Sting and Shaggy talk unlikely new album
Two U.S. immigrants convene in the studio and create songs through a ‘genuine friendship’
Sting and Shaggy are on the phone, joking about ways to combine their names as they promote their new album,
44/876, out Friday. “Shingy, Stingy,” proposes Sting, prompting a howl from Shaggy. “There are many variants there.” Despite initial appearances, the Jamaican dancehall star and the English rock hitmaker/former Police frontman have many things in common.
Chief among them: reggae music, which provides a bouncy backdrop to first single, “Don’t Make Me Wait.”
“I was a big fan of Sting’s music, and the Police, from Day 1,” Shaggy says in an interview.
“You’ve got to remember — the Police was like a gateway to reggae music being on the mainstream.
“As a dancehall artist, I know how hard it is to get reggae and dancehall music on the mainstream radio, and these were the guys that were bringing that familiar sound to the mainstream radio, that made it a little easier for us to get through.”
Sting also sings about his love of reggae on the title track.
The two met through Sting’s manager, Martin Kierszenbaum. He “had an intuition that we would get on and he was more than correct,” Sting says.
They went into a New York studio over a six-week period, “without any real agenda.” But they ended up creating an album, working with some of their longtime collaborators as well as a choir.
“I was joyful being in the studio every day,” Sting says. “When we were singing, we were laughing — and still are. I think the record reflects a genuine friendship, a rapport, a respect and a trust between two artists who are from very different places.” The 16-time Grammy Award winner praises Shaggy’s “distinctive, signature” voice that has brought a deep growl to party favourites including “Boombastic” and “It Wasn’t Me,” a cheeky tale of a man caught cheating.
“As soon as he starts singing, it’s Shaggy, and I appreciate that,” Sting says. “My favourite of his is actually ‘It Wasn’t Me,’ which is a bit of a naughty song but actually, if you listen to the whole lyric, it’s a kind of moral parable. I like storytelling in songs and Shaggy is a great storyteller.”
During production, Sting “learned the art of spontaneity from Shaggy,” he says.
“He can create songs on a dime and he does it very publicly. My creative process is much more private. So he forced me into less than my comfort zone but actually helped me and I got better at it.”
Shaggy says he “learned a lot of pa- tience” from Sting.
“I asked him the other day — ‘Is there anything you’ve ever put out that you didn’t like?’ and he said, ‘Nothing.’
“And I understood why — because he’s so meticulous and he’s a perfectionist.”
Jamaica is referenced often on 44/876, which stands for their respective country calling codes. The album gets political at times. “Break Of Day,” for instance, is a “comment on the darkness that seems to be descending on the world at the moment,” Sting says.
And “Dreaming In The U.S.A.” is about the lure of American culture. “Both Shaggy and I are immigrants to the United States,” Sting says.