Shaggy, the dancehall legend, has finally exposed his actual voice after fans grew attached to his distinctive tone. In a video posted on Shaggy’s TikTok profile, he revealed that his well-known accent originated from his time in the military.
“I got this voice by mocking drill instructors in the military. Because in the Marines, the drill instructors would go, ‘Yeah boy, drop and give me 20. Let’s go.’ And I would mock him as a form of joking because it motivated, you know, your platoon,” he shared, per HipHopDX.
On his 1993 single “Oh Carolina,” he said he sang in that voice because “it sounded cool,” but since the song became his first major hit, he felt compelled to continue singing in that range of voice.
“‘Oh Carolina’ blew up and now I’m faced with the situation that I’m gonna have to sing every song like that,” he added.
The popular rapper went on to say that some of the tracks from his 1993 hit album “Pure Pleasure,” such as “Big Up” and “Mampie,” are “not the same tone” and are “sung in a different voice than Oh Carolina.”
Fans in his comments had diverse feelings, with some really surprised by his true voice. One person said that the star had been gaslighting the world the entire time, stating, “Not Shaggy gaslighting us all these years.” Another exclaimed, “HOLD UP!!! Shaggy doesn’t have an accent.”
One person stated that they had always assumed the artist was Jamaican, while others were surprised to learn that Shaggy was a marine.
