"It Wasn't Me" is the first single from Jamaican-American

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...

musician

Shaggy Shaggy may refer to: People *Shaggy (musician) (born 1968), Jamaican American reggae rapper and singer *Shaggy 2 Dope, half of the hip hop, horrorcore band Insane Clown Posse *Shaggy Flores (born 1973), Nuyorican poet, writer and African diaspora ...

's fifth studio album, '' Hot Shot'' (2000). The song features vocals from RikRok (credited as Rickardo "RikRok" Ducent). The lyrics of the song depict one man (RikRok) asking his friend (Shaggy) what to do after his girlfriend caught him cheating on her with "the girl next door". His friend's advice is to deny everything, despite clear evidence to the contrary, with the phrase "It wasn't me." "It Wasn't Me" was released to

contemporary hit radio Contemporary hit radio (also known as CHR, contemporary hits, hit list, current hits, hit music, top 40, or pop radio) is a radio format that is common in many countries that focuses on playing current and recurrent popular music as determined by ...

on 7 November 2000 and has been regarded as Shaggy's breakthrough in the pop market. It is his highest-charting song to date, topping the charts in Australia,

Flanders Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to cultu ...

, France, Ireland, the Netherlands, Poland, the United Kingdom, and the United States. It was the best-selling single of 2001 in the UK, selling over 1.15 million copies that year and over 1.42 million .

Background

The lyrics of "It Wasn't Me" depict one man asking his friend what to do after his girlfriend catches him having sex with another woman. His friend's advice is to deny everything, despite clear evidence to the contrary, with the phrase "It wasn't me." Ultimately, the narrator says that the advice "makes no sense at all". It is written in the key of

C major C major (or the key of C) is a major scale based on C, consisting of the pitches C, D, E, F, G, A, and B. C major is one of the most common keys used in music. Its key signature has no flats or sharps. Its relative minor is A minor and ...

. The song was inspired by a bit called "No Loyal Men," performed by

Eddie Murphy Edward Regan Murphy (born April 3, 1961) is an American actor, comedian, writer, producer, and singer. He rose to fame on the sketch comedy show ''Saturday Night Live'', for which he was a regular cast member from 1980 to 1984. Murphy has als ...

in his comedy special '' Raw'' (1987). In an interview in February 2016,

acknowledged similarities with the

War War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

song "Smile Happy". The connection is further supported by

Liam Payne Liam James Payne (born 29 August 1993) is an English singer. He rose to fame as a member of the boy band One Direction. Payne made his debut as a singer in 2008 when he auditioned for the British television series ''The X Factor''. After being ...

's debut single of 2017, " Strip That Down", itself based on "It Wasn't Me", which credited both Shaggy (as Orville Burrell) and members of War as co-songwriters. The clean version of the song replaces the lyric "Picture this: we were both butt-naked banging on the bathroom floor" with "Picture this: we were both caught making love on the bathroom floor" and "Saw me banging on the sofa" with "Saw me kissing on the sofa". "It Wasn't Me" was originally never intended to be released as a single. Before the original version of '' Hot Shot'' was released in August 2000, Hawaiian DJ Pablo Sato downloaded the album from "a

Napster Napster was a peer-to-peer file sharing application. It originally launched on June 1, 1999, with an emphasis on digital audio file distribution. Audio songs shared on the service were typically encoded in the MP3 format. It was founded by Sha ...

like MP3 site he won't name" and discovered that "It Wasn't Me" was "the album's standout cut." He played the song on American radio the next day, and in an interview, claimed, "The phone lines lit up right away. Within a couple of days, it was our number-one requested song." The song was released to radio on 7 November 2000, then was given a retail release on 6 February 2001 following its airplay success.

Chart performance

"It Wasn't Me" was Shaggy's first number one hit in the United States. The song reached number two for two weeks from 16 December to 23 December 2000. On 30 December, it was bumped down one position to number three. It moved back up to the number two spot on 4 January 2001. The song peaked at number one for two weeks in February, unseating

Destiny's Child Destiny's Child was an American girl group whose final line-up comprised Beyoncé Knowles, Kelly Rowland, and Michelle Williams. The group began their musical career as Girl's Tyme, formed in 1990 in Houston, Texas. After years of limited ...

's "

Independent Women Part I "Independent Women Part I" is a song recorded by American group Destiny's Child for the soundtrack to the 2000 film adaptation of the television program ''Charlie's Angels''. It was written and produced by production duo Poke & Tone, consisting ...

