"Smooth"That is one word which describes the Jamaican born and New York City raised reggae superstar Shaggy. As a multimillion-selling reggae/pop crossover artist, Shaggy has kept his musical style, beat driven and very sexual, yet smooth. And, Shaggy notes that his lyrics are never rude to the ladies and thus, he never comes across as crude. "I've always tried to stay away from in your face kinds of lyrics," Shaggy says during a recent interview. "I'm a big believer in writing about adult content without being explicit." According to Shaggy, all it takes is a little more effort whenever he's creating the lyrics to his songs. "That is a little more artistic to me,' he says. "That's my own taste and musical style as an artist. Because the lyrics are uniquely placed and you will get the, "message" without ever hearing the "darker" words so to speak." In the following interview, Shaggy (age 34), whose real name Orville Richard Burrell, talks about his new disc titled, "Lucky Day". The story behind the lyrics to his songs. And, answers the questions about if he really does live a life of spending big money, partying around the world with his "crew", wild times and talks about his favorite subject, women.
(Q)- Are many of the songs on the new disc "Lucky Day", based upon your own personal experiences?
Shaggy- Yes.
(Q)- It is a reflection of your own personal growth?
Shaggy- It is a reflection of personal growth. The difference with this album ("Lucky Day") and the "Hot Shot" album is that on this new album, my interest was to make the album that I've always wanted to make and this is it.
(Q)- The music on "Lucky Day" is diverse and inclusive. In addition to reggae sounds there are R&B and world beat along with smooth soul music, within the mix. Why have you chosen to make an album with global sounds?
Shaggy- I'm a thirty-four year old man. I am more serious now, I'm more into serious songs. I have to enjoy what I do, both in life and musically, especially on-stage. When I toured with the Backstreet Boys (USA Tour.), I realized watching them night after night, that they have to blow things up and have this big (on-stage) production. I'm more into the music. And, I realized that the last time I toured with the Backstreet Boys (USA tour.) I'm about the music man.
(Q)- There is a song titled, "Lost", that is lyrically, a plea from you, acting as a, "wise elder", or a, "father figure", to young teenage males. In the lyrics to the song you are asking them to not go into a life of crime. Why did you write the song, "Lost" in that way? Do you see yourself via song as a, "shining light", for others, who have yet to experience what you have, to follow?
Shaggy- My argument in the whole song is, I now find myself in a global position. In the sense that, I can't cater to one particular market.
(Q)- In what way is that the case? Shaggy- There's so much that goes on in the world. I mean there are people who cannot walk, people who cannot hold up a bottle to drink water. So, the biggest problem in the world to me is not if I can make Number One with my new album. There's other people in the world, with problems that are way deeper then mine and I think I'm extremely blessed. Now with this song, "Lost", I am addressing the subject in this way. I can understand a kid who has come from a bad family who lives in a bad neighborhood and he probably might take the wrong road in his life. But when you've got kids, who are from great families and have great neighborhoods and great schools and teachers, with great opportunities, who still mess up, to me that's just stupid. And what I am saying in "Lost" is ," How can you be this way when you were raised better by your family? You can't be something that you ain't meant to be." So that is the way I wanted to paint the picture. It is not so much about kids who grow up in inner cities around the world who have no choice. I have another song on the album called, "We Are The Ones". Now, "We Are The Ones" is basically a song that is about an uplifting thing in which the kid is trying to get out of poverty or a tough time. It's more encouraging and that what I wanted to do. The two songs accent each another well.
(Q)- The lyrics on many of the songs in "Lucky Day" are also about you having sex with women and you celebrating women, as making a difference in your life. Yet, while your lyrics are sensual, you never become crude and rude. You have an attitude lyrically that respects women. Many hip-hop recording artists and rap recording artists talk about women in their songs like dogs. You never speak about women that way. Why?
Shaggy- I think a lot of hip-hop recording artists and rap recording artists are chasing record sales. If I sit down and follow record companies and follow the (music) market I'd do what is exactly is going on. If you hear the radio and then you try and chase that hit record, to me that's wrong. See now, I have my own in-house (record) production and my own crew, so I try and do things my way and I have hit records that way. So it works.
(Q)- Why is now the time?
