Sean Paul says ‘Greatest’ US Tour is perfect timing

After his recent win at the 2024 Latin American Music Awards, Grammy-Award winning artiste Sean Paul said that his long awaited 22-city US tour, titled, 'Greatest', was a natural move.

So far it has been a "good vibe" as most of his venues are sold out. Being his first extensive US tour in the past 10 years, the reggae/dancehall megastar said the decision came as he believes it was just the "right time".

"Nuff thing in life is timing and balance of that time. Sometimes you can force the issue to try to tour but if the States never ready, it wouldn't mek no sense. Suh mi jus' did want to do some fresh music, which I did last year and especially the Latin community really embraced it," Sean Paul told THE WEEKEND STAR. "We got the American Music Award [for Best Collaborative Crossover of the Year] for that song [ Nina Bonita] with [Colombian artiste] Feid which adds to the numbers, so we decided to run a tour."

The tour kicked off on May 2. On the Miami leg, Sean Paul was greeted by the new reggae talent, YG Marley, son of the legendary Lauryn Hill and Rohan Marley. The energy between these artistes set the precedent for nights of unforgettable music and celebration of the culture. The tour is set to culminate in Charlotte on June 16. Sean Paul said he mostly looks forward to the organic connection with the people.

"It's the gratification of actually seeing first-hand, connecting with your people who love your songs, rate and revere your artwork [and] pay to come see you, buy merch; those things are connection. Them love the song, them want to see the person perform the song, and them want to have a good time, and to me that's awesome," he stated. He added that this tour will also feature several of the artistes signed under his Dutty Rock label, namely Chi Ching Ching, Quan Dajai, Farenizzi and Ras Ajai.

"[It's] a good, good vibe and I've been feeling the tour but it's been tough; sometimes all six shows in a row, six nights straight wi a go. Each night it's an hour and a half so yeah, it's rough but a 'Dutty' wi name zeen and [sometimes] di dutty get tough, rough," he shared playfully. Boston, New York and "very surprisingly" Detroit have topped the list for the "most hyped" and "sold out" shows thus far.

The internationally acclaimed artiste is known globally for the impact he has created within all genres he embarks upon, but recently, a special niche has been brewing in his favour in the Spanish/Latin world.

"To win an award for Latin Americas is pretty dope because it has the biggest streaming numbers coming from the Latin/reggaeton world right now; so dat feel good. Also, it pushes all a my fans to gwaan work and impress dem fi check out di rest a dancehall and that's the way in which it can help to impact the [reggae/dancehall] landscape. Each one teach one [because] is not me alone out here doing it, but I'm doing it on a bigger level. So I just give thanks that I have my own fan base that can lead people to others who are also great," he said.

Though the prolific singjay came under heavy scrutiny for his input on the recent clash between Stefflon Don and Jada Kingdom, he was quick to highlight that the two have since been doing great works alongside him and his team. In fact, he said fans can look out for a new collaboration with him and Jada Kingdom. He further shared that he also toured with Stefflon Don "just after the clash" so him and both ladies are "good".

Sean Paul will be dropping another Latin American single, in English, with Becky G. The Dutty Rock Productions label is also set to release new music from its artistes, along with a 'Dutty Rock Juggling' featuring Charly Blacks, Spragga Benz, Chi Ching Ching and others. The project and singles are slated for this summer.