Shaggy revamps multi-platinum ‘Hot Shot’ album - Re-releases ‘It Wasn’t Me’
Published:Thursday | April 16, 2020 | 12:15 AMYasmine Peru/Senior Gleaner Writer
Grammy award-winning reggae and dancehall artiste, Shaggy, has announced that he is revisiting the classics, and will release Hot Shot 2020, an album which will comprise some of his mega hits and also a few new tracks. This year marks two decades since Hot Shot, his hit-soaked fifth studio album, muscled its way on to Billboard and other respected music charts globally, and introduced Shaggy to the world in a major way. Hot Shot’s accolades are impressive. First released in the United States on August 8, 2000, the album went on to be certified six times platinum in the United States, according to the RIAA, and has sold nine million copies worldwide. Hot Shot was the second-highest charting studio album of 2001 on the Billboard Year-End charts. It was also the bestselling album of 2001 in Canada.
‘Classics’ Compilation
Naturally, any revamp of Hot Shot has to include the blockbuster hit, It Wasn’t Me, and for this ‘classics’ compilation, Shaggy, christened Orville Burrell, is also re-releasing Boombastic, from his third studio album, of the same name; Angel ( Hot Shot) and Oh Carolina, based on a 1959 ska song by The Folkes Brothers called Carolina, which was produced by ska legend Prince Buster. Oh Carolina, the lead single from his 1993 debut album, Pure Pleasure, was produced by Sting International, and became a hit in the United Kingdom.
The song peaked at number 14 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart. Shaggy’s version also appeared on the soundtrack of the 1993 film, Sliver.
Additionally, Hot Shot 2020 will contain four brand new songs, one of which is a collaboration with English rocker, Sting, with whom Shaggy collaborated on the 2018 Reggae Grammy award-winning album, 44/876.
Remarkably, despite the world being in the midst of a coronavirus pandemic, Shaggy is still putting out new music, while others have shifted their release dates. But that is not an indication of the entertainer’s unresponsiveness to these times. He was a part of last month’s mega benefit event, Stream Aid 2020, on Twitch, which solicited donations for the COVID-19 Solidarity Relief Fund for WHO. Shaggy also participated in last Sunday’s virtual Jamaica – Together We Stand fundraising telethon initiated by the Government to provide personal protective equipment (PPE) for front-line health workers.
In a recent interview with DailyMailTV, Shaggy, who the article said was “quarantining at his New York Studio”, spoke in detail about Hot Shot 2020. Shaggy revealed that in conceptualising the album, he asked himself, “Why not just do these records that are huge anthems that are a part of people’s lives and their memories?” He pointed out that It Wasn’t Me, which recently popped up on Chinese video-sharing social networking service, Tik Tok, has found a niche with millennials.
Recurring Record
“ It Wasn’t Me is such a recurring record now for all these kids. It just resonates with all these younger generations – it continuously does. It’s crazy how they do it. All the kids are just … on it. It comes up in my DM and on my timeline so many times,” Shaggy explained.
The classics on Hot Shot 2020 will have all-new instrumentation, and new mixing. The 20th anniversary version of It Wasn’t Me features Shaggy’s long-time sidekick, Rayvon, and not Ricardo ‘Rik Rok’ Ducent, who did the original song back in 2000. It dropped on April 10. According to the article, Hot Shot 2020 is expected to be released soon.
A remix album, titled Hot Shot Ultramix, was released in June 2002. Four singles were released from the album: It Wasn’t Me, Angel, Luv Me, Luv Me and the double A-side single Dance & Shout/Hope.