Jamaica's dancehall reggae is becoming the sound of the summer on the mainstream charts of the U.S. and Europe. In an interview with TIME Magazine's MICHAEL BRUNTON, dancehall singer Sean Paul, whose album Dutty Rock went double-platinum last week, talks about the roots of his music.

What's the relevance to you of the old-school reggae giants such as Lee Perry, King Tubby or Bob Marley? It was the sound I grew up with, but what I knew were the artists: Bob Marley, Peter Tosh ... It was something that I could sing along to. But I didn't know what they meant and I didn't understand the beauty of it until I was like 15, 17 years-old. That's when I started understanding the situation and remembering what it was like when I was a kid — how political things were in Jamaica. Then I started to learn about the producers — King Tubby, Lee Scratch Perry, and so on — that they were the people behind the music, owned the studios and influenced the music in that direction. I just got some Bob Marley tapes recently — the ones that Scratch Perry had produced in the very early days. Scratch is definitely an inspiration for me at this point.

There are some familiar old reggae names on the production credits of your Dutty Rock album. Yeah. Sly& Robbie, Steely & Cleevie — these guys have produced dancehall AND reggae. They've played with the best musicians in the world, like Bob Marley, and they're still producing the big dancehall hits now. You see their names and you know where that music is coming from. Names like Sly & Robbie or Steely & Cleevie.

So why is dancehall is so hot right now? I think Jamaican music reflects the society a lot; it's been more of a cultural statement in terms of what the kids say and what people think — instead of people's ideals, now it's what's really happening in society. Even though reggae has been a protest music and a militant thing, it could be understood by a lot more foreigners. When dancehall started, it was a lot more patois that we used, a lot more of the street slang.

Was the collision with hip-hop a natural thing? I think so. Kool Herc was a Jamaican kid. He's been credited as one of the people who started the hip-hop movement. He went to the Bronx [in 1971] with a big sound system and wanted to string this up in the street and have a Jamaican kind of dance which translated into a whole hip-hop scene. The Jamaican influence was there from the beginning. KRS-1 was also someone who always used to fuse the music, using melodies or a bassline from a Jamaican song. He used certain catchprase words that only Jamaicans would use to make his songs fresher, a little more different. People like Busta and Biggy, Special Ed, Heavy D, Shinehead were born in Jamaica or had their roots in Jamaica and they were big in the hip-hop game too. It 's very natural for it to happen.

Is it still reggae music though? Yeah definitely, By the time I was 13 and dancehall was the biggest thing, people were having a debate in Jamaica on whether dancehall could be considered reggae or not; it sounded different from reggae. My answer is that Jamaican musical expression has changed so much over the years that it had to be called different names at different times, but it's the same thing. Back in the 50s or even before, you had music called Mento, this changed into Ska which changed into Rocksteady which changed into reggae When dancehall came around, people called it Ragga, people called it rockers but the name dancehall really stuck because that's where you go to really experience this music. It really wasn't played on the radio stations and there were no videos or anything at the time.

So what's the common thread that runs through all that music? The mood of Jamaica. The dancing is a vibrant scene there; ever year there's at least four or five new dances. If you're into the music, you do these dances — or at least you try to do them. It's all the culture of Jamaica.

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What effect is your breakthrough and that of other Jamaican artists having on dancehall? It has definitely given us much bigger audience. Shabba Ranks, Super Cat, Beenie Man, Bounty Killer ... all these people have had their fair share of success. Everyone is happy for each other when they see Beenie Man on TV, because they know that one day they might be able to be on there. In the meantime they have a following of dancehall people in Brixton, people in Brooklyn, people in Washington, Atlanta, Miami. And when one of us goes international and breaks through and goes to people in like, Idaho, it helps the rest of the industry to thrive. Hip-hop is in need right now of an edge and they turn to dancehall which is to me the next heavy type of urban music out there.

So where is dancehall's sound headed next? There's going to be a lot more dancehall-oriented music this summer. Wayne Wonder is up there in the running. Beenie Man is a big artist that people still watch for. Yeah the summer is bound to be hot

You and other dancehall artists have done well out of the Diwali rhythm. What's the next hot one? Diwali was produced by 'Lenky' [Stephen Marsden]. He has another riddim out there called Masterpiece which is really causing waves in Jamaica right now. And I am definitely on that riddim — that will definitely be on the new album. And I'm look forward to a couple of new ones called Time Travel and Egyptian which has a flute and a mid-eastern vibe going through it.

• Sean Paul says he's just reflecting society