â90s singer Shaggy is making a major comeback with his brand-new album on the way, as well as a role in the smash-hit musical The Last Ship, which was written and composed by Sting.
The 57-year-old rose to fame for the chart-topping song âIt Wasnât Meâ in 2000, and enjoyed success with other hits like âAngelâ and âBoombasticâ. The new record, Lottery, promises a mix of genres and a return to his iconic sound, as he told Page Six.
âYou can dance to it, you can cry to it, you can get ready to it. You know what I mean?â he explained. âI donât like cookie-cutting. So itâs that Shaggy sound that youâre used to, which is fun. You know, it brings joy, it makes you smile, and itâs got that reggae beat, and itâs got that fusion beat. Hybrids are what Iâm into. Iâm the king of hybrids.â
Shaggy later told 7 News about the A-list collaborators he welcomed on the album, including singer Robin Thicke.
âA full-length album, you know, I wasnât in a place where I wanted to do it. Except now Iâm happy with what I came up with,â he said.Â
âGot songs with me and Jeremiah, I got songs with me and Robin Thicke. Songs with Anthony Hamilton and me. Of course, the single with me, Akon, and Aidonia.â
The father of five has been making the rounds ahead of the albumâs release on May 15, and appeared on Live with Kelly and Mark with Robin on Thursday to perform their song âLooking Lovelyâ.
They also stopped by the Sherri show to speak about their collaboration and blossoming friendship. âWe did a performance together, we did a concert at an F1 thing, and we just talked about, you know, we should do a record together,â Robin explained on Sherri.
âA lot of people say that, but then they never actually do a record, but then he followed up, he sent me this groove, and he already had his vocals on itâŠhis voice made it sound fresh. It felt like beaches and piña coladas to me.â
Shaggy also made special mention of his friend Sting, with whom he collaborated on an album, 44/876, in 2018.Â
âHeâs the brother I never knew I needed. And so, he has more faith in me than I have in myself sometimes, and I think thereâs a part of him that enjoys putting me in uncomfortable situations. He just loves it,â the dancehall star quipped, referring to his role in Stingâs musical.
The unlikely duo appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on March 12 to perform a track from The Last Ship, which Sting wrote about his childhood in a shipbuilding community in North East England. Shaggy stars as the Ferryman in the musical, in a career move that surprised even himself.
âIâve never done theater like that before, but Sting has a way of seeing things in me that I donât even see,â he told Page Six.
â[Our friendship] just works. I donât know why it works. Heâs the brother I never knew I needed. We always have fun. One thing for sure, whatever we do, there is a laugh.â