". The song also reached number one on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

on 4 March 2001, selling 345,000 copies, making the song a transatlantic chart topper. It also reached number one in Australia on 1 April 2001. It is also the 11th biggest selling single of the 21st century in the United Kingdom, with sales of over 1.42 million as of September 2017. As of August 2014, it is the 49th best selling single of the 21st century in France, with 399,500 units sold.

Music video

The music video was directed by Stephen Scott. It starts out with RikRok running to Shaggy's mansion to explain to him what has just happened. RikRok tells him that he cheated on his girlfriend and got caught. Shaggy tells him to tell her that "It wasn't me." The video then cuts into a flashback to earlier that day. RikRok has been caught sleeping with another woman, and his girlfriend is outside the apartment in her convertible when two women pull up next to her on their sport bikes. Then, the three women go into the building. He then sneaks out the window, takes the motorcycle of one of his girlfriends accomplices and leaves. The women come out and the girlfriend and one of the accomplices get in the convertible and the other gets on her motorcycle and they chase after him. From his mansion, Shaggy, using his futuristic technology, tracks down where RikRok is going and prepares an escape for him. RikRok then gets on a bridge over the highway when the accomplice rode on the bridge in front of him. He then hits the brakes to stop while she stops her motorcycle. RikRok then hears a noise behind him and it's the other accomplices and the girlfriend driving the convertible on the other side of the bridge with the highway down below. An eighteen-wheeler drives by, and Shaggy leaves RikRok a text message telling him to look behind and he notices the truck and jumps off the side of overhead and lands on the truck. He is then dropped off at Shaggy's mansion, showing the same scene from the start of the video.

Legacy

The lyrics of "It Wasn't Me" inspired ''

Slate Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. It is the finest grained foliated metamorphic rock. ...

'' writer

Josh Levin Joshua Benjamin Levin (born March 15, 1980) is an American writer and the national editor at ''Slate'' magazine. Levin also hosts the magazine's sports podcast, '' Hang Up and Listen.'' Biography Early life Levin was born and raised in New O ...

to coin the term the "

Shaggy defense A Shaggy defense is a legal defense strategy in which a person denies an accusation with the simple defense of "it wasn't me", despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary. The strategy's name is derived from reggae musician Shaggy's 2000 sing ...

" to describe R. Kelly's defense at his 2008

child pornography Child pornography (also called CP, child sexual abuse material, CSAM, child porn, or kiddie porn) is pornography that unlawfully exploits children for sexual stimulation. It may be produced with the direct involvement or sexual assault of a ...

trial stemming from the production of a

sex tape Amateur pornography is a category of pornography that features models, actors or non-professionals performing without pay, or actors for whom this material is not their only paid modeling work. Reality pornography is made porn that seeks to e ...

: "I predict that in the decades to come, law schools will teach this as the 'Shaggy defense'. You allege that I was caught on camera, butt naked, banging on the log cabin floor? It wasn't me." R. Kelly was ultimately found not guilty on those charges. Levin repeated the term on

NPR National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...

, and "Shaggy Defense" entered common use to describe a defendant flatly denying guilt despite overwhelming evidence against them. The song was spoofed by

Bob Rivers Robert Rivers (born July 7, 1956 in Branford, Connecticut) is a retired American rock and roll radio on-air personality in the Pacific Northwest, as well as a prolific producer and songwriter of parody songs, most famous for his Christmas son ...

, as ''Caught Me One Handed'', and makes a reference to the ''

Scooby-Doo ''Scooby-Doo'' is an American animated media franchise based on an animated television series launched in 1969 and continued through several derivative media. Writers Joe Ruby and Ken Spears created the original series, ''Scooby-Doo, Where Are ...

'' character,

Shaggy Rogers Norville "Shaggy" Rogers is a fictional character and one of the main characters in the ''Scooby-Doo'' franchise. He is generally depicted as an amateur detective, cowardly, lazy, and the long-time best friend of his equally cowardly dog, Sco ...

. The video focused on him being caught

masturbating Masturbation is the sexual stimulation of one's own genitals for sexual arousal or other sexual pleasure, usually to the point of orgasm. The stimulation may involve hands, fingers, everyday objects, sex toys such as vibrators, or combinat ...

(about the girl next door) by his mother. The song was also spoofed on '' Svengoolie''. On '' The Chris Moyles Show'', the song was used as a prank call with "Shaggy" (actually impressionist

Jon Culshaw Jonathan Peter Culshaw (born 2 June 1968) is an English actor, comedian and impressionist. He is best known for his work on the radio comedy '' Dead Ringers'' since 2000. Culshaw has voiced a number of characters for ITV shows including ''2D ...

