In a career move that may not prove to be especially boombastic or fantastic, Shaggy has announced that he turned down a guest appearance on the upcoming Rihanna album.
[jwplayer WI7HjcNH]
Rihanna’s ninth album, which has been in the works for some time now, is said to be heavily inspired by reggae and dancehall, making Shaggy an easy fit for a featured spot.
Her people approached him, but the catch was that they asked him to audition first, an he had no interest in doing so. He told the Daily Star:
“They approached me for the Rihanna project, yeah. There’s a lot of great people involved, but for me, I didn’t need to audition to be on the record. I’ll leave that to younger guys. But from what I hear, it should be good.”
It’s possible to see both sides here – as an artist with a career spanning three decades, Shaggy was probably not thrilled at being asked to prove himself, but on the other hand, it’s RIHANNA we’re talking about, so you do what you’ve gotta do.
Either way, he doesn’t seem to have any hard feelings, telling the publication:
“It’s healthy competition. Dancehall is in good place but we need as many people to do this art form as possible. When it crosses over and becomes popular with artists from other genres and other cultures, that can only be good.”