Shaggy- It all started with the song "Strength of A Woman". This whole album started with that song. I had that song with a melody that was amazing and after I wrote the lyrics, I felt like it was something that people need to hear. I mean, it's talking about woman in a different direction. It's a bold statement, a positive statement. After all, I want to make music that has a long shelve life. I don't want any of my songs to have a short shelf life. I want my kids to hear what I'm saying one day, years from now and be proud of it. I took that direction because when I look at it, there was about eighty per cent of my audience, those people who buy my records, are women. I've made a great living off of the mere existence of women. And on this record, I pay homage to them, because I really truly love women. Now is the right time for that message to get out and it's a great direction to go in.
(Q)- There are quite a few references to living the high life and jet setting around the world with a twenty-four hour party of wild sex, going on around you. Is that the way you actually live in your private life?
Shaggy- As far my, "living large", I don't think I do. I mean, I watch MTV and see these other guys (rap and hip-hop) stars and the way they're living and I don't own a multi dollar mansion and I don't own sixty cars! I have a couple of homes here and there, but the homes are not extravagant homes. I don't roll extravagantly. It's not as big as some people might see it. I don't know if it's all high life, I might sometimes live like that, but I'm surrounded with a group of people who are so grounded, I don't always see my success like someone outside of the inner circle would. While I do have to "Get My Party On" now and then, I don't always like living the high life all of the time. I have so much more to accomplish with my music.
(Q)- However you're singing about a very wild extravagant lifestyle and you are financially comfortable. Does your public image at all resemble your private life?
Shaggy- The image of Shaggy might be portray Mr. Lover but it is not an extremely flamboyant image. I'm trying not to do that.
(Q)- You reside in Jamaica and New York City?
Shaggy- Yes. I live between Jamaica and New York.
(Q)- How have the way people treat you, in both Jamaica and New York City, inside of your inner circle, as well as whenever you're in public, changed since the global success of "Hotshot"?
Shaggy- Since I sold ten million copies of "Hotshot", I've developed a lot more confidence. At one time in my career, a lot of things were controlled by my (inner circle) crew. I used to think that I had to ask my crew about everything and then they'd all have to agree and that was the reason why I was were I was. Until it dawned on me that my input was even greater then all of theirs.
(Q)- In what way?
Shaggy- In a sense that, that, the minute I got weak everybody got weak. And the success of "Hotshot" gave me a certain sense of confidence. Not confidence that I can do anything but that I can overcome anything. And, I had to get back my confidence. It was Terry Lewis (Of the pop record producing team JIMMY JAM & TERRY LEWIS.) who was responsible for giving me back my confidence. And it had to come from an outside entity for me to realize that, yeah I was dope. He told me, "What you're doing is amazing." Because in my crew, my inner circle, I was so comfortable that sometimes I took my job for granted. I felt like maybe I was taken for granted a little bit and people were critiquing what I was doing with my music a lot more then I realized. It took an outside opinion to tell me that beside of my track record, my music was great. The public is wonderful to me.
(Q)- Some of your lyrics also refer to surviving life on the tough streets in urban areas around the world. How do you keep your "street smart" sense since your tremendous success with "Hotshot" and the comfortable life that success has provided you with?
Shaggy- The thing with me is from day one, I've always kept in touch with what's happening in the underground. When I first started out and I was in the (USA) military, I wasn't in the clubs looking to have a big, "club hit record". I just had the ability to see what was happening around me and to somewhat put myself in that position or in the people who I was observing shoes, so to speak.
(Q)- In your travels around the globe, is there one lesson you have come to learn?
Shaggy- "We Are The Ones". We are citizens of the world and not citizens of only our backyard. I mean, God Bless America, but at the end of the day, there is just a lot of people around here (In the USA.) who sit around here and whine. I mean, we (In the USA.) have never had regular cuts in our power (electrical) systems. There's countries that have (electrical) power cuts every five minutes. I go to many different countries and I see how people live in these countries and we are so fortunate whine about being taken for granted. The more we understand each other's culture the better off we'll live together. We won't be in the position of trying to fight each other right now. I mean, if I'm going to Italy, I'm eating Italian or I go to India, I'm eating curry. If I go to London, I'm having fish and chips and I'm drinking tea. When I travel to these countries, I sit down with these people and learn about their culture and try to learn how to live their life. I just don't go buy American shit when I'm traveling. I get into these people's culture and I respect different people's culture and I'm feeling the whole vibe. Now if we (Americans) travel a lot more and just understand each other, then we'll probably get along. And, this happens on both sides. Me being a world traveler, makes me know that there are places in China that I love. There are places around this whole world that I enjoy. I was born in Jamaica but Jamaica is not my backyard. The world is my backyard. The world is one big backyard.
