EP Review: “Mad Love The Prequel” by Sean Paul

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So, I have to say this firstly, I am a big fan of Sean Paul! In my teenage years, I would just listen to his music if I was wanting to dance, like no joke! I am still that way, but my hips ache and pop more frequently than before.

I am very excited to talk about this EP finally! I am very proud of myself, I actually stayed away from listening to it. I like to express what I’ve heard for the first time because I think when I listen to it multiple times before reviewing it, my general thoughts will change with each play. However, when it comes to dancehall or EDM music in general, my thoughts rarely change – I usually like it or I don’t. That’s just how I roll sometimes.

So, we’re going to get into this right now and hopefully you like it.

We start off with “Naked Truth” that has Jhene Aiko, and it’s very light, definitely not exactly what I was expecting. I usually prefer heavier songs to begin an album or in this case EP, but I like the balance between Sean and Jhene’s dynamic vocals. What I thought was interesting though was since Sean is originally based in Jamaica, why does this sounds more bollywood to me, especially the drum beats. I’m not saying I didn’t like it or anything, it was just the first thing that popped into my head. Second is “Bad Love” with Ellie Goulding, and I really miss Ellie! This is also a mild song too, but it still has a nice groove. It’s not overwhelming and works really well with Ellie’s soft voice. I had a hard time not dancing to this, so we’ll say it’s a winner!

Next we have “Mad Love” and it features both David Guetta and Becky G. After hearing the two quieter tracks, you have this sucker and I love it to pieces! This is another one that I love dancing to, both day and night. I really like the exotic feel, such a party anthem and Becky G’s vocals are fun and kind of seductive in a way. The only song that doesn’t have a guest artist on board is “Jump On It” and I’m very happy that there is at least one with just Sean, although I would have liked to have more but since this is an EP, maybe if he releases an album later on, I’m sure there will be more like this. Anywho, the song itself is pretty mellow, the beat isn’t crazy but I like it as it was though. It was sexy too!

From the moment I saw that Major Lazer would be on this “Tip Pon It”, I was instantly like, “well, this is going to be awesome” and it definitely didn’t disappoint! It was so much fun and I couldn’t stop dancing when the bass dropped. Although it wasn’t a big drop, the sound itself changed and got bigger and I think that’s why I ultimately ended falling in love with it! Next there’s “Jet Plane Trip” with an artist that I had only heard once and it was a couple of months ago, Stefflon Don. This is actually kind of calming, if that’s the right word to use, it had a nice rhythm but it has more of a slow dance vibe. It was good though!

These are the last three songs on the EP, and we have “Body” featuring Migos. One of the reasons why I really liked this was because it mixed both dancehall and hip hop together. I love that combination, and I actually liked Migos on the track. I’ve always been so-so about them, and I don’t know why so don’t bother asking me that question. Next there’s “Tek Weh Yuh Heart” with Tory Lanez. This is another good one! I thought at first I’d be a little bored with it, but it’s actually pretty great! I think Tory was a good addition to it, his voice is soft and goes with the beat well. The last song is “No Lie” with Dua Lipa, and I have heard this one other time before starting this review and I don’t think I liked it very much. I am turning into a fan of Dua Lipa, but I am also very picky with her songs. This has a great beat and it’s fun. It’s the ideal, light end of summer type of song to me.

I think in general the EP was very good. It had a lot of interesting artists on it, each brought their own sound with them. One thing that I always tend to have issues with is that whenever Sean Paul works with other artists, they seem to be more prominent in the actual song and he just kind of fades into the back, so it’s just the singers and the happy, dance-y beat. That’s why I ended up track #4 a lot more than some of the others.

Have you listened to Sean Paul’s new EP yet? What were some of your favorites and thoughts?

snowflake