Shaggy Says His Hit Song ‘It Wasn’t Me’ Has Anti-Cheating Message

 Reggae singer Shaggy
Reggae singer Shaggy performs on NBC’s “Today” show July 6, 2001, in New York City. Shaggy is a native of Kingston, Jamaica, and a Persian Gulf War veteran. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)

*Shaggy is back with an updated version of his album, “Hot Shot 2020,” which includes a new version of his 2000 hit “It Wasn’t Me.”

In a new interview with PEOPLE, the Jamaican-born rapper and singer said fans have misunderstood the song since its release. ”It’s an anti-cheating song,” he said.

“It was a big misconception with that song because that song is not a cheating song. It’s an anti-cheating song. It’s just that nobody listened to the record to the end,” Shaggy explained. 

“There’s a part in the record where it’s a conversation between two people and you have one guy, which is me at that point, giving that bad advice, like, “Yo, bro, how could you get caught? Just tell her, ‘It wasn’t me,’” and then at the end, the guy says, “I’m going to tell her that I’m sorry for the pain that I’ve caused. I’ve been listening to your reasoning, it makes no sense at all. Going to tell her that I’m sorry for the pain that I’ve caused. You might think that you’re a player, but you’re completely lost.”

Shaggy added, “Nobody hears that part! That’s what the song says. But everybody’s just caught up on that, “It wasn’t me, it wasn’t me.” It’s an anti-cheating song. No one ever really buys into that, and I keep explaining it to people. Then, they go listen to it back and be like, “Oh dude, I totally missed that.”

Shaggy is set to hit the road for the upcoming Hot Summer Nights Tour with TLC, En Vogue, and Sean Kingston. The artist is currently partnering with Smirnoff ICE for the Relaunch Tour, according to PEOPLE.

“I did Europe with En Vogue, I think on two occasions. The last time I saw them was on The Masked Singer, but I didn’t know it was them because they were masked up. And then afterward I realized and had actually spoken to them backstage,” Shaggy explained to the publication.

“As far as TLC is concerned, I’ve done like eight shows last year in America with them, and there was a massive turnout. I think Live Nation liked the idea of us and them together. Then, I ended up doing Australia with them also. We did stadiums there with me, them and Akon. It’s an easy, seamless type of a production with myself and TLC, and with adding En Vogue and Sean Kingston to the mix, I just think it’s just going to be a fan favorite,” he shared.

“It’s going to be something that the fans are really, really going to enjoy. We’re just going to go out there and put on a great show, man, and have a wonderful tour,” Shaggy added.

As Her reports, Shaggy is serving up an updated version of his original album, “Hot Shot 2020,” saying “It’s been 20 years since my album, Hot Shot, and the now infamous ‘anthem’ It Wasn’t Me and to commemorate this milestone, I decided to reproduce this classic hit. In doing so, I wanted to make sure we stayed true to the integrity of the original recording while finding ways to modernize it, being that the song remains a recurrent hit, garnering a new and younger fan base each year.”

READ MORE: Go ‘Head Shaggy! Mr. Boombastic Receives Honorary Degree from Brown University | WATCH-His-Speech

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