Jordan Parker
Mr. Boombastic himself will vibe on a Halifax stage once again for the TD Halifax Jazz Festival.
Shaggy – a versatile three-decade artist with an instantly-recognizable style and voice – joins artists like Fleet Foxes, Feist, Fortunate Ones, and local talent including Jah’Mila for the series of concerts.
It’s not his first time gracing the city, with shows and even a Juno appearance during the 2006 awards show hosted in the city.
“I’ve had an incredible relationship over my career with Canadian audiences. The reception has always been a good vibe, and I’ve played Halifax a number of times. It’s always a good audience,” said the ‘It Wasn’t Me’ hitmaker.
Get Tickets: TD Halifax Jazz Fest, Featuring Shaggy
“It’ll be my first time playing Jazz Fest itself though, and I don’t quite know what to expect. But I do know what we bring, and that’s lots of energy, excitement, and a feel-good show.”
There’s one particular thing about Maritimer culture that Shaggy recalls from last time he was in Halifax – Our locals can knock them back.
“The amount of bars in the downtown struck me when I was here. I remember at night after the show, there were so many people out drinking. It was just a big bar-hopping situation,” he said.
Get Tickets: TD Halifax Jazz Fest, Featuring Shaggy
The Jamaican-born singer has previously commented on the cold weather in our nation, and his desire to play in the warmth when he can. It’s lucky, then, that the Jazz Fest hits July 11-16, with his headlining outdoor concert at the TD Main Stage on the 12th.
“I was just in Toronto with (group) TLC a few weeks ago. It was sold out, and we were right on the water at the Budweiser Stage. It was so beautiful for the summer,” he said.
“We went out and got jerk chicken after, and it felt like little Jamaica. Halifax is beautiful this time of year, so I’m looking forward to it.”
Get Tickets: TD Halifax Jazz Fest, Featuring Shaggy
He’s a huge foodie, and when NS Buzz told him about the Brawta Jamaican Jerk Joint on Grafton, he was considering the prospect.
“I probably will check out some food while I’m here. With my guys on the road, we always go sniff out a Jamaican spot if there is one,” he said.
“We have a traveling kitchen on this tour. They cook on the side of the street, in the parking lot, or at the venue. I have foodies with me, so if there’s a great spot with Jamaican food, they’ll suss it out.”
He’s unsure he’s every tried a true Nova Scotian donair, and also put one on his list of possibilities while he’s in town. In discussing the differences between donairs in Atlantic Canada, and gyros in Alberta with lettuce, he heartily laughed at how seriously people take their food.
“People can get really touchy about it. I could care less. Consume your food exactly how you like to,” he said with a laugh.
“It’s like if I go into an Italian restaurant and I ask for a ton of parmesan on a dish. You might get told it’s an insult to the cook, but it’s my food. It’s all about how you want to enjoy it.”
He said there are differences between a festival and a stadium show that he has to be aware of.
“The festival vibe is a bit more work. It’s less in terms of performance time. You might do an hour or 75 minutes. In your own show it’s 90 minutes to two hours. But during a festival, you go in with the knowledge not everyone there is necessarily your fan,” he said.
Get Tickets: TD Halifax Jazz Fest, Featuring Shaggy
“There are people there for all the acts and people who might be curious. They might know your songs but not be fans yet. My job at a festival is to win a fan over, or win over other people’s fans. It’s great to play in front of your own crowd, you can play a random album track and they’ll know it. But a festival can be more of a challenge.”
The recipient of an Honorary Doctor of Fine Arts from Brown University and an entertainer in every sense of the word, he appeared as Sebastian in The Little Mermaid Live! on ABC. He then returned to television last year for season seven of The Masked Singer as Space Bunny.
“It was one of those decisions I contemplated for a while. My manager was talking about it being the highest-rated show in a great timeslot. But I was happy I had the opportunity to pick my songs. I picked Caribbean songs or Caribbean-themed songs,” he said.
“It was to my detriment, as people realized quickly I was an Island boy. They knew it was either Shaggy or (Get Busy singer) Sean Paul. In terms of strategy it wasn’t the brightest. Also, I loved the costume, but putting it on was heavy. I was so hot, and after a while I wanted people to figure me out so I could get out of it!”
Get Tickets: TD Halifax Jazz Fest, Featuring Shaggy
When he heads to Halifax, Shaggy will be wrapping up his Hot Summer Nights tour, which featured TLC (known for “Waterfall” and “No Scrubs”) as well as Sean Kingston.
“It’s been really wonderful. I did a few shows with TLC last year, and we figured out putting us together pulls in crowds. 17-21,000 people were coming for shows,” he said. “It was kind of seamless for me and TLC. It’s been a good experience. All our crews blend together, party together and work together.
Shaggy has had the pleasure of working and collaborating with many artists in his career, but none are as prolific as Sting, with whom he did collaboration album 44/876 with in 2018. His last album – Frank Sinatra tribute Com Fly Wid Mi – was produced by the artist.
“Sting and I get together, we start drinking gin & tonics, and things come up. We were in Norway, and we were on a boat. Sting jumps off and starts swimming in this cold water, and I was like, ‘Nah, I’m not doing that, I’m Jamaican’,” laughs Shaggy.
Get Tickets: TD Halifax Jazz Fest, Featuring Shaggy
“So I put some Sinatra on, and I started singing with it. He popped his head up and was like, ‘Bro, do that again! You sounds just like him’. He kept going on and on. We chatted as if it was a joke, and about doing Sinatra in reggae.”
Little did Shaggy know, Sting wasn’t about to let the idea go.
“At the top of 2022, he shows up at my house in Miami, and wants to get it done. We sat in my house and did eight tracks. We then realized we really did have something, and kept going,” he said.
“It’s incredible because it could either have been really corny or cool. If it goes too jazzy, it could be corny reggae. But we found a balance and made it work.”
Never an artist to bend to convention, Shaggy broke into the mainstream with hits like Mr. Boombastic, but was dropped by Virgin Records in the late 1990s. He would then release his 2000 album Hot Shot with MCA Records, which featured smash hits “Angel” and “It Wasn’t Me”, leading to the album being certified 8X platinum in the U.S.
Get Tickets: TD Halifax Jazz Fest, Featuring Shaggy
A two-time Grammy winner and eight-time nominee, he says he works hard to ensure future artists doing reggae and work outside the mainstream can continue to be successful.
“I was the first on many things. I’m a groundbreaker, but I realize I won’t benefit most from things I’ve done. But people after me will. ‘Oh, Carolina’ (his 1993 cover from his debut album) was the first dancehall number one on the British chart. Mr. Boombastic was the first reggae song to debut at number one. Then I did it twice more with Angel and It Wasn’t Me. Hot Shot was the first dancehall album to ever be #1 on the British and also American Billboard charts,” he said.
“Reggae has been touring the same circuit for decades, from Dennis Brown to Bob Marley. It’s always summer shows at the same venues. But as the circuit gets taken over by outfits like LiveNation, the circuit gets smaller and smaller.”
Shaggy’s response to a shrinking market is simple – He just keeps thinking outside the box and defying the rules. Now a largely independent artist, he does his own thing with aplomb.
Get Tickets: TD Halifax Jazz Fest, Featuring Shaggy
“I’m going to remote, farfetched spots and bringing my music. From Wichita to Wyoming, I go to places where there isn’t much reggae. I did Abbey State Fairs, and I went to Kentucky. A woman came to me and said she hadn’t seen anything like my show in 30 years, and she controlled 18 fairs. She said I was perfect and I rocked the audience,” he said.
“People assume I won’t be accepted in these places. But I have a young agent who takes chances with me. I keep pulling it off, and I’m happy breaking the mould and making my culture proud.”
As he continues to work diligently and try new, important things, he’s happy with the work he’s producing.
“To this day, I’m a force to be reckoned with. I’m 54 years old and I’m still the guy to beat. I’m happy as an artist to do whatever the hell I want. If I was with a major label still, I couldn’t do reggae Sinatra or a dancehall take on Christmas music,” he said.
“I am just really loving what I’m doing and putting out, and even if it doesn’t happen right away, I am happy to have control of what I put out there.”
Catch Shaggy at the TD Jazz Festival on July 12th, 2023. For more information, visit: https://www.halifaxjazzfestival.ca/shaggy.
