Sean Paul to receive Entertainer’s Key to the City of New York

Grammy Award-winning dancehall star, Sean Paul, is all set to receive the Entertainer’s Key to New York City.

The world-renowned performer will accept the honour during a Rise Up NYC concert on Saturday, August 24, at Roy Wilkins Park in Queens.

He will be presented with the Entertainer’s Key for his musical contributions to the melting pot city. The key will be presented by New York Mayor Eric Adams as part of the Rise Up New York Concert series, which has 18 summertime events scattered throughout the five boroughs.

For Sean Paul, the honour will be another great NYC moment to add to his memory bank.

“I feel honoured to be able to do something that I love and to help take part in my culture and wear the flag in a big city like New York. I’m giving thanks,” the artiste born Sean Paul Henriques shared. “New York is a very important place for artistes, especially in dancehall. It’s the first city that I went to that I could do four shows in one night, with all the clubs full.”

Sean Paul acknowledged that New York is a Mecca, like a melting pot of many different cultures, and Caribbean culture, especially Jamaican reggae and dance, which is a huge part of that.

“It feels like people are understanding us in a big city, like that is a great feeling. So it feels like we’re connecting. That feels like we are bridging the gap between the cultures and The States,” he continued. “NYC is an iconic city and I feel iconic.”

Other awardees for the Rise Up New York concert series include Pattie Labelle, who will be presented with the award in Brooklyn; Keith Sweat, Harlem and Fat Joe, The Bronx.

Recently, Sean Paul was also recognised as one of two recipients of the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 14th staging of the Jamaica Poetry Festival on August 11. He was also highlighted as one of the 12 dancehall industry players, who supported Spice during her 25 years as an artiste in the genre at the launch of the proclaimed Queen of Dancehall’s Mirror 25 album.