“When I arrived the night before the video shoot, I was informed that I wouldn’t be in any scenes with her, which was quite different from what I had envisioned for the video. I had anticipated some acting between us. Did you know that Jay-Z reportedly undermined a few of Sean Paul’s performances to convey clear boundaries? There were rumors circulating that Sean was romantically involved with Beyoncé, and this was following their separate filming of the ‘Baby Boy’ music video.
Sean Paul himself discussed why he stopped performing ‘Baby Boy’ with Beyoncé and addressed whether there was any truth to the speculation about their relationship. In an interview with the Daily Beast, Sean Paul shared some of his favorite collaborations, first mentioning his work with Busta Rhymes, whom he admired. According to Sean Paul, collaborating on two songs (‘Give Me the Light’ and ‘Make It Clap’) with Busta Rhymes felt like a significant musical achievement.
He also highlighted Rihanna as another favorite collaborator, recalling how she expressed interest in visiting Jamaica when they met on tour. This connection was meaningful to Sean Paul, and it’s why he ranks the collaboration with Rihanna highly.
When asked about working with Beyoncé, Sean Paul explained that while they didn’t spend much time together, he always admired her music and beauty. When Beyoncé approached him for a single, he eagerly accepted, thinking it would be an R&B track but was pleasantly surprised to find it was dancehall. Despite the song’s success, Sean Paul expressed disappointment that he only performed it with Beyoncé three times, which bothered him.”
During discussions about the dynamics, he recounted a scenario where he said, “I had some people working with me for years, and they were like, ‘Boss, I’m now a fan of yours.’ I was surprised because we had only done three performances, one of which was at Sunfest. This was back in 2003 when we were both part of the ‘Rock the Mike’ tour. Beyoncé wasn’t on tour every day, but she would join on certain dates to perform ‘Crazy In Love’ with Jay-Z.
I’m not sure who witnessed what during that initial performance, but Sean mentioned that during their second scheduled performance together, things got weird and there was obvious sabotage. Sean was in LA for his show while Beyoncé was performing, and they told him to stay because they were going to do ‘Baby Boy’ together. He rushed out there, the crowd went wild, but then he felt like he lost their energy, which was odd because he was giving it his all.
After the song ended, he went backstage, and his band was upset, saying, ‘That was messed up, did you hear yourself? We couldn’t hear you in the crowd; your mic was off.’ Basically, someone had sabotaged Sean’s performance by turning off his mic. At the time, Sean brushed it off as a glitch, but when it happened again, he knew it was deliberate.
They had another performance with Beyoncé in Scotland for an MTV event. They rehearsed everything smoothly, and during the performance, Sean was supposed to rise up from under the stage, and they would both walk to a central platform surrounded by fire. Everything was going according to plan until Sean’s part in the song when he was supposed to sing, ‘You’re a top top girl,’ but instead, the track kept repeating ‘Baby Boy, you stay, Baby Boy, you say.’ That moment confirmed to him that someone was indeed trying to sabotage him.
It seems that after this performance, Beyoncé approached Sean to discuss the dating rumors because they were affecting her career. Sean’s response was straightforward: he mentioned that he had known Jay-Z before Beyoncé and that any concerns should be addressed directly between them. Consequently, Beyoncé’s team clarified that they would no longer collaborate with Sean.
There was another performance scheduled at the VMAs where Beyoncé informed Sean about a rehearsal, but Sean discovered during a press event that ‘Baby Boy’ was being rehearsed without him. As a result, the label informed him that they would not proceed with the song. This situation was not only awkward but also embarrassing for Sean, especially as he had to watch Beyoncé perform the song solo while facing questions from his now-wife and other celebrities.
Feeling targeted by sabotage, Sean decided to step away, considering Jay-Z’s reluctance to forgive past issues, as seen in previous incidents involving other artists like Carrie Hilson and Foxy Brown. Additionally, there were allegations that Jay-Z attempted to undermine Rihanna’s career due to perceived competition with Beyoncé, even allegedly leaking albums to boost Beyoncé’s projects.
These series of events highlight tensions and power dynamics within the music industry, with suggestions of control and competition among artists and their relationships, particularly concerning Beyoncé and her connections with other male performers.
It appears that Jay-Z accused Beyoncé of having an affair with Shawn Paul and demanded she cut off contact with him. Beyoncé reportedly reassured Jay-Z that nothing was going on, but he didn’t believe her.
He became controlling and possessive, hiring private investigators to follow Beyoncé and Shawn Paul. Does this behavior sound typical of Jay-Z? I also suspected Jay-Z might have sabotaged their collaboration. Bun B mentioned a time when Jay-Z ordered all men out of the room because Beyoncé was dressed provocatively.
Bun B recounted, “They immediately kicked us out to our dressing rooms and told us to stay there until it was time to shoot. We couldn’t watch Beyoncé dance anymore.” Beyoncé later apologized to Bun B, explaining that Jay-Z wasn’t comfortable.
It’s incredibly insecure and sad that Shawn Paul and Beyoncé didn’t perform together as they should have. What do you think of Jay-Z potentially sabotaging their collaboration and setting boundaries behind the scenes? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
