Shaggy reveals truth behind his different accents
It Wasn't Me hitmaker Shaggy has opened up about why his singing and talking accents are so different.
Shaggy has revealed the truth behind his different talking and singing accents.
The 57-year-old star, who is best known for hit songs like It Wasn't Me, Boombastic and Angel, has addressed the criticism he's faced for his different "cadences", which come from his time with the United States Marine Corps.
He told the Metro newspaper's 60 Seconds column: "It's down to military marching cadences. I used to come out and sing imitating the German drill instructors. It stayed like that.
"I have two completely different voices but it works. I get criticised for it a lot, even when I do music I don't do it in the same way my peers would.
"I get criticised for not being as authentically Jamaican. Half of the people who judge me have never been to Jamaica."
However, Shaggy argued that he is "more authentic" than most people.
He added: "I live in Kingston, I was born in Jamaica, I was raised in Jamaica. So, I don't think there's anyone more authentic than me. I just move a little differently."
Shaggy released his debut album Pure Pleasure in 1993, and found huge success in the UK when lead single Oh Carolina topped the charts.
Boombastic, the title track from his third LP, followed two years later, hitting number one in Australia, New Zealand and the UK.
His biggest hits came in 2000, when It Wasn't Me and Angel - both from his fifth album Hot Shot - became huge hits all over the world, as well as giving him his first chart toppers in the US.
Shaggy explained that he "took a different approach" during his music career, which means people don't necessarily understand his roots.
Asked what misconception people may have about him, the musician said: "How Jamaican I am.
"I took a different approach when I was doing music - I didn't dress in red, green and gold, I don't smoke weed, I don't speak in my native dialect all the time."
Shaggy suggested that if he had embraced certain things, he would have been shunned by the public and the industry as a whole.
He argued: "I wouldn't have got on certain platforms otherwise. I would have been discriminated against.
"It used to be that people would automatically look down on you because you have an accent. But the way I've approached it has served me well."
