VP Records’ Pat Chin Hails Sean Paul As Their Biggest Success
From Shaggy to Spragga Benz, VP Records has honed Dancehall’s most distinct voices, but none whose staying power or commercial appeal rivals Sean Paul.
That’s according to the iconic label’s co-founder, Patricia ‘Miss Pat’ Chin, the 83 years young Kingstonian who’s spent a lifetime at the helm of Jamaica’s music industry. Chin was promoting her new book, Miss Pat – My Reggae Music Journey during a recent Breakfast Club interview. Interestingly, the Ever Blazin emcee also addressed his tenure at his first label back in March, during an interview with Donovan Watkis on World Music Views.
The topic remains a controversial one, and though Miss Pat proudly points to Sean Paul’s prolific run, the Temperature deejay later told Entertainment Report journalist Anthony Miller in April, that he feels that signing away his rights all those years ago amounted to a “stepping stone” for him.
Paul added that there’s no resentment on his part towards VP. Still, his comments were telling, especially in the context of the public Taylor Swift/Scooter Braun masters feud, and the wider conversation on music rights.
“I did sign that contract. I know what I was signing. And at that time there was no better option for me to get my work out there,” the No Lie deejay stated. “Yes, I feel I must own my music. I feel that that is a legacy that my kids will be able to benefit from..yuh just haffi just move with it and just try not to live in the past,” he said.
Over the years, a few Dancehall artists have complained about the business arrangements between themselves and VP Records. Mr. Lexx recently tweeted and deleted his dissatisfaction with VP owning ‘the publishing for 145 of his songs for the rest of his life.’ The Full Hundred deejay later said that he came to an agreement with which he was now more “comfortable” after meeting with VP CEO Chris Chin.
Meanwhile, Sean Paul’s near domination of the airwaves and charts in the early aughts is not lost on anyone, least of all Miss Pat.
“If you had to say who’s been the biggest success in terms of sales, crossover etc, do you think it’s Sean Paul?” Breakfast Club host Angela Yee asked the senior label head. “I think so, because at that time when Sean Paul came on the scene hip-hop was very big then, and I think they associate Sean Paul with hip-hop,” she replied.
She continued “He was signed to us but when he started to make the hits we coupled with Atlantic,” alluding to the decade-long joint deal that produced two platinum albums.
The Imperial Blaze deejay has had a huge impact globally with a launchpad of mainly hip-hop collabs. As early as 2002’s Dutty Rock, his 2nd project under VP’s imprint, Sean Paul was already linking up with the heavyweights in the game such as Busta Rhymes and The Neptunes. Follow-up standouts such as the Beyoncè’ feature Baby Boy predated his unbroken trail of infectious, genre-bending hits.
Sean Paul’s ties to the American urban scene run deep; even late rapper DMX claimed their ‘beef’ began after he was snubbed for the Gimme The Light Remix. It’s a phenomenon the VP co-founder says was years in the making, back when Sean Paul was idolizing crossover sensations like Super Cat and Shabba Ranks.
“When I came [in 1979] it was just all Bob Marley they knew and I thought they would associate Bob Marley with Sizzla and the other roots music but it didn’t take off as much,” Miss Pat stated. “It was artists that did dancehall — Yellowman, Buju Banton, Beenie Man — and so on that did well,” she said of the generational shift that paved the way for the rise of Dancehall.