"Light My Fire" is a song recorded by Jamaican singer

Sean Paul Sean Paul Ryan Francis Henriques OD (born 9 January 1973) is a Jamaican rapper and singer who is regarded as one of dancehall's most prolific artists. Paul's singles "Get Busy" and "Temperature" topped the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart in the ...

featuring guest vocals from American singer

Gwen Stefani Gwen Renée Stefani (; born October 3, 1969) is an American singer, songwriter, fashion designer and actress. She is a co-founder, lead vocalist, and the primary songwriter of the band No Doubt, whose singles include "Just a Girl", "Spiderwebs ...

and Jamaican dancehall artist Shenseea. He wrote "Light My Fire" with Shenseea, Saul Alexander "AC" Castillo Vasquez, Gamal Kosh Lewis, Allan Peter Grigg, Rosina Russell, and

Emily Warren Emily Warren Schwartz (born August 25, 1992) is an American singer and songwriter signed to the label Prescription Songs. She is best known for the songs she has written for several high-profile pop artists, including Backstreet Boys, The Chai ...

. It was produced by Grigg, AC, and Paul's brother Jason Jigzag Henriques. In interviews, Paul revealed the collaboration was a result of his admiration of both Stefani and Shenseea. It was digitally released as a single by

Island Records Island Records is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded in 1959 by Chris Blackwell, Graeme Goodall, and Leslie Kong in Jamaica, and was eventually sold to PolyGram in 1989. Island and A&M Records, anoth ...

on 25 May 2022 in support of Paul's eighth studio album, '' Scorcha'' (2022). "Light My Fire" is a reggae-heavy track that incorporates the individual musical styles of all three artists. Critically, it was regarded as a highlight collaboration on ''Scorcha''. Several reviewers also noted the trio's chemistry on the track. The accompanying music video to "Light My Fire" was released on 13 July 2022, and directed by Quinn Wilson. It features the three artists hosting a house party featuring dancing, singing, and cooking. Stefani's Jamaican-inspired outfit proved controversial, with some critics accusing her of

cultural appropriation Cultural appropriation is the inappropriate or unacknowledged adoption of an element or elements of one culture or identity by members of another culture or identity. This can be controversial when members of a dominant culture appropriate from ...

. Paul and Savannah Baker, the video's stylist, came to Stefani's defense.

Background and release

In January 2021,

announced that he would be releasing two separate studio albums that year, entitled '' Live N Livin'' and ''Scorcher''. While the former album was released in 2021, the release of '' Scorcha'', which became retitled, was delayed until 2022. Ahead of announcing its release date, Paul unveiled the dates to his supporting Scorcha Tour in early March 2022. The first news of Paul collaborating with American singer

and Jamaican dancehall artist Shenseea came later that month, along with the official release date for ''Scorcha''. According to Paul, he had long admired Stefani's career and working on "Light My Fire" collaboratively was a "dream come true" for him. She had incorporated reggae and

dancehall Dancehall is a genre of Jamaican popular music that originated in the late 1970s. Initially, dancehall was a more sparse version of reggae than the roots style, which had dominated much of the 1970s.Barrow, Steve & Dalton, Peter (2004) "The Rou ...

music into her earlier career, and worked with artists such as

Marion Hall Marion Hall (born 12 July 1969; formerly known by the stage name Lady Saw) is a Jamaican singer and songwriter whose career has spanned over two decades. Formerly known as the Queen of Dancehall, she is the first female deejay to be certified ...

and Damian Marley. "Light My Fire" was written by Paul, Shenseea, Saul Alexander "AC" Castillo Vasquez, Gamal Kosh Lewis, Allan Peter Grigg, Rosina Russell, and

, and it was produced by AC, Grigg, and Paul's brother, Jason Jigzag Henriques. "Light My Fire" was released for digital download and

streaming Streaming media is multimedia that is delivered and consumed in a continuous manner from a source, with little or no intermediate storage in network elements. ''Streaming'' refers to the delivery method of content, rather than the content it ...

through

on 25 May 2022, two days prior to the release of its parent album. Before the release of its accompanying music video, a tropical-inspired lyric video for "Light My Fire" was released onto Paul's YouTube account on 22 June 2022.