(Q)- You have another new song titled, "Leave Me Alone" in which the lyrics speak of a woman who just won't leave you alone. Has this experience really happened to you?
Shaggy- Yes it sure has. There have been females who won't leave me alone.
(Q)- What was that experience like?
Shaggy- Basically, I meet a young lady and I think, "She's cool.", and then she becomes a little bit overbearing. I mean it has gotten to a couple times where I've had to say to several different women, "Hey baby, I'm busy here, I'm in the middle of doing an interview with this gentleman and you want me to talk with you. Come on now baby, give me a break. I'd don't mean to be mean but give me a break." Now I wrote that song with the idea that, almost everybody has been in this situation in one way or another. I try to pick subjects that people can relate to it. Some women have the need to be a bit overbearing and they just don't get the message. They don't get it.
(Q)- Why does Shaggy have such a sex appeal as a live performer?
Shaggy- When I sing songs, I move people because the songs have so much soul to them and I throw passion into the mix of the music. That's why I'm dying to go out there and perform this music live, so people know what these new songs are about.
(Q)- What motives you to continue to keep working?
Shaggy- I don't want to be broke ever because it's not a good situation to be in.
(Q)- Is there another motivating factor?
Shaggy- The next thing is, what fuels my fire is despite what I've done internationally over the years and achieved internationally over the years, there's a lot of people in the USA who are still critics (In the USA music industry.) of me. I don't get a lot of support. I don't want to complain, I mean here I am now, I've sold ten million records with "Hotshot" and I have a hard time getting on my (new) video on (USA) MTV! I have a hard time getting my (new) song added to radio stations play lists!
(Q)- Are you saying that Shaggy is more popular everywhere else in the world but the USA and Jamaica?
Shaggy- Absolutely! Whenever Shaggy is on the top of the charts, or I'm in a magazine, I never get the front pages of any magazines anyway, whenever things like that happen and I am in a magazine, it's not because I'm being spotted with Britney Spears or I'm banging Naomi Campbell, or I'm at some movie premiere. It's because of what I call the, "He's got a hit record!", factor. I've got to the point where I am with my career, only on the merits of the record and the music itself. I don't have this huge star maker machinery around me, I'm not marketed titling milk cartons. (Shaggy is referring to a high profile USA "Drink Milk" celebrity ad campaign.) You know, I had the biggest selling album last year and how award shows was I not even nominated for and how many times was I not even invited to (USA) awards shows? Who wasn't even invited to the (USA) MTV Music Awards? And yet, who had the biggest selling album last year?
(Q)- So you're saying that's what motivates you? You are angry about that?
Shaggy- Yes man! That's what drives me. That's what motivates me. That's what fuels my fire. And, it does at times make me angry. I mean I'm sitting here in a room watching TV and a man is on the television saying, "Shaggy isn't going to do it again with his new music." Well, I say to that, "Hey here I am. I'm going to be in your face. What are you going to say now? You're going to have to play me on the radio. You're going to have to put me on your TV show."
(Q)- Why?
Shaggy- Because of my music man! And I'm not going to look at this and say, "Well I've lost my interest and I'm not going to do those TV shows now." Because, I'm going to still go onto the TV and on (USA) MTV and do whatever it takes. Because that's the satisfaction I look for. Knowing that, even though I was told that I wouldn't make it again, the bottom line will be I was that damn good.
(Q)- To what point?
Shaggy- To the point where they couldn't do anything about it and the people have spoken and I've sold millions of records and they have to put me on their show!
(Q)- How will you achieve that goal?
Shaggy- I know that I have to work hard to get that. Now you've got to remember that you're talking to a cat who toured the world and never got one (corporate) sponsor. Not one! No matter how much I tried. I never had a (music) video that cost over $200,000.
(Q)- You have done some acting. Are there any aspirations for Shaggy to become an actor?
Shaggy- I actually think I'd do well if I put it into my mind to do well. But, I actually don't have a passion for acting. I have a passion for doing music. And that's where I've made a lot of accomplishments. Now, if I'm put in this position where I'm acting, then I'm going to do my job and do it very well. But right now, it's my music.
(Q)- Do you like any of the new global pop music by other recording artists?
Shaggy- No. I do listen to music a lot but I'm thirty-four years old and I like the talents of a lot of old-school cats. I listen to a lot of old-school cats and they just don't make music like that anymore. I'm not into all of this new music, I'm into a lot of the older stuff. That is probably a great part of my music's appeal.
End.