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LUSAKA. — Jamaican Grammy-award winning dancehall and reggae artiste Sean Paul is going to Zambia, Ndola in particular, for an anticipated big gig at the popular Levy Mwanawasa Stadium on October 23.The multi-award-winning artiste, whose real names are Ryan Francis Henriques, would have local musicians join him as supporting artistes.

They include Jordan Katembula (JK), Macky 2, Afunika, Danny Kaya, Cactus Agony, Ben, Kiki with the Mofire band. The coming of the “Giant” Jamaican reggae star will inevitably mark an important event not only in Zambia but on the global music calendar.

The Jamaican dancehall and reggae superstar’s performance which is slated for the eve of Zambia’s Independence Day will open its gates to showgoers at 17:00 hours with the main show at 22:00 hours.

With more than 12 million albums sold worldwide and spurred by a trio of American number one mainstream singles, Sean Paul has already become the most successful Jamaican artiste of all time on the US charts, while simultaneously on a wider scale giving his homeland its highest global music profile since the heyday of the late great Bob Marley.

Known for his hits like “Get Busy”, “Like Glue”, “Gimme the Light”, “Baby Boy” and “I’m Still in Love with You” from his second album, Sean Paul has won many hearts of all age groups with his invigorating Jamaican dance moves by his mesmerising dancers.

With so many albums and videos to his credit, “Give It Up To Me” which features Keyshia Cole was also featured in the movie “Step Up” in 2006.

He was nominated for four awards at the 2006 Billboard Music Awards, including Male Artiste of the Year, Rap Artiste of the Year, Hot 100 Single of the Year, and Pop Single of the Year for his hit “Temperature”.

Early this year, Sean Paul featured on the single “What About Us” by British Girl Group, The Saturdays. The single went straight into the official UK charts at number one with over 100 000 sales in its first week.

Sean Paul has ultimately resulted in a string of critically acclaimed hit albums including 2002’s Grammy- winning, six-million-plus selling “Dutty Rock” which spawned the global smashes “Gimme the Light”, “Get Busy and Like Glue” in 2005’s “Platinum the Trinity” which featured both the Top 10 single “We Be Burning” and transatlantic chart-topper “Temperature”.

This includes 2009’s more Jamaica-centric Imperial Blaze and 2012’s Grammy-winning Tomahawk Technique. The last of which, in addition to providing Sean with two further international Top 10 singles, “Got 2 Love You” featuring US teen songstress Alexis Jordan and the latest hauntingly melodic “She Doesn’t Mind” also brought with it a striking image change, as his trademark braids were unexpectedly replaced with a striking hair cut commonly known as Mohawk.

Meanwhile, outside of Sean Paul’s solo stardom, he has over the years also enjoyed considerable international chart success as a featured artiste on recordings for numerous US R&B and hip-hop acts, ranging from chart-topping mainstream divas like Beyonce and Blu Cantrell to bona-fide rap icons like 50 Cent, Jay-Z and Busta Rhymes. — Times of Zambia.