Reggae artist Shaggy and East African artist Bruce Melodie chatted about their new collaboration “When She’s Around (Funga Macho),” and the digital age.
‘When She’s Around (Funga Macho)’
On the new single “When She’s Around (Funga Macho),” Shaggy said, “Bruce and I have to give this one to Steve Greenberg. He literally heard this record when he was visiting Rwanda and he fell in love with it. The first thing he did once he got it is he called me and told me that he thinks he has a record that is a smash hit.”
“I heard the sax horn, and it was so infectious, uplifting and joyous,” Shaggy said. “I didn’t understand the lyric so much because it was done in his native tongue, but I was drawn to the melodies and how he delivered it; the song was just great.”
“I hope this song brings joy to people,” both artists concurred. “It’s a feel-good record, and we just want people to have smiles, and we hope they really enjoy themselves with it. If it can help people through their day, then we’ve done our job.”
Recording in the language of Kinyarwanda
Melodie shared that the whole song was in their local language Kinyarwanda, and they recorded it because they wanted it to be more in English. “Thank God that Shaggy loved it,” Melodie admitted.
“I loved it when it was in Kinyarwanda even though I didn’t understand most of the words,” Shaggy admitted. “Bruce did an incredible job in English, and still kept a little of the Swahili in it to give it that vibe.”
Music video
“The video turned out great,” Shaggy said. The song itself was written about a promiscuous lady. Most often, you see a song that is written where the male is the promiscuous one. The guys are the ones that are falling for her now, and they are heartbroken by her promiscuity. It’s a bit liberating in some sense for the females.”
“What was good about it and what makes us a great team is that we sat down, and we made sure that it was joyous and done in a light-hearted fashion, and that it was not offensive to any party. That is a testament to who Bruce and I are, and we are respectful of people’s feelings,” Shaggy elaborated.
Bruce Melodie talks about working with Shaggy
On working with Shaggy, Melodie said, “First of all, I am a big fan of his, and I have been for a long time. When they told me that Shaggy liked the song, I thought it was a lie, and I couldn’t believe it.”
“I went into the studio and recorded my part, and I did it very quickly. Then, I found out that Shaggy liked the whole thing. I was trying to figure out what was going to come out of this song,” he said.
“We played it with my whole team of 40 people, and the studio was on fire,” Melodie exclaimed. “It was very easy and good to work with Shaggy because he has the experience, he knows what he is doing, and we can learn a lot from him.”
The digital age
On being an artist in the digital age, Shaggy said, “I think it’s great. Streaming and social media give you the opportunity to have a direct connection with your fan-base, and your audience. It puts the power back into the artists’ hands now. I came from the analog age, and I’ve seen the changes all the way through.”
“Now, we are in the digital age,” Shaggy said. “Hip hop is celebrating 50 years now. You realize that hip hop has created five or six billionaires in less than 20 years, really because it wasn’t mainstream back then.”
Shaggy continued, “You see artists like Drake and younger kids that came from the digital age and enjoyed success globally because of streaming.” What streaming does is that it erases the gatekeepers, so to speak, which want to put every artist into a box.”
“I don’t think Afrobeat and all of these beautiful art forms would have made it to the forefront if it wasn’t for streaming,” Shaggy acknowledged. “To be honest, I don’t think hip hop could have done it without streaming.”
“When there is a will there is a way,” Shaggy said. “When I started with reggae and dancehall there were no radio stations that played that music in 1993.”
Shaggy continued, “At that time, I realized that I had to work 10 times harder and 10 times better to make records, and get 10 times less sleep with 10 times less of a budget.”
“You can arguably say Drake’s wealth is mainly through record sales… so I think streaming is a good thing, which puts the powers back in the artists’ hands, and streaming helps them navigate their own future,” shaggy added.
Fela Kuti
Both artists described two-time Rock and Roll Hall of Fame nominee Fela Kuti as a musical influence, especially since he was the founder of the Afrobeat genre. “While I never played with Fela Kuti, he may have been a little before my time, but I knew of his music and of all of the great things that he did for African music,” Shaggy said.
“Fela was a big, big influence… The Afrobeat genre now is growing bigger and better now,” Melodie said.
‘Com Fly Wid Mi’ album
Shaggy opened up about his 2023 Grammy nomination for “Best Reggae Album” for “Com Fly Wid Mi,” where he collaborated with Sting.
‘That was a lovely project,” Shaggy said. “It was something that I didn’t know I could do, and it started as a joke because it really started over drinks. I have to give it to Sting who was persistent in telling me that I can do this. Sting sat there with me in the studio and did every vocal with me over and over again until I got it right.”
“When I heard the final product, it was just brilliant, and it is one of my proudest records,” Shaggy added.
“When She’s Around (Funga Mancho)” is available on digital service providers by clicking here.
To learn more about Bruce Melodie, follow him on Instagram.
For more information on Shaggy, visit his official website, and follow him on Instagram.