) trying to book a taxi, with the final line being "Can you drop me off at ''The Chris Moyles Show'' on

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance ...

?, 97 to 99 FM".

Track listings

* Jamaican 7-inch single :A. "It Wasn't Me" :B. "It Wasn't Me" (club mix) * US 7-inch single :A. "It Wasn't Me" (album version) – 3:48 :B. "It Wasn't Me" (vocal club) – 4:10 * US CD single # "It Wasn't Me" (album version) # "It Wasn't Me" (Squeaky version) # "It Wasn't Me" (instrumental version) # "It Wasn't Me" (Sports version) * US 12-inch single :A1. "It Wasn't Me" (vocal 12-inch mix) – 3:49 :A2. "It Wasn't Me" (vocal 12-inch mix instrumental) – 3:49 :B1. "It Wasn't Me" (Punch remix) – 3:54 :B2. "It Wasn't Me" (album version) – 3:47 * European CD single # "It Wasn't Me" (radio edit) – 3:43 # "It Wasn't Me" (vocal 12-inch mix) – 3:49 * UK CD single # "It Wasn't Me" (radio edit) – 3:43 # "It Wasn't Me" (vocal 12-inch mix) – 3:49 # " Dance & Shout" (Pussy 2000 club mix edit) – 8:07 # "It Wasn't Me" (enhanced video) * UK 12-inch single :A1. "It Wasn't Me" (radio edit) – 3:43 :A2. "It Wasn't Me" (album version) – 3:47 :B1. "It Wasn't Me" (12-inch vocal) – 3:49 * UK cassette single # "It Wasn't Me" (radio edit) – 3:43 # "It Wasn't Me" (album version) – 3:47 * Australian CD single # "It Wasn't Me" (radio edit) – 3:43 # "It Wasn't Me" (vocal 12-inch mix) – 3:49 # "It Wasn't Me" (Crash & Burn remix) – 5:37 # "Dance & Shout" (Pussy 2000 club mix edit) – 8:07 # "Dance & Shout" (Kulb Kings club mix) – 6:30 # "It Wasn't Me" (enhanced video)

Credits and personnel

Credits are taken from the ''Hot Shot'' album booklet. Studios * Recorded and mixed at Ranch Recording Studios (

Valley Stream, New York Valley Stream is a village in Nassau County, on Long Island, in New York, United States. The population in the Village of Valley Stream was 37,511 at the 2010 census. The incorporated Village of Valley Stream is within the Town of Hempstead, ...

) * Mastered at Sterling Sound (New York City) Personnel * Shaggy – writing (as Orville Burrell) * Ricardo "RikRok" Ducent – writing (as Rickardo Ducent) * Shaun "Sting" Pizzonia – writing, background vocals, drums, production, recording, mixing * Brian Thompson – writing *

Brian and Tony Gold Brian and Tony Gold are a Jamaican reggae duo from Portmore, St. Catherine, Jamaica.Johnson, Richard (2018)Introducing Anu Brian Gold, '' Jamaica Gleaner'', 30 December 2018. Retrieved 30 December 2018 History Contrary to many beliefs, Bri ...

– background vocals * Robert Zapata – guitar * Nigel Staff – keyboard * Jerry Johnson – brass * Kevin Batchelor – brass * Gwen Laster – violin *

Chris Gehringer Chris Gehringer (born May 27, 1962) is an American mastering engineer, known for having mastered recordings such as Gwen Stefani's '' Love. Angel. Music. Baby.'' (2004), Rihanna's '' Loud'' (2010), Lady Gaga's '' Born This Way'' (2011) and Drake' ...

– mastering

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Decade-end charts

All-time charts

Certifications

Release history

References

* ''The Billboard Book of Number One Hits'', fifth edition

External links

Everything Is A Remix
Shaggy is inspired by Eddie Murphy {{Authority control 2000 singles 2000 songs Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles Dutch Top 40 number-one singles European Hot 100 Singles number-one singles Irish Singles Chart number-one singles List songs Masturbation in fiction Number-one singles in Australia Number-one singles in Poland Number-one singles in Scotland SNEP Top Singles number-one singles Shaggy (musician) songs Songs about infidelity Songs written by Shaggy (musician) UK Singles Chart number-one singles Ultratop 50 Singles (Flanders) number-one singles