music, he strikes you as an old soul that's been here
before. This might have something to do with the way
he pours his heart out onto his first single "Beautiful
Girls," how he hustled to establish himself as an artist,
his wisdom, confidence and of course that subtle hood
swagger. Or maybe Sean is just simply a unique product
of a generation that's fortunate to help themselves to
every genre of music feasible via the internet, ipods, and
other outlets. Whatever the case, there is no doubt that
at 17, Sean Kingston is a rare and multi-talented teen
artist that's bringing the music biz everything it wants.
Sean is a songwriter, a rapper and his reggae-chant is for
real. His voice is reminiscent of the 80's influx of soulful
English singers; the way in which his Jamaican accent is
interchangeable allows him to make Dancehall music but
then cross-over into the realms of R&B and Pop music.
"Beautiful Girls" is critically acclaimed and is steadily
dominating the airwaves and cell phone ringtones across
the country. It's a classic in the making. Produced by J.R.
Rotem, his debut album "Eyes Above Water" is the first
under J.R.'s new label Beluga Heights Records/Epic. With
guest appearances from artist such as The Game and
Miami Mayor Rick Ross, Sean Kingston is off to a fly start.
FLOSS got to talk to him.
entertain?
success?
hard because sometimes you get bum rushed by a lot of
people. But like I said, it's been fun and exciting to be a
young kid finally getting close to my dreams.
Jamaicans handling it?
music on it. What is your favorite genre?
But I also love Reggae, I really love Reggae. Because of
my mom and my dad, I'm born Jamaican, I've lived in
Jamaica that's why I love Reggae.
growing up in Jamaica, did you listen to all kinds of
music?
but I also listened to all kinds of music. But basically a
lot of Reggae, you know what I mean because that's the
culture there.
legendary producer Rick Ruby is your grandfather.
What was it like growing up around all that talent?
around family I learned a lot about the industry. You have
to know the different steps. You have to be humble, you
have to be focused, you have to know your craft 100%,
you have to treat everybody in the industry with respect
being around them.
was young, I would be in the studio with him and he would
play a lot of instruments.
to curse. I read that you prefer not to curse on your
music. Why?
young to curse that's for one, and I'm trying to make
good music for everybody, not just for all of my fans, I'm
trying to touch every single person. What if a pastor's
daughter wants to buy my CD, he's not going to let her
buy it because of the type of artist that he thinks I am.
Because he could say that I curse, that I call the girls bad
names and all that. But if he finds out that I don't curse in
my music and I'm bringing feel good music back and I'm
trying to hold it down, he'll let her buy my CD.
the track "Me Lady" they are very deep. Have you
ever been in love? What gives you the motivation to
write this kind of music?
to deep. I was with this girl in Miami, we were going on
two years and she dumped me; she went with my best
friend. It motivated to me to write the song.
Rick Ross?
to me. He called me his protégée. Rick Ross was cool
too; he's from Miami so it is what it is.
future?
your CD, you changed the meaning into
something positive. Tell me about that.
lifestyle record. It's a street record; I just
wanted to show everybody that I'm from
the streets too.
for Sean Kingston? I read that you
want to get onto acting. What kind of
roles do you want to play?
when I was younger. I would like to play
serious roles, no comedy. I just want to put out
just straight albums and hope everything goes well
with it; I just want to keep making good music.