Gimme The Light

Album: Dutty Rock (2002)
Charted: 5 7
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Songfacts®:

  • This song takes place in a club setting and deals with drinking, smoking marijuana, and having a good time with the ladies. When Sean Paul sings, "Pass the 'dro, bust another bottle of Moe," he's referring to hydroponically grown marijuana ("hydro") and Moët & Chandon champagne.
  • Busta Rhymes recorded a new version with Sean Paul known as the Pass The Dro-Voisier Remix. The title is an allusion to Busta's song "Pass The Courvoisier."
  • Sean Paul wrote the song in two hours based on his experiences clubbing in New York the previous week. Though it quickly started climbing the charts worldwide, Paul wasn't immediately pleased. "I was embarrassed at first," he told The Guardian. "I used to have songs with bridges, but this is just a quick hook and two verses that kept repeating. It felt so simple."

    When "Gimme the Light" became Paul's first international hit, it taught him a long-lasting lesson. "I was having fun in the booth when I wrote it and I realized people could feel that vibe when they heard it, they wanted to have the same party experience," he said. "I accepted that if this is me, then this is me. This is what I have to offer to the music game."
  • Miami-based Jamaican pair Troyton Rami and Roger Mackenzie produced the track. It was the debut hit production for the duo, known as Black Shadow. They created for it a new dancehall riddim called "The Buzz," which became the biggest dancehall riddim of 2002.
  • "Gimme The Light" was a big hit for Sean Paul at the end of 2002, but his next single was much bigger: "Get Busy," which went to #1 in America and several other countries. His phone started blowing up with offers for features, and he ended up on tracks with Beyoncé ("Baby Boy"), Blu Cantrell ("Breathe") and Santana ("Cry Baby Cry").

Comments: 1

  • Rigby from New Milford, CtJust Gimme The Light And Pass The Droooo...Song rocks when ur mixinem...
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