Sean Paul has released Scorcha, his eighth studio album, on Friday, May 27, 2022. The 16-track set arrives through Dutty Rock Productions and Island Records, with “Light My Fire,” featuring Gwen Stefani and Shenseea, as the focus track, according to the label announcement. He marks the release with a show at The Novo in Los Angeles tonight.
All 16 tracks are in the JamaicansMusic library: press Play all above to hear the album while you read, open the Scorcha album page, or jump to the track-by-track player below.
It has been a long build. Recording ran from 2019 to 2022 across Dutty Rock in Kingston, Paramount, Westlake and Mound Sound in Los Angeles, East Studio in Montreal, Don Corleon’s studio, Fénix in Miami and New York’s Hit Factory, Wikipedia notes. Five of the songs were already out — “Scorcha,” “Only Fanz” with Ty Dolla $ign, “Dynamite” with Sia, “How We Do It” with Pia Mia and “No Fear” with Damian Marley and Nicky Jam — and “Calling On Me,” his 2020 single with Tove Lo, is here too. Between them Sean Paul also released Live N Livin (2021), the dancehall-heavy set that earned his most recent Grammy nomination.
Who is on it
The guest list reads like a pop-radio playlist: Sia, Gwen Stefani, Tove Lo, Ty Dolla $ign, Pia Mia, Nicky Jam — alongside Jamaica’s Shenseea, Jada Kingdom on “Bouncing,” UK dancehall voice Stylo G on “Pon Di Reel” and Damian Marley on the closer. Production is spread across Jigzagula, Banx & Ranx, Di Genius, Supa Dups, Jordon Manswell, Tainy, TJ Records, Greg Kurstin and others. The label points to “Borrowed Time” and “Good Day” as the personal songs, exploring infidelity, stress and fear. Early notices quoted in the announcement: “He hasn’t lost his touch when it comes to crafting catchy club-fillers” (Billboard); “cool, tuneful rhymes over sharp dancehall reggae beats” (The New York Times).
Tracklist
Each title links to the song page in our library, where you can play it, queue it and find the official upload.
- As We Enter
- Wine Up
- Scorcha (Hot Peppa Mix)
- Only Fanz (feat. Ty Dolla $ign)
- Earthquake
- How We Do It (feat. Pia Mia)
- Bouncing (feat. Jada Kingdom)
- Dynamite (feat. Sia)
- Light My Fire (feat. Gwen Stefani & Shenseea)
- Calling On Me (with Tove Lo)
- Good Day
- Borrowed Time
- Pon Di Reel (feat. Stylo G)
- Back It Up Deh (Remix)
- Bend You Back (6:30 Mix)
- No Fear (feat. Damian Marley & Nicky Jam)
On the road
After tonight’s Los Angeles show Sean Paul heads to the UK, Europe and Canada for the summer, then joins Pitbull’s “Can’t Stop Us Now” tour in the autumn.
Editor’s note: Scorcha went on to debut at No. 6 on Billboard’s Reggae Albums chart and, in November, was nominated for Best Reggae Album at the 65th Grammy Awards alongside Kabaka Pyramid’s The Kalling, Koffee’s Gifted, Protoje’s Third Time’s the Charm and Shaggy’s Com Fly Wid Mi (Recording Academy). JaRIA named it Dancehall Album of the Year in April 2023.
Listen and dig deeper
- Play the full album on the Scorcha album page. Nine tracks come from Sean Paul’s official channel and SeanPaulVEVO (music videos and visualisers, with the album mixes attached as alternates where they exist); the seven album cuts that have no official-channel upload — “As We Enter,” “Wine Up,” “Earthquake,” “Bouncing,” “Good Day,” “Borrowed Time” and “Pon Di Reel” — use the label-provided audio from YouTube’s auto-generated Sean Paul – Topic release.
- Browse the Sean Paul artist profile, including Dutty Rock and Tomahawk Technique in the library.
- From our archive: Sean Paul returns to Sumfest after a 10-year absence (2014) and Full Frequency (2014).
Sources: Universal Music Canada — “Sean Paul Returns With Red Hot New Album Scorcha — Out Today” (May 27, 2022); Wikipedia — Scorcha (tracklist, producers, studios); Recording Academy — Best Reggae Album, 65th Grammy Awards. The press release lists track 15 as “Bend Your Back”; the album credits it as “Bend You Back (6:30 Mix).”
Editor’s note: This story is part of an archive backfill covering Jamaican music news from 2022 to 2026. It is dated to the events it reports.