Local musician Paul 'Computer Paul' Henton was recently awarded a double platinum plaque for his work on Akon's Mama Africa - from the singer's 2007 album Konvicted.

The track is an 'earthy', reggae-infused ballad that pays homage to and offers social commentary about the motherland.

"A lot of people don't even know that Jamaicans are behind many of these songs," said the keyboardist during a telephone interview with this newspaper. Though this is his first platinum award, the musician and master mixer previously received gold for Shabba Ranks As Raw As Ever and Jimmy Cliff's I Can See Clearly Now - featured in the movie Cool Runnings.

The award is issued by the Recording Industry Association of America. Here, Henton smiles along with Canadian singer /friend Tanya Mullings, who was on hand to congratulate him.

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