Shaggy pays tribute to his mom (“Hope”) and assures troubled fans of “a brighter tomorrow . . . persevere and you’ll succeed” (“Keep’n It Real”). “Angel” credits a woman with standing by her man through hard times, however . . .
Any self-respecting girlfriend would dump this libidinous playboy. On the hit “It Wasn’t Me,” the singer uses vivid sexual slang to describe how his woman caught him having sex with the girl next door. Shaggy fancies himself a ladies man “kissin’ all the honeys [and] gettin’ ready to mate” (“Dance and Shout”) and shamelessly comes on to a married woman (“Hotshot”). He rejects a lover because she’s not a “Freaky Girl,” into handcuffs, whips and chains. “Luv Me Luv Me,” “Not Fair” and “Leave It to Me” are simply perverse verbal foreplay. “Hey Love” brags that cheap sex accompanies celebrity. Five tracks glamorize alcohol use. The guy gripes about getting caught with a loaded .32 and a case of ammo in his car (“Why Me Lord”).
Born Richard Burrell, this past Grammy winner is simply a reggae renegade preoccupied with illicit sex. Hotshot‘s few positives get drowned out in the process. So what’s a discriminating teen to do? To borrow a line from another famous Shaggy, “Zoinks! Let’s get outta here!”
