[NEWS] || Billboard Names Sean Paul As Dancehall King

Weeks after Rolling Stones Magazine labelled Rihanna’s work Tropical House, another prominent publication is at odds with dancehall. Bil...

Weeks after Rolling Stones Magazine labelled Rihanna’s work Tropical House, another prominent publication is at odds with dancehall. Billboard Online in a recent article titled “How Rihanna’s ‘Work’ Made Dancehall Reign in Pop Again” referred to Sean Paul as the dancehall King with SP’s Temperature in 2006 being the last dancehall song to hit number one on the Billboard Hot One Hundred charts. This has opened a can of worms with dancehall insiders. What defines a king of dancehall? Is it just about the sales? It is clear from research that Billboard conclusions are all based on sales, but dancehall is more than the sales. Since the publication last week, dancehall industry professionals have been weighing in. Veterans like YellowMan, Shabba Ranks and Beenie Man have all been tossed around as having done the ground work to be considered Kings in their own rights. Sean Paul has made the sales, topped the charts and has a Grammy under his belt all without running any sort of dancehall space in Jamaica, and running the space is what many consider to be the true mark of a dancehall King. The debate is on, but what really is the criteria to be crowned King? Why are so many credible mainstream media publications getting dancehall wrong? Just last year in another controversial article, Billboard named multi-platinum soul singer Joss Stone Reggae Artiste of the Year. Credit : Dancehallcritic.com