The Return Of The Raunch Reggae Star
By Jordan Paramor

He was the Mr Boombastic of reggae with a string of hits to his saucy name, then Shaggy disappeared from the UK charts and slipped into obscurity. But just when people were poised to write his pop obituary, out of nowhere his new single, It Wasn't Me, has crashed into the charts at No.1 this week.

It's the kind of party song that will be filing dancefloors for years to come- with a chorus so catchy you find yourself absent-mindedly singing it, even though it's undeniably rude. Let's face it, "Honey, came in and she caught me red-handed/creeping with the girl next door/picture this we were both butt-naked/banging on the bathroom floor" doesn't leave much to the imagination...

Shaggy, alias Orville Richard Burrell, first came to our attention with the strangely addictive soft reggae track, Oh Carolina, in 1993. He followed it with Boombastic and then had a massive hit with a cover of Mungo Jerry's In The Summertime. For the past five years he's been a stranger to the UK top 10, but It Wasn't Me has made Shaggy a sought after star again. The reason for his long break was, in his words, "because record companies are idiots."

Bitterness probably played a part in his abscence. He was dropped by Virgin Records (via letter) and waited two years to land a deal with MCA Records. But Shaggy insists he's not resentful.

"There are no grudges held by me about anything that's happened," he insists. "I tell you, nothing clears up animosity like a hit record. There's no anger on my behalf, but you can bet Virgin Records are scratching their heads and thinking, 'Damn, we should have kept him'."

Shaggy isn't the only artist on It Wasn't Me. The bulk of the track is sung by an aspiring singer/songwriter called Ricardo "Rikrok" Ducent. Shaggy met him through one of his backing singers and immediatley took to the young Rikrok, as he had "a good personality and a good vibe and was a very humble kid" . Shaggy let him demo It Wasn't Me with a view to getting someone else to sing on the final track. But when the songs producer, Sting International, heard Rikrok's vocals, he convinced Shaggy to leave him on the track.

"He's now in the studio doing his own album," says Shaggy with a laugh. "He's a star overnight."

Although it's been years since us Brits heard anything from Shaggy, Americans have been enjoying new material from the Jamaican-born star for some time.

"I did a song called Love Me Love Me with Janet Jackson, which was a top 5 record in the States. It just wasn't released in the UK. And I've been doing a whole bunch of other stuff, mainly putting together my new album Hot Shot. So while you guys thought I was lazing around, I was still making records and doing well. I've been really busy."

For this reason, Shaggy doesn't see It Wasn't Me as a big return.

"This isn't a comeback for me as I've never really been away. But it is good to release in Britain again" he says. "I knew I had to blow the roof off in England so that people would know not to screw with me again. And Hotshot will blow people away."

The album is already a No.1 smash in America, and there have been reports of people fighting over preview copies in Britain. Shaggy reckons music lovers have every reason to cause such a fuss.

"The album is exceptional. I knew I had to come back with an album that was incredible, and getting dropped by Virgin was the fuel to my fire. This album says that I'm kickin' it to anyone that's ever had a doubt about me," he says.

Shaggy's next UK single release is Angel, which samples Juice Newton's Angel Of The Morning and the Steve Millaer Band's The Joker. It's currently riding high in the US charts alongside It Wasn't Me, which remains stuck at No.1. If things continue the way they are, Shaggy will be keeping his own single off the top spot.