AMG Review of Imperial Blaze

Tim Sendra
All Music Guide

More aligned with the pop-tinged sounds of Dutty Rock than the swaggering, beat-heavy Trinity, Sean Paul's fourth album is a fun mix of dancehall, hip-hop, and contemporary pop. There is still plenty of swagger here, but there's less drive to be hard and more focus on having a good time. Cycling through good-natured dancehall-meets-hip-hop jams like "Lace It" and "She Wanna Be Down," lilting and romantic tracks like "Now That I've Got Your Love" and "Daddy's Home," and a batch of songs that sound like perfect floor-fillers at a late-summer dance party ("Press It Up," "Don't Tease Me," "Evening Ride"), there is precious little posturing or false bravado on Imperial Blaze, making it one of Sean Paul's best to date.