Summer Fest was Shaggy’s third time performing in the Cayman Islands, and the event line-up included fellow Big Yard artists, Rik Rok, Rayvon, and the very energetic Kiprich, along with Prince Mydas, and local artists JG, Andrea Rivera and Notch.

In a press conference last week, the Big Yard artists, as well as Caymanian-born JG, took some time to rap with the local media on their current musical ventures.

Having numerous number one singles that have reached the US Billboard chart, Shaggy is an artist that appeals to a crossover audience; yet his most recent hit, Church Heathen, is a distinctly dancehall tune that doesn’t have the signature sound his previous singles have carried in past years. It’s pure dancehall.

“We needed to come back hard, and come back hard into dancehall,” Shaggy explained. “People were saying ‘Shaggy is internationally good, but he’s not really dancehall.’ So we had to prove ourselves, and the outcome was a success.”

By proving himself, Shaggy referred to his recent struggles with previous label, Geffen Records, indicating that his sound was being compromised by the requests of label heads.

“In October (2006), I decided I needed to do this on my own, and got off the label. We went into the studio in November and came out with Church Heathen in December. Can you imagine me walking in to Geffen and telling them that Church Heathen is my next big hit? There is no way they would’ve understood,” he said, shaking his head.

“They would have looked at me and said ‘well I can’t understand the chorus. I think we should get Nelly Furtado to sing it. I think it needs to be remixed by maybe Timbaland and maybe get Justin (Timberlake) to sing harmonies’,” he mimicked.

It’s a common frustration for artists. They make music; get noticed; a label picks them up; they make some hits; the label then decides how to direct the songs to get a hit; the artist has little say; the artist gets frustrated; the vicious circle continues till the album contract deal ends.

Starting his own label, Big Yard Music Group, with manager Robert Livingston and producer Sting International, Shaggy signed a number of artists, including Rik Rok, Rayvon and Kiprich, up and coming Etana, and came out with the explosive sound of Church Heathen.

“When we did Church Heathen it was to basically target the underground, the grass roots. If you saw the video, it was a very local video, it told the story,” Shaggy explained, continuing, “But then it started to cross over in Italy, Germany and the UK, and we ended up having to shoot another video which is a bit more mainstream.”

For a song that is so embedded in the dancehall sound, the reception it has received around the world is almost surprising. With artists like Shaggy, Sean Paul, Sizzla and Beenieman bringing the sounds of dancehall to a more international stage, “Dancehall is becoming a part of pop culture now,” Shaggy said. “So there is no really telling what song will work where.”

When touring, be it in the Caribbean where one learns to wine as soon as they learn to walk, or internationally, where mosh pits and line dancing may be the norm, Shaggy and his crew perform the same at any venue they are at. “Whether it is Caribbean, Asia, Europe, or Africa, anywhere we go we try to give 100% all the time. Whether it is 10 people or 10,000 people. Because any spectator that comes to see a show and pay money, they want to see the artist work, so we work,” affirmed Rayvon.

Adding to Rayvon’s comment, Shaggy said, “You might find in some countries there are more songs that are more popular than others. Sometimes we go to a particular country and get with the local DJs and try to find what songs are more popular.”

Just as every fan has a favourite song, Shaggy has a favourite song to perform: Strength of a Woman. “To me it’s one of those songs that you only write once in a lifetime. The song was written by the strength of a woman first. We were in South Africa and I was watching this television thing and I see these ladies on the TV doing this incredible dance that really caught my attention. There was some argument going on that I don’t really want to get into but…This time I just woke up and had this melody. The messages were all there, and I felt like that song chose me.”

Normally, for Shaggy, “Inspiration can come from anywhere,” but most of his songs are written by a tune buzzing away in his mind and “I might have an idea or kind of direction of where I am going.”

Reflecting on his longevity in the music industry, Shaggy added, “Inspiration comes from having to keep reinventing yourself, especially when you’re in music this long. People like new things. Everybody likes new things. You have to reinvent yourself and be clever to come back new every time. I have very long nights sitting down and thinking about new concepts.”

Shaggy’s next album is slated to be released this coming fall, and will differ from projects he’s done in the past. You won’t find super-producers or superstars on his new album. But you will find the familiar crooning of Rik Rok and Rayvon. “I’d rather deal with my crew, which is why you see songs with Rik Rok and Rayvon. I know these guys are soldiers with me. If there is time to go out and buckle up…we deal with it,” he shared.

For some artists, a collaboration with a big name can send you blazing up the charts, but that’s usually not without some headaches and compromise involved. “I don’t like doing collaborations with superstar artists. I don’t choose a collaboration because of a particular artist, but rather based on my relationship with an artist,” Shaggy explained.

“I had an experience with Janet Jackson for a soundtrack. It was kind of a milestone in my career. But she was never in the studio when we did it. She did it separately. When the song came out, and surfaced to radio, radio didn’t really react to it. It was kind of a big wreck. So when it was time for the video, she didn’t really want anything to do with it. It left a bad taste in my mouth, doing it (songs) with massive stars. There is too much red tape and management and all.”

Nevertheless, with Janet or without, Shaggy knows the hustle it takes to promote his music. Regardless of a video being made, Shaggy did all he could to hype up his single with Janet Jackson. “I found myself on the road with Rayvon and a DAT machine, hitting different radio stations and trying to perform the song whenever we could, to actually get the song promoted. It was ironic because it came to number three on the US Billboard.”

Making music for Shaggy isn’t a half-hearted career. “I make music in a way that if I am excited, I just hope that it connects with everybody else. So I just try to be excited first,” he said.

When it comes to performing in front of an audience or working in the studio, the international artist says, “I make music to perform music. I mean, even writing songs, you might look for a point in the song, like a bridge, that is something the audience will love.”

However Rayvon compared the difference between performing and the studio as “like a chef cooking a meal and then presenting it to somebody who’s going to eat it, and it’s just finger-licking good.”

Rik Rok added, “I love working in the studio and the whole vibe of it, but we are orchestrating this for the stage. And that is a whole different set of enjoyments. Of course there’s also the videos, which I love.”

Rayvon and Rik Rok, known for their collaborations with Shaggy, Rayvon on the number one single Angel, and Rik Rok on another number one single, It Wasn’t Me, are both currently working on their own solo projects.

Local artist JG released his first album in March 2007, “The Mind of Jason Gilbert”, with the single “Summer is Over” reaching the number one spot on X107.1 FM for 27 days straight. For this young Caymanian rapper/producer/songwriter, the chance to perform in Summer Fest “is a great feeling to be able to bring my songs to all my fans.”