Shaggy speaks on split from manager

Davina Hamilton, Voice Reporter

DANCEHALL STAR Shaggy has spoken out about splitting with his manager Robert Livingston after almost two decades of success.

The It Wasn't Me hitmaker shot to fame under Livingston's management, scoring hits with Oh Carolina and Boombastic in the early 1990s. The pair later went on to set up the renowned Jamaican record label, Big Yard.

But last month, Livingston confirmed that the pair had parted ways, telling The Gleaner that he and his former artiste "just grew apart". Livingston added that he felt Shaggy hadn't handled the situation well, saying: "The respect I should have got from him, his approach to everything, should have been much different."

However, Shaggy feels that their split was a long time coming.

"We weren't seeing eye-to-eye on a lot of things," the 42-year-old told The Voice. "In fact, we always clashed on a lot of things."

"I saw an article recently [in The Gleaner] in which he said he didn't like It Wasn't Me and I was amazed that he admitted that. It is true that he hated that song when he first heard it ... there were a couple more he hated too that he didn't admit to [laughs]. So it was no new thing that we clashed creatively. We bucked heads on a lot of things."

The deejay, born Orville Burrell, says that things got to a point where they just couldn't work together anymore.

"I got older and started to know the business a lot more and I became more defiant. You know, these things happen. And for the last few years, we were doing different projects. He went ahead and formed a new label called Scikron when I was trying to keep the Big Yard fire going. Big Yard was a brand that we built together but we just went our separate ways."

Still, Shaggy, who will perform at the One Love Peace Festival at London's Wembley Arena later this month, said he has no ill-feeling towards his former manager.

"I wish him the best. I know he's gonna continue to do his thing. He always has. He's a guy with great ideas ... a lot of them just didn't mesh with what I'm doing. I'm not saying that what I'm doing is right or wrong, but I've gotta do what works for me."

Shaggy will perform at The One Love Peace Festival at Wembley Arena on July 31. For tickets and more information, visit www.originalonelove.com