Shaggy believes his songs have been “bestowed” on him by God.
The It Wasn’t Me hitmaker insisted he isn’t responsible for writing any of his hit tracks and he “honestly believes” the catchy tunes came to him as a way to help other people.
He told the Daily Star Sunday newspaper: “People say I wrote It Wasn’t Me and my other hits but I didn’t write any of them. They were bestowed on me from a higher power.
“If it had come from me I would write one every week. I honestly believe these songs were given to me to help change peoples’ lives. I’m just here to act as a service until I’m no longer needed.”
Shaggy – whose real name is Orville Burrell – is proud to be celebrating over 30 years in the music industry, particulary after he was written off as a one-hit wonder following the success of Oh Carolina in 1993.
He said: “It has been quite a ride.
“There’s not many artists who get to have success over three decades of music.
“I remember after Oh Carolina they called me the one hit wonder.
“Then I did Boombastic and I was the two hit wonder and then Summertime and I was the three hit wonder.
“At that point no one had seen a dancehall artist have follow-up hits.
“I was the first to have multiple follow ups quickly after.”
The 56-year-old star previously credited taking breaks from music to do other things, such as The Little Mermaid Live! back in 2019, for his longevity because they have stopped him from “overstaying [his] welcome” in his chart career.
He told E! News: “I’ve been lucky to have gone through this multiