KINGSTON, Jamaica — Whereas admitting that an underground sound system conflict acted because the catalyst for his musical profession, multi-Grammy-winning artiste Orville ‘Shaggy’ Burrell says he doesn’t foresee himself collaborating in any lyrical showdowns at this stage of his profession.
Talking on the Island Music Convention on the Courtleigh Auditorium on Wednesday, Shaggy shared that for him to even contemplate a lyrical battle with one other entertainer, that particular person must be on his degree by way of success.
“I had many clashes in my early days beginning. If I see a conflict that’s going to hold me to an even bigger bag, I’m all in. If I see a conflict that’s not going to do something for me, why even reply?” he questioned. “Clashing is strategic in that sense, and so for me, if yah conflict wid me yuh affi deh pan mi degree or it nuh make sense.”
“I keep in mind Papa San one time when him a conflict him used to say, ‘nuh sprat tonight’, a ranges to this factor so if yuh nuh deh pan mi degree a it that,” he continued.
Although it could take a unprecedented entertainer to attract Shaggy onto the battlefield, the internationally famend artiste says he has the utmost respect for conflict tradition. He expressed that for most of the established artistes from his period, clashes have been their coaching floor. He credit lyrical battles for creating an artiste’s stage presence and lyrical prowess.
“Conflict tradition is spontaneous, and you need to learn your viewers. It’s having a bunch of lyrics in your head that you could step in at any second on a stage and defend your self. That type of tradition transcends down the road in your profession by way of studying your crowd. Beenie Man is nice at that. He’ll take any scenario and simply flip it in his favour,” he shared. “There’s a spontaneity that you need to have as an artiste that sound techniques and conflict tradition create that I don’t suppose these youthful artistes have as a result of most of them are simply actually on dub plates. The system has modified.”
Admitting that the historical past of verbal clashes turning into bodily stands out as the purpose behind the supposed decline in clashes, Shaggy urged entertainers to maintain the warfare lyrical.
He outlined that whereas clashes are crucial for an artiste’s growth, entertainers need to see it as a sport and hold issues respectful.
“With conflict enterprise, individuals haffi know fi hold conflict enterprise as a sport as a result of typically some individuals say issues that go beneath the belt and I’ve at all times not been a fan of that. I don’t know if anybody noticed me and Sasco doing the conflict factor the place I’m in a single studio, he’s in one other and we a go head-to-head. As bredren, we a draw card however we don’t go beneath the belt. We nuh speak bout one another’s households or children. There needs to be a degree the place you don’t go beneath the belt.”
