He might be fat, but he still kicks ass

July 22, 2007

With the constant influx of crap that we are exposed to on the television, the radio and in the movies, it’s easy to be predisposed against almost anything that you hear or watch.

For example, if anything is played on 102.7 KIIS FM, I generally disregard any of its artistic and musical qualities and immediately label it as crap. It’s a pretty snobby and pretentious thing to do, but most of the time it’s warranted.

So naturally, after hearing Sean Kingston’s “Beautiful Girls” for the first few times, I thought nothing of it.

A sample of “Stand by me?” Give me a break.

“You’ll have me suicidal.” Bullshit. Man up and be true to your lyric.

After a while, though, something happened. Unlike most shitty pop and other junk that masquerades itself as music, his infectious Rastafarian voice started to grow on me. After his latest single, “Me Love,” I knew that I had found my newest guilty pleasure: Sean Kingston.

His music is just so full of energy, vibrance and--well, fun. There isn’t a single ounce of inhibition or reservation. For some reason, I get an almost transcendent vibe (I am not being sarcastic, I swear to God) from him in the pure energy and joy that he brings. I get the feeling that there’s something inherently good about him as a human being--that might sound ridiculous, but it's something that just know after hearing one of his songs (I later read that he refuses to cuss in his music, which is respectable). A testament to this, both of singles are written about supposedly sad things, yet you can’t help put a smile on your face when his nasal voice hits the airwaves. He’s just being himself, having a good time and doing what he truly loves: making music. And as crazy as it may sound, people like that are often hard to find in any form of entertainment today.

Sure, his lyrics aren’t on the level of The Beatles or Pink Floyd, but he’s 17 freakin’ years old. I think some of the sillier lyrics give even more credence to him, if anything: there’s almost a certain charm to them. And he'll obviously mature as a human being and an artist as time goes on.

His producer, J.R. Rotem deserves a huge amount of the credit, too. Kingston’s album is coming out on July 31st, and it’ll be the first album I’ve bought in almost a year. I haven’t been this pumped about a musical artist in a long time--I’m not quite sure why, but it’s kinda cool.

"As an artist, my whole goal is to make powerful and classic music," Sean divulges. "I want everyone to feel me and understand where I'm from and that's what this album will do. The music is all about the authentic Sean Kingston vibe."

RESPEK