It’s been almost two decades since Sean Paul’s Temperature was released and he’s just revealed the real meaning behind his nickname ‘Sean da Paul’.
The rapper did a mini-documentary with Vice this month in which he spoke about the track that made him dancehall’s most renowned artist, Get Busy.
They met him in Kingston to talk all things hip-hop slang and music, and the 22-minute clip is definitely worth a watch – but the end is the most shocking.
After the credits, the star blew fans’ minds by revealing the inspiration behind his famous name Sean de Paul, which isn’t just a nickname.
The real meaning behind ‘Sean da Paul’
After the video finished, one of the producers in the background asked the singer how he got his famous nickname Sean da Paul.
“There was this famous cricketer in Trinidad, Shivnarine Chanderpaul,” he said. “Everybody was like ‘Sean da Paul’ and yo that name stuck.”
“Then I just started to say it on intros and I met the dude Chanderpaul years later and was like ‘Yo’. But yeah big up to Shivnarine Chanderpaul.”
So, the famous line is actually a play on words between his own name Sean Paul and the cricketer Chanderpaul – not just a funny alias.
Fans can’t believe it
Fans have been taking to Twitter to react to the revelation, and it’s safe to say everyone is in complete shock.
One person wrote: “No damn way. No damn way did Sean Paul’s ‘SeanDaPaul’ tag come from Shivnarine Chanderpaul.”
“Sean Paul actually saying Chanderpaul in his songs is the right amount of chaos that I needed this morning,” tweeted another.
A third person added: “Turns out that Sean Paul doesn’t actually say Sean da Paul in any of his songs and he actually says Chanderpaul in tribute to West Indies cricket legend Shivnarine Chanderpaul.”
Lots of people have been replacing the rapper’s name with the cricketer’s for years as a joke and can’t believe that’s actually where it comes from.
“Guys I been saying this all my life as a joke and it turns out it’s true, he’s not saying ‘Sean da Paul’, he’s saying ‘Chanderpaul’,” one Twitter user said.
Another hilariously wrote: “Unreal. Been replacing ‘Sean da Paul’ with Chanderpaul for years.”
Who is Shivnarine Chanderpaul?
Shivnarine Chanderpaul, better known as Shiv, is a Guyanese cricket coach and former captain of the West Indies cricket team.
The 48-year-old is widely considered one of the greatest batsmen of his era and captained West Indies in 14 Tests and 16 One Day Internationals.
After being dropped from the West Indies squad in 2015 and retiring in 2016, he is now head coach of the USA senior women’s and USA Under-19 women’s teams.
He was recently inducted into the International Cricket Council (ICC) Hall of Fame in November 2022 for his achievements.
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