8. Sean Paul, Dutty Rock (2002)
After establishing himself with “Hot Gal Today” and 2000’s Stage One, the formerly baldheaded Sean Paul returned in ’02 with some lady-pleasing corn rows and a global outlook that was timed perfectly to buss dancehall to its greatest commercial heights. He promptly took over dancehall clubs (at least outside of Jamaica, where many were still resistant to this uptown kid with the Super Cat flow) and pop charts with hit after hit, touching on every point in the dancehall playbook from the weed anthem (“Gimme the Light”) to the dancers callout (“Get Busy”) to the gals dem (“Like Glue”) to the foundation re-lick (“I’m Still in Love”). But above all SP made Dutty Rock feel like an event itself, rounding things out with entertaining interludes that added to the vibe, instead of taking away.