Shaggy reconnects with reggae roots on indie debut

10/26/2007 8:00 PM, Reuters
Wes Orshoski

Having sold more than 20 million records worldwide, Shaggy doesn't exactly fit the mold of the struggling artist. Yet with a smile and a big sigh of relief, the Jamaican-born, New York-raised singer says that only now does he feel that the struggle is mostly behind him, thanks in large part to the expiration of his last major-label contract.

Due November 13, Shaggy's first album since parting ways with Geffen last year, "Intoxication," is being issued through a 50/50 joint-venture, one-album deal between his own Big Yard label and the Queens, N.Y.-based VP Records. Per similar deals, Shaggy owns the recording and licenses the final product to the reggae label, which has previously issued various 12-inch singles from the singer and several Big Yard releases.

In a word, he said, this disc is all about "freedom": "For the first time, I'm in my own driver's seat," he said.

If Shaggy is perhaps the only dancehall singer to reach the upper echelons of the Billboard charts repeatedly during the past decade, he insists -- with pride -- that it's a hard-earned track record. He cut the massive "Hot Shot," released in 2000 and featuring such hits as "It Wasn't Me" and "Angel," in his basement studio after Virgin dropped him. The album has sold 6.8 million copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

When the follow-up, 2002's "Lucky Day," failed to post similar numbers, and after he was shuffled over to fellow Universal property Geffen following MCA's closure, execs began to trust his instincts less, recommending collaborations with the likes of the Black Eyed Peas founder will.i.am. While resentful, he went along with it.

"WILD" ATTEMPT

On 2005's "Clothes Drop," his lone effort for Geffen, he recorded such songs as "Wild 2Nite" in an attempt to recapture the respect and love of hardcore fans of dancehall, a style of reggae that incorporates hip-hop and R&B. But it shifted just 40,000 copies, even though it became a hit internationally.

Frustrated, he spent his own money on various promotional appearances and waited for the Geffen contract to expire, not long after which he cut "Intoxication" track "Church Heathen," which has become a No. 1 hit throughout the Caribbean. It set up the release of the album, which features guest turns by Rik Rok, Sizzla, Collie Buddz, Rayvon and Akon.

"I needed a company that understood what I was trying to do by capturing that core audience," said the 38-year-old artist, who splits time between home studios in Kingston and Long Island, N.Y. "What this record has taught me is that Shaggy is not defined by a record company. Shaggy is a brand."

But challenges remain for Shaggy. Despite their previous success with his singles, program directors like those at R&B/hip-hop WQHT (Hot 97) New York have deemed him too pop for their listeners. And, with some delight, Shaggy takes pride in the fact that he was able to prove them wrong during the station's recent dancehall-heavy reggae show at Manhattan's Hammerstein Ballroom, which featured Wonder, Buju Banton, Stephen and Damian Marley, Elephant Man and Mavado.

"I was supposed to be on the show," he said. "They were negotiating whether I should do it or not. Their thing -- which I get -- was, 'We don't know if Shaggy comes across well. We don't know if the streets is feeling them."'

After collaborator/Bahamian upstart Collie Buddz caught wind, he brought his friend onstage during his set, and the packed house erupted. Hot 97 "got the picture, and it was important for them to get that, because my thing is to try and erase every doubt in everyone's mind," Shaggy said. "I got to prove myself all the time. And that's good. It makes you stronger."

Reuters/Billboard