Born Sean Paul Ryan Francis Henriques, otherwise known as "Sean-da-Paul," Sean Paul has a multi-racial backround consisting of Portuguese heritage from his paternal grandfather, SephardicJewish heritage from his paternal grandmother, African heritage from his maternal grandfather, and Chinese heritage from his maternal grandmother. Both his parents are Jamaican natives. His nicknames include ZionLion and King of Israel . Sean Paul's voice and style of singing is often compared to Jamaican 1990s dancehall sensation Super Cat .
He played for the Jamaican national Water Polo team and alleges to be related to King Solomon through his father, although this is unlikely, since his father is not from the Davidic Dynasty .
In 1997 , Henriques and Spanner Banner recorded the Jamaican chart-topper, "Ladies Man," through the singer's Sweet Angel Productions. The song resulted in his embarking on sessions with Jeremy Harding, a then little-known producer who burst on the scene with his production of Beenie Man 's crossover hit, "Who Am I." The producer released the dancehall favorite "Baby Girl." The following single, "Infiltrate," joined the singer's combination hit in the Jamaican top charts.
In 2000 Henriques released his first album, '' Stage One ''. Unfortunately the album failed to gain public interest and as a result it only peaked at #109 on the Billboard 200 albums chart. Two years later he announced the release of his second effort, '' Dutty Rock ''. Pushed by the success of the CD's first and second singles "Gimme The Light" and the Hot 100 topper " Get Busy ", the album became a worldwide smash, eventually selling over 6 million copies all around the globe. Simultaneously Sean was heard on Beyoncé 's single " Baby Boy " and Blu Cantrell 's " Breathe ", two further charts hits in 2003 .