Composition and lyrics

"Light My Fire" is a reggae track. According to its sheet music, "Light My Fire" is set in the time signature of common time, and has a slower tempo of 90 beats per minute. The song is composed in the

key Key or The Key may refer to: Common meanings * Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm * Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock * Key (map ...

of E♭ and begins with a short intro from Paul, followed by Stefani performing the chorus; each refrain is followed by alternating verses by Paul and then Shenseea. Marc Griffin from '' Vibe'' found Paul to be performing with his "signature sing-songy delivery", specifically on the lines "A mi seh, baby mi seh, don't you worry, don't worry your brain / Don't you fret, just listen, I'm sayin' / Serious, mi serious, sun look inna mi face" and "I'm tryna take you back to my place / Slow whine, baby, just stick to my pace / Rock steady, girl, to di rhythm and bass".

Critical reception

Nicholas Nam from ''Dancehall Magazine'' called "Light My Fire" a "charming clam" amidst the album's other songs, and felt that the "contrasting styles of the three singers ctuallyblend together seamlessly". Bryson Paul, writing for '' The Source'', said that with Paul's use of "the unexpected vocals" from both Stefani and Shenseea, "Light My Fire" served as "a testament to Paul’s supreme ability to produce global hits". Regarding Stefani's addition, Ali Shutler from '' The Daily Telegraph'' felt she brought "grit and ambition" to the song; Shutler also wrote that the "fire" songs on ''Scorcha'' are the ones where Paul brings on global artists. However, '' NME''s Kyann-Sian Williams thought Stefani's vocal performance on "Light My Fire" was inferior to her older "reggae-fusion" songs, such as No Doubt's " Underneath It All" (2001).

Music video

The official video for "Light My Fire" premiered digitally on Wednesday, 13 July 2022. The video itself was directed by Quinn Wilson, according to its press release, and depicts a group of partygoers and utilizes an orange hue filter. Paul described the synopsis: " e'rebasically getting ready to party and some lovers rocking. It's a vibe we hope everyone gets ..feel good and party lovers-rock style". It opens with a shot of Stefani through a fish tank, with a group of women dancing and cooking around her. Paul appears in a bathroom performing the first verse, flirting with a woman in a bathtub. Shenseea appears last, on the dance floor, where Stefani and Paul later meet up with her to join in. ''Dancehall Magazine''s Brianna Vernon wrote that Stefani and Shenseea serve as the party's "

rocksteady Rocksteady is a music genre that originated in Jamaica around 1966. A successor of ska and a precursor to reggae, rocksteady was the dominant style of music in Jamaica for nearly two years, performed by many of the artists who helped establish ...

boss" and "dancehall diva", respectively. Stefani is adorned in a "Jamaican-inspired outfit", according to ''Rolling Stone''s Tomás Mier, who felt it complimented the Caribbean vibe from Shenseea. Alongside the YouTube release of the music video, it was made available for download via Apple Music on 13 July 2022.References regarding the release of the music video for "Light My Fire" by Sean Paul featuring Gwen Stefani and Shenseea on Apple Music: * * * * * Some Twitter users commented negatively about Stefani's dreadlocks hairstyle and

Jamaican flag The flag of Jamaica was adopted on 6 August 1962 (Jamaican Independence Day), the country having gained independence from the British-protected Federation of the West Indies. The flag consists of a gold saltire, which divides the flag into fo ...

-inspired outfit, and accused her of exhibiting

. Some fans defended Stefani's appearance, and Paul commented: "From her No Doubt days, she was coming

o Jamaica O, or o, is the fifteenth letter and the fourth vowel letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''o'' (pronounced ), plu ...

to record. So, it impressed me that she wants to come to Jamaica. A lot of people do Reggae, a lot of people do Dancehall-oriented tracks, but they never come. She comes to Jamaica." Savannah Baker, a Jamaican stylist and the designer for the "Light My Fire" music video, also responded to the criticism:

I spoke with various Jamaicans before 'can she have some Jamaican colors in?' and we all said 'Jamaica loves her and she always represented it from the get go.' ..And I think cultural appropriation is good to be aware of but also goes too far and people get obsessed with it and make a deal out of everything but it's not locs. It's fishtail braids. Her hairstylist has worked with her for many years. We discussed it; she felt comfortable doing it. And er hairstylistis Jamaican. It's not like she is a white hairstylist doing it.

Track listing

Release history

References

External links

* {{Authority control 2022 singles 2022 songs Gwen Stefani songs Island Records singles Male–female vocal duets Sean Paul songs Song recordings produced by Kool Kojak Songs written by Emily Warren Songs written by LunchMoney Lewis Songs written by Kool Kojak Songs written by Sean Paul