Sean Paul Livened up The Lehman Center in the Bronx

By Brittany Somerset, Intrepid Repoter

NEW YORK – Multi-platinum-selling, Grammy-winning, dancehall reggae artist, Sean Paul Henriques, his brother, Jason “Jigzagula” Henriques, and back up singer / hype man, Farenheit, livened up the Lehman Center for the Performing Arts, at Lehman College, 250 Bedford Park Boulevard West, in the Boogie Down Bronx, on Saturday, November 8th, 2008.

Even though this particular venue featured theatre seating, once Sean Paul took the stage, everyone jumped up out of their seats and rushed towards the stage, to be as close to the superstar as possible.

The Lehman Center was filled with people of all ages and ethnicities. Children as young as 6 years old attended this show with their parents and grandparents, proving that Sean Paul has massive, universal appeal and can’t be pigeonholed into a specific demographic.

Despite the Jamaican national motto, “Out of Many, One People,” Sean Paul has drawn criticism in the past by certain detractors who feel his multicultural background (Jamaican, Indian, Portuguese, etc), rather than his megawatt talent, is the reason for his mass appeal. Like Obama, Sean Paul belongs to everyone, and everyone relates to Sean Paul.

Sean Paul performed a slew of songs from his catalogue of hits such as “Like Glue,” from the 2003 album Dutty Rock, and “We Be Burnin” from his 2005 album Trinity. He also performed “Break It Off” (which features Rihanna). He closed with “Temperature,” and opted not to perform an encore.