Vibe.com, October 11th, 2005
Shaggy’s 2000 album, Hotshot, sold more than 10 million copies worldwide on the strength of two irresistibly sweet ragga-pop confections: “It Wasn’t Me,” featuring Rik Rok, and the chart-topping “Angel,” featuring Rayvon. The next year, Sean Paul’s album, Dutty Rock, moved 6 million units worldwide thanks to somewhat harder hits — “Gimme the Light,” “Get Busy,” and “Like Glue” — that rocked Jamaican sound systems before blowing up internationally.
Yet after putting in all that work, Shaggy and Sean Paul are still regarded as exotic curiosities, rather than bankable hitmakers, by much of the xenophobic American entertainment industry. Meanwhile in Jamaica, where street-corner cred has always been the principal reward for legendary artists, Sean and the Shagsman receive all the respect accorded the late, great Rodney Dangerfield.
Undeterred, Shaggy and Sean Paul are releasing new albums, Clothesdrop and The Trinity, respectively. And guess what? Both discs are first rate, energetic, melodic, futuristic, and at times, even thought provoking. Whether their undeniable quality will silence all the backbiters is unlikely — and irrelevant. Hate it or love it, dancehall gone pon top again.
Clothesdrop seamlessly blends Shaggy’s sharpest pop sensibilities with his (much slept-on) roughneck pedigree. The album opens with Sly & Robbie’s classic “Herbman Hustling” riddim and a quick flash of the recently deceased legend Johnny Ringo’s trademark “Ay ah-ay” style. Elsewhere, Shaggy samples Barrington Levy’s “Broader Than Broadway” and shouts out foundation DJ Nicodemus, reasserting the depth of his own dancehall roots. He’s got bona fide bangers like “Ready fi di Ride” on Tony Kelly’s Katana riddim, and “Stand Up,” a Marley-esque call to arms set over a classic ’70s rub-a-dub track. The lead single, “Wild 2Nite,” features Olivia, the first lady of G Unit. But the real star of that song is Shaggy’s supersonic flow, flaunting speed-spitting skills that could give Twista a run for his money. “Ahead in Life” takes the “It Wasn’t Me” saga to new heights (or depths), as Shaggy chastises his misbehaving “third leg.” Then on songs like “Repent” and “Letter to My Kids,” Shaggy drops the bedroom antics to reveal a sensitive human being behind that player persona.
Rather than reaching into the past, Sean Paul blasts off confidently into the future with The Trinity. Sean opts for cutting-edge riddims courtesy of Jamaican youths like Don Corleone, the Renaissance Crew, Jah Snowcone, Black Chiney, Leftside, and Roach. “Ever Blazin’” reunites Sean and Lenky, architect of the massive Diwali riddim, which fueled “Get Busy.” Guests such as Daddy Yankee and Nina Sky are as far afield as Sean is willing to stray. “Yardie Bone,” featuring Wayne Marshall, is one wicked piece of digital pimping. The Trinity’s lyrical content ranges from girls to ganja, until one arrives at “Never Gonna Be the Same,” a moving tribute to Sean’s former sparring partner Dadigon, who was gunned down on the streets of Kingston earlier this year.
Maybe, just maybe, those same streets will start showing these dancehall ambassadors the right kind of love one day. In the meantime, as Shaggy so eloquently puts it, “Shut up and dance.”
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