Shaggy celebrates women

Last year’s Angel and It Wasn’t Me are very hard acts to follow. The album they came from, Hotshot by the Jamaican-born New Yorker Shaggy, rode high in the hit charts in many parts of the world. And before that there were other big sellers like Oh Carolina and the Grammy-winning Boombastic. They leave no doubt that Shaggy, who was named after a character in the animated TV series Scooby-Doo, is a major pop star. So it is only right that there be a close watch on what he will come up with in his follow-up album.

Shaggy’s latest is titled Lucky Day and it goes beyond anything he has accomplished these past years. As any artist with several hits to his name will tell you, this is the sort of album you get to make after you have became big enough to call the shots. This is no mere collection of great sounds to groove to as it aspires to be something more. It is an album that pays tribute to women. Shaggy has several of them in his life, ladies who helped shape him into the person and artist he has become. To say thanks, he decided to do a very uplifting, pro-woman album.

Shaggy does not hold back on this theme in any of the cuts. Full Control brings back memories of Women’s Lib. Strength of a Woman is a love song that extols character, forbearance and other female virtues. Lost Goes into family problems while Walking in My Shoes is a message of hope for women contending with gender and racial biases everywhere. The joyful and inspirational Another Day is where Shaggy gives thanks to God for women and life.

The serious themes are packaged in tunes made for dancing all night long or strutting on city streets. Well done. Shaggy’s intention to praise women is certainly commendable but what wins the day for the album is still the beat. It is when the themes are not so serious that the rhythm gets really funky. These are the Lips, Shake Shake and Hooky Jookie or in the case of Hey, Sexy Lady, which is about a woman banging the headboard in the next room – it is also funny and sexy. The latter blends Shaggy’s usual hip hop reggae with a Latin beat and the result is quite attractive.

Although he last performed to a sold-out crowd only during last year’s Valentine season, his Pinoy fans still missed Brian McKnight when his scheduled concert was not pushed through last November. This is because McKnight is one of the very few soul balladeers in the world who has thoroughly captured the sentimental soul of the Filipinos. There is a strong chance though that he will be back in the middle of this year for the promo tour of his new studio album. Meanwhile, the followers of this multi-platinum singer, songwriter, producer, pianist and others, can see themselves through the wait with McKnight’s From There to Here collection.

From There to Here celebrates McKnight’s 10 years as a pop singing star and he does this by compiling his hit tunes in one album. And because Manila is a place he immensely enjoys visiting and where he now has a lot of friends, he has included a Tagalog song. You read right. The opening cut of the album is the Sorry Song and Brian sings it in Pilipino with help from his close friend Martin Nievera. His Tagalog is accented but clear and he sounds like he understands every word he is singing. Of course, whether he sings in English or Pilipino, Brian’s vocals remain expressively sexy.

The period covered is 1992 to 2002 and the songs included are The Way Love Goes. Brian’s first single and Love Is, his duet with Vanessa Williams from 1992. One Last Cry from 1993, Crazy Love, his version of a Van Morrison song and Still in Love from 1994, You Should be Mine from 1997, Back at One and 6-8-12 from 1999, Still and Love of My Life from the recent Superhero album, some new recordings like The Way I Do and Let Me Love You, plus several others. Then to close the album and provide more proof as the how much he enjoys working with Filipino artists, there is Thank You For Saving My Life which features Martin Nievera.