Shaggy, Rayvon & Rik Rok
'Big plans for Big Yard'
By Heller

You know you're a global pop phenomenon when Prince Ranier of Monaco breaks out his hottest dance steps to big you up. No Della Move or Bogle, but when the Prince coerced his guests to get up and shake it to Shaggy and Rik Rok's performance of "It Wasn't Me" on the last World Music Awards, it was as if the whole planet opened up for the New York native's twist on rub a dub. Back when Shaggy dropped "Oh Carolina" almost a decade ago to dancehall acclaim first and mainstream success second, Reggae stepped back into the light it's almost always been commercially denied. Since then it's been a string of hits for Shaggy and producer Robert Livingstone, the other force behind the Big Yard label who got his first nod as the man behind Super Cat's success. With over 10 million copies sold worldwide on Shaggy's Hot Shot album, Big Yard is making moves with an expansion team ready to take over. And even with the new hair, Shaggy's still gettin' hate.


ON MUCH MUSIC, YOU SAID A LOT OF BIG TUNES ARE ON BIG YARD, YOU'RE GHOSTWRITING FOR A LOT OF ARTISTS, AND YOU'RE AT THE FOREFRONT. PLEASE EXPLAIN.
Shaggy: It's a team effort really. I look at myself as the idea man. I might come in with the idea and these guys help to perfect the idea. We have a goal, and that goal is to make this music be a force to be reckoned with, take the music to the forefront. I look at Big Yard as the next Island Records. We're not just specializing in Reggae music. We're specializing in music in general, popular music, mainstream music, and we're about to take underground music and make it mainstream. That's what we're about.


WHAT DO YOU GOT THAT OTHERS DON'T? HOW COME YOUR HAND IS ON THE PULSE. EVERYBODY IS REACHING, BUT YOU'RE THE GUY.
Shaggy: You know what I think...I've got balls! I say that with no apology. I'm the only person that does songs that's leftfield. I ain't gonna sit and watch what's going on right now. When I came with "Oh Carolina" there was nothing around that sounded like it. We got criticized from day one saying 'Hey, what the hell is this?' We came with "Boombastic." You got to admit there was nothing around the time that was like it, and peoples - DJs and all 'em - would say 'What the f*** is this?' We did it, and we came with songs like "It Wasn't Me." It didn't sound like nothin' that was on the radio right now. It was another leftfield vibe, and "Angel" is a different vibe. That takes a lot of balls, especially as a dancehall artist, to be doing something that's totally different from what's going in the dancehall right now. Just like the Rayvon album. The Rayvon album is an album that's gonna come with a different flavour. It's not gonna be the same sh*t.


JAMAICA LOVES SHAGGY. YET IN AMERICA THERE ARE THOSE WHO DISCOUNT YOUR CONTRIBUTIONS.
Shaggy: Because I refuse to sell out. I refuse to sell my soul for publicity. You look at Britney Spears and all these people. You think people really sit there and are paying attention to what they're singing. They're more interested in how short her mini-skirt is and when she goes out with that Justin dude. I refuse to out myself out there and say okay, I'm gonna walk the red carpet and you should talk to my people because I got some actress on my f***in' arm. That's not what I'm about. I refuse to go on TV and roll up some weed in front of the camera just to get controversy. I refuse to go on TV with a bunch of strippers and slap their ass and all that just to get controversy so that I could make your magazines or your tabloid. If you can't put me in your magazines or your tabloid by the type of music I'm making by me. Who said that reggae artists got to be singing about unda de girl and dis, and gun dis and do this, who says? Who says we got to be wildin'? Who says I've got to have an image of wildin'? So what? I can't put on nice clothes and look good like everybody else? Who said because I'm Jamaican and I sing Reggae music I got to do it that certain way, and I got to smoke weed, and I got to put red, green and gold on, and I got to go out there and act like an idiot. Ain't gonna do that. Yeah, I'm Jamaican. Yeah, I do Reggae. Yeah, I could carry an intelligent conversation on any levels that you're on. Not because I'm a Reggae artist that doesn't mean I can't do that. That's what I'm here to do. I'm not about to sell out, and so what? They might not give me the credibility right now but ain't nobody sold more record than me. Just like MTV didn't give me no awards. Ití' fine. Just like I did Michael Jackson and I ripped the damn place all the way down. Ain't nobody mentioned me. That's cool, cause if you don't get it then, that's the fuel to my fire to give it to you again. And yeah, am I gonna do bigger and better? You f***in' right! Is Rayvon gonna blow up huge and sell a couple of million records? God damn right! Is Big Yard gonna be the biggest thing? You're damn right! And how? Ccause we said so and we gonna do it. We as reggae artists, we got it harder than every other genre of music. Sh*t that I got to do, I got to do it three times as hard as any other genre of music. I know that. The odds are against us. The more oppression they give us, that's more fuel to the fire. That's more fuel for Rik. That's more fuel for Rayvon. And as long as we as a unit me, Rayvon, Robert (Livingstone), Brian and Tony Gold, as a unit, know what the deal is. It's like you sitting there and you say the guy at your workplace that sit over there he's your enemy. You know he's your enemy. Ain't no way he can hurt you cause your guard is up. He can' t f*** with you. It's people that's close to you now that you not expecting. I ain't expecting the blows that I get outside of this organization. I can handle that. The blows inside is what's gonna get me. And from me, straight on here, we're safe.


NOW THAT YOU'RE ONE OF THE TOP ARTISTS IN THE WORLD AND EVERYBODY'S LOOKIN' TO HEAR WHAT YOU'RE COMIN' WITH, WILL YOU DROP MORE OF A CONSCIOUS MESSAGE INTO YOUR MUSIC?
Shaggy: It depends on my vibe. If I put an album out right now, I'd probably have a lot more songs with that. I can't tell you what it's gonna be when it gets down to it. I can tell you now that I enjoy doing songs like "Keepiní It Real," "Why Me Lord," songs like those. Rayvon got a song on his album called "Story Of My Life" which is one of the most moving tracks. I can't wait for us starting to do that on stage, just to hear it every night is gonna be fun.


WHAT ROLL DOES YOUR MR. LOVERMAN PERSONA PLAY?
Shaggy: It's funny that just lingers along. It's just what people grab onto. To me, I've said it, that it's a character and I just have fun with the character. At the end of the day I'll always do songs for the ladies, cause I know there's a following there for that. I have no objection sitting there playing that role when I need to play that role, but if I got to get conscious like that then I'll do it. The album will always still be a mixture of things. I'm not gonna sit there and do one style of music all the time.


WHAT DO YOU WANT TO PUT OUT THERE?
Rik Rok: The main thing Big Yard is trying to achieve is we want to break the stereotype. We want to make good music, that's our focus, good music. Not just Reggae music, it's not Rock music, it's not R&B, its not Hip Hop. It isn't a type of music. We're just trying to make good music.
Rayvon: Watch out for the Rayvon album. It's gonna be big!
Shaggy: We sit down and put pen to paper mofo gonna be a hit. Why? Cause we've done it three, four, five time already. You want to discredit my ass, man? I'll still write another hit and bust your ass again, straight up. Ain't no shame to my game. I don't kick soccer, I can't play that sh*t. I can't play cricket. I can't even cook. My cheque book? I barely know how to balance that mofo. Put me in front of a pen and paper I'm gonna write f***in' a hit! That's what it's about. That's what these niggas do, make some bad ass records. And anybody want to talk they can sit there and run their lips all they can. The bottom line is: who make the damn hits. Ten million. Ain't nobody sold that sh*t. Nobody!


•Shaggy's Hot Shot is out now. Rayvon's Two Way album lands in February with guest spots from Shaggy, Rik Rok, Brian & Tony Gold, Prince Midas, and others.