Spin (p.128) - "[H]is hip-hop inspired tracks...and smooth style are totally contemporary."
Q (01/01/04, p.80) - Ranked #17 in Q's "The 50 Best Albums of 2003"
Q (1/03, p.121) - 4 stars out of 5 - "Dancehall remains Jamaica's dominant indigenous musical force....Sean Paul is its brightest hope..."
Personnel includes: Sean Paul, Beyonce (vocals); Rahzel, Chico, Sasha, Debbie Nova, Ce'cile, Busta Rhymes, Fahrenheit, Tony Touch, R.O.B.B. (rap vocals);
Mark Ronson (various instruments).
Producers include: The Beat People, Troyton, The Neptunes, Scott Storch, Delroy Foster.
DUTTY ROCK won the 2004 Grammy Award for Best Reggae Album. Sean Paul was nominated for Best New Artist. "Get Busy" was nominated for Best Male Rap Solo Performance.
Though he'd released successful singles earlier, Jamaican toaster Sean Paul became a full-blown international dancehall reggae sensation with his 2000 full-length debut STAGE ONE. Picking up where that album left off, DUTTY ROCK dips into hip-hop production techniques in addition to the usual dancehall tricks, providing a unique framework for Sean's visceral, rapid-fire raps. Amid all the modern production, "I'm Still in Love with You" (not the Al Green tune) finds SP dipping into the roots-reggae trickbag, with vocal assistance from Sasha. And unlike some of his contemporaries, he's not without a sense of humor. The introductory skit, which finds him hilariously at odds with an inept heavy metal backing band, posits Sean Paul as the Stan Freberg (ask your grandparents) of dancehall.
