The album was originally scheduled to be released in the summer of 2007 under the name The Next Thing, but was then pushed to November 2008. Sean Paul told MTV that he wants to be less focused on party songs such as Get Busy, We Be Burnin', and Temperature. He said he wants his songs to focus on youth violence in Jamaica, however, the resulting album contained mainly up-tempo party songs. He subsequently released a mixtape which focused on the youth violence in Jamaica. The album's title means "Kings Fire". Sean Paul commented on the title saying, In an interview with DJ Swerve, Sean Paul confirmed that he did 60 tracks for the album, with 19 tracks making the final cut. On 10 July, a song from the album, "Press It Up", was premiered on Sean Paul's official website. A video was filmed for "Press It Up," which was directed by Jessy Terrero
The album was put on pre-order on 17 July 2009. Those who pre-ordered will receive two digital track downloads to songs titled "She Wanna Be Down" and "Get With It Girl". On the German iTunes Store "Imperial Blaze" was released on 14 August 2009. Sean Paul expressed delight regarding the progress of the album on the international stage. "It's a good feeling and I'm happy - very happy that people like the music, and that they've been going out and getting the album," he said. "Number 1 in Japan is a big achievement for me. I'm especially proud of that, because outside of Jamaica, Japanese people are really the biggest consumers of dancehall music," he said. Imperial Blaze was certified gold in France, debuting at #8 in that country, #7 in the United Arab Emirates, #5 in Canada, #4 in Switzerland, #15 in Belgium, #17 in Austria, and #17 in Germany. It was also the first ever Jamaican album to debut atop the Billboard Rap Charts. The wholly Jamaican produced project debuted atop the Billboard Reggae Charts, #3 on the Hip Hop/R&B Album charts, #12 on the Billboard 200, #9 on the Digital Albums, and #20 on the European Albums chart. As of January 2012, the album has sold 101,000 copies in United States.
The second official single is "Press It Up". It was released on 4 August 2009. The music video was released on 9 September 2009.
The third single is "Hold My Hand" which features Keri Hilson. It was sent to U.S. radio on 29 September 2009.
Reception
Initial critical response to Imperial Blaze was average. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has received an average score of 44, based on seven reviews. The album was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Reggae Album .
Track listing
Sean Paul Henriques co-wrote all of the songs on the album; additional writers are listed below.
