Shaggy Breaks With Sean Paul On Clashing, Says He’s A “Superfan” Of Lyrical Battles, Gun Tunes

In stark contrast to Sean Paul’s outright rejection of Dancehall clashes and clash lyrics, Shaggy says onstage lyrical battles must be fully embraced as they are vital to the development of artists and crucial to the sustainability of the genre.

Shaggy made his opinion clear during an interview with Soundchat Radio recently, after the host asked him whether he had ever been a fan of “hardcore gangster lyrics”.

“Dude. I am not just a fan.  I am a superfan of it,” the Boombastic singer stated.

“A di culture; a di vibe. A dat me know.  Dat’s how you keep your craft sharp.  A suh yuh master it,” Shaggy added.

The multi-Grammy winner also echoed the sentiments made by Foota Hype last year that clashing sharpens the skills of artists and that ‘studio clashing’ was utterly ridiculous.

“Das why yuh have so much yute, who are studio gangsters,” a bemused Shaggy said.

“I neva si suppm like dis, di new generation a clash and dem a dweet inna di studio… Yuh not even know if a dem a write it… but I am saying you gotta be quick.   That’s how you master your craft; that’s how you sharpen the tool… That’s how you have the edge over the rest of the genres,” he added.

Sean Paul, who today released a video for Lion Heart which addresses the issue, recently claimed that artists like himself, Shaggy, Koffee, Konshens, Charly Black, Gyptian, Serani, have not engaged in clashes and were “streaming amazing numbers”, and that he “begged to differ that clashing actually pushed the whole genre somewhere.”

Contrary to that opinion, Shaggy made reference to Yellowman, an artist who went mainstream whose success was predicated on clashes.

“That’s how Yellowman got huge.  When you look like a man like Yellowman in the late 70s, early 80s, and albino bredda weh basically make di world stop and take notice where major labels had to be seeking him out when the genre didn’t play.  He wasn’t a star; he was a superstar.  He had superhero-like talent.  How did he develop that super hero-like talent?  The Dancehall, the stage show, the clash,” Shaggy argued.

“That’s how he got that.  That’s why these guys now are not doing it.  They don’t have that anymore.  How dem clash?  Dem record a track inna di studio an put it up on YouTube and call a man name… So that’s why you see, we have a hard time competing now,” he added.

Among the many clash shows over the decades which have “bussed” numerous artists, have been Champions in Action, Border Clash and chief among them, the internationally-acclaimed Sting, dubbed “The greatest one-night show on earth”.

When asked by host Chin, whether “gun lyrics in the Dancehall can have a “negative effect” on Jamaican society, Shaggy, who is an Iraq war veteran responded in the negative, arguing that gun lyrics was “simply entertainment”, effectively rubbishing recent statements made by Prime Minister Andrew Holness that violent music has an impact on violence in Jamaica.

“I don’t think so.  I just think its art a craft.  Not because you might play a dubplate and then dubplate seh kill the person, and ‘gunshot this’ and throw dubplate and buss shot, doesn’t mean that I literally am gonna get up and do the same thing.   I just don’t buy that… Wi a hear killin lyrics from wi a yute guh all di way up.   A cultural ting.  Nobaddy sits down there really reacting on it,” he said.

Shaggy said that it was socio-economic issues, which were ignored by the State, that were the causes for societal breakdown, and that artists were being used as scapegoats.

“I don’t think it should get to a point where you are going to stifle your craft, or your freedom of speech or your culture.  Come on.  Dr Dre made almost $3 billion on a brand that is built on Gangster Rap, and provided many a job to thousands of people…”

“The Dancehall and the clash culture is a part of what is alluring.  Look at DJ Khaled.   DJ Khaled has made a career that started from the Dancehall culture. A Fully Loaded him used to guh.   You can’t stop the culture; the culture is what lures people. The culture is why Justin Biebers is sampling and Ed Sheeran an dem man deh.

Paradoxically Shaggy, who is a trained soldier, having enlisted in the United States Marine Corps at age 18, and served with a Field Artillery Battery in the 10th Marine Regiment during the Persian Gulf War, told Chin that his catalogue does not consist of hardcore gun lyrics, as it would not have been “believable” to his fan base.

“I was never a gun lyrics artiste.  I was always a ‘gyal artiste’.  Suh mi do gyal tune, seen.  How believable it would be fi hear Shaggy a talk bout yow, ray.   Dat was neva mi ting.  Suh yuh haffi kinda stay inna weh people believe you with,” he said.

When asked whether he had any rude boy lyric is his pre-fame dancehall days, Shaggy responded in the affirmative.

“Yuh have card drawing and uh a talk bout a man shut an him shoes and ray ray an yuh draw card pon dem, and diss dem yeh.  We had dem days.  But as my ting develop, look pon di chune dem weh bus mi: Big Up, Big Up, a gyal chune.  Mr Boombastic, a gyal chune.  So why would I move away from the path that hat has worked?” he said.