are [influenced] by them [hip hop] so it’s like an amazing feeling.”
He also raved at the reception of the Madison Square Garden, noting that he tailored his set to ensure that the crowd enjoyed his performance, given that they were a mainly hard-core hip-hop crowd.
“I tour a lot and mi just put together a nice show for them. Mi just know different territories and what dem going to love. And I know that being a hip hop crowd, a lot of the people there were youngsters, I put it in that respect. Hip hop is 50 now and you have people who were here before this music come about and you have people who are about the same age as this genre. It’s a mad suppn’. Lovin’ that the fans keeping me here,” the artist said as he shared his love and respect for fans.
Sean Paul’s performance was hailed by FunkMaster Flex, who said he “‘tore the paint off Madison Square Garden’, and it was nothing short of spectacular.”
“The night was a celebration of Hip Hop’s milestone anniversary, and the symbiotic relationship with dancehall, Sean Paul truly embodied the spirit and energy of the genre throughout his performance,” a statement from Hot 97 said.
Sean Paul describes himself as an ambassador for dancehall music and is a respected cultural ambassador for Jamaica. The artiste is an internationally acclaimed Grammy-winning and chart-topping singer who is best known for his albums like Dutty Rock, and hits like “I’m Still In Love With You.”
He continues to run up the charts and has even seen major crossover success, and in recent times, on the Billboard Latin Air Play Chart with “Nina Bonita” going No. 1.
