It’s undoubtedly one of the most iconic songs of the Noughties, but Shaggy has said that fans have misunderstood ‘It Wasn’t Me’ for years.
Released in 2000, the single ended up being the biggest selling song of 2001 in the UK, selling over 1.15m copies.
Although Shaggy was already a well-known name at the time, thanks to other hits such as Boombastic, ‘It Wasn’t Me’ was his pop breakthrough and is probably the song he’s most famous for.
But apparently fans have misunderstood it’s message.
Although widely considered to be a song about a man cheating on his partner, Shaggy has revealed it’s actually an “anti-cheating song.”
Ahead of his new tour this summer, he was asked by People magazine whether the song had led to him gaining a reputation as a “player.”
The 54-year-old, who has been married to Rebecca Parker for almost 10 years and shared three daughters with her, responded: “It was a big misconception with that song because that song is not a cheating song. It’s an anti-cheating song. It’s just that nobody listened to the record to the end.
“There’s a part in the record where it’s a conversation between two people and you have one guy, which is me at that point, giving that bad advice, like, ‘Yo, bro, how could you get caught? Just tell her, ‘It wasn’t me”, and then at the end, the guy says, ‘I’m going to tell her that I’m sorry for the pain that I’ve caused.’
“‘I’ve been listening to your reasoning, it makes no sense at all. Going to tell her that I’m sorry for the pain that I’ve caused. You might think that you’re a player, but you’re completely lost’.”
Shaggy concluded: “Nobody hears that part! That’s what the song says.”
The veteran rapper’s new tour, kicked off on Thursday (June 1) and will see Shaggy joined by the likes of TLC, En Vogue and Sean Kingston on-stage this summer.
Speaking about the tour, he said: “Well, these are all people I personally have worked with before and know. Sean and me — that’s my island boy. I’ve known him for years.
“It is really great to be on the bill with these wonderful ladies. I did Europe with En Vogue, I think on two occasions.
“As far as TLC is concerned, I’ve done like eight shows last year in America with them, and there was a massive turnout. I think Live Nation liked the idea of us and them together.”
