Sean Paul Says He Wants To Bridge The Gap Between Reggaeton, Dancehall And Reggae

Dancehall King Sean Paul shared that he is consciously making an efforts to unite the worlds of reggaeton and dancehall during an appearance on the Kelly Clarkson show. The Dutty Cup deejay did a brief interview to showcase his latest latin single, ‘Dem Time Deh,’ featuring Colombian singer Manuel Turizo.

When questioned about the meaning of the title by Clarkson, Sean Paul clarified, “It means back in the day, ‘dem time deh,’ those times there,” providing the English translation. Delving into the genesis of the collaboration, he explained, “A lot of people kinda remember my career from 20 years ago, and Manuel he is a lot younger than me, and he was like ‘yo back in those days were awesome and I wanna do a song with you, so he came to the studio and he started writing, (then) he is like ‘What do you want to call it?’ and I said since it so reminiscent ‘Dem Time Deh’, lets call it ‘Dem Time Deh,” He said.

Sean Paul and Manuel Turizo

Expressing his ongoing mission to bridge the gap between reggaeton and dancehall, Sean Paul emphasized the cultural proximity of Jamaica to Spanish speaking countries despite the language barrier.

“I been trying to bridge the gap between reggaeton and dancehall music or reggae music because we are such close in proximity to Puerto Rico,Dominican Republic and Cuba, he explained.

Sean highlighted the shared cultural language, saying, “We may not speak the same language, but we share a lot through music.”

Closing the show, the Rockabye singer performed the “Dem Time Deh”, seamlessly spitting lyrics both the Spanish and Patois.

The official music video for “Dem Time Deh” was released on October 24, 2023 and it has already amassed 2.8 million views on YouTube.

The video is a mashup of reimagined and outtakes from Sean’s other videos like “I’m Still In Love With You”  and “Tempretaure” featuring Sasha, only this time it sees a latin video vixen as the love interest running on a treadmill surrounded by screens old video footage plays in the background. According to a press release, the two women represent the “female alter egos” of Turizo and Paul.

Manuel collaborated with Beéle on a Spanish track titled “Jamaica,” where the two sing on the chorus that some lyrics of affection and nostalgia for the island: “Girl, I love you. You possess an indescribable allure. How could we possibly forget Jamaica? How could one forget their essence? Girl, I love you. You possess an indescribable charm. How could we possibly forget Jamaica? How could one forget their roots? (Oh, girl)”

Sean Paul, 50 , released several Latin collaborations this year, including with Karol G and Bad Gyal on Mañana Será Bonito‘s “Kármika,” “El Vibe,” with Farina, “Niña Bonita,” with Feid and “No Me Controles,” with Rvssian and Danny Ocean. Last year October he dropped and song adn music video for TIC TAC with Brazillian star Ludmilla shot on location in Jamaica.

Sean Paul is the most streamed Jamaica artist on Spotify and YouTube for 2023.

Watch full interview with Sean Paul on The Kelly Clarkson Show below where he also shared his affinity for country music.