The Story of 'It Wasn’t Me' by Shaggy

Summary by Krater

Shaggy and his collaborators discuss the creation and unexpected massive success of his hit song It Wasn't Me from his album Hot Shot, detailing how the track was almost left off the record and later became a global phenomenon.

From the video

Answers: How was Shaggy's hit song It Wasn't Me made and released?

• music production
• songwriting process
• hit single creation
• reggae dancehall music
• record label dynamics

What it concludes

• It Wasn't Me was almost left off the Hot Shot album because senior executives at MCA Records initially thought the album was a piece of junk.
• The song's intro and beat were created by Sting International using custom Neve consoles and analog gear.
• A DJ in Hawaii playing It Wasn't Me on the radio helped spark massive local and global demand for the song.
• Hot Shot went on to sell 10 million copies worldwide and became number one in almost every country, propelling dancehall reggae into mainstream popularity.