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If you've heard a dancehall artist featured on a new hip-hop or R&B track, it's likely that the thick, rhythmic Jamaican accent belongs to Sean Paul, who has recently added his infectious vocals to picks from 50 Cent, Blu Cantrell, De La Soul, and 112. While it seems that Sean Paul rose from virtual obscurity in 2002 with hits "Gimme The Light" and "Get Busy," that's hardly the case: He's been a recognized force on the reggae and dancehall scene since 1996, when he issued his first single in Jamaica, "Baby Girl." Over the next six years, Sean Paul continued to build momentum, releasing his debut album, Stage One, in 2000, and his crossover smash, Dutty Rock, in 2002.

The much sought-after talent recently stopped by the LAUNCH offices to perform a few Dutty Rock picks and to talk to LAUNCH's urban editor, Billy Johnson Jr., about receiving early support from reggae legends Third World and Shaggy's manager; bridging reggae and hip-hop; how his school days compare to Emeril Lagasse's cooking show; and how his bootylicious dancers bring his videos to life (which happens to be Billy's personal favorite topic).

LAUNCH: Can you talk about the dancers in your videos? Their moves seem to be authentically Jamaican.

SEAN PAUL: Yeah, definitely. I don't think that it's been represented properly for the most part, the Jamaican culture that people get internationally. They're seeing a lot of dancing that's not the real dancing that happens in Jamaica. These dances are what match the music, and every three or four years there's a new dance in Jamaica. So there's a lot of dances from back in the day that come straight up to now that people could learn. It was important to me to get that across, 'cause I think that's how hip-hop broke too: When hip-hop had a dance to it and also a music, then it was a whole culture. So I think it kind of reminds people of that.

LAUNCH: When you're performing, does it trip you out to see people in the audience trying to do the moves from your videos?

SEAN PAUL: Definitely--especially the ponytail thing, 'cause it's something that we see in Jamaica a lot. We always notice that when people come down to Jamaica, they dance the reggae the same way, and that's it. So to see them try to do these things just means that our culture is getting out there, and I feel proud as a Jamaican.

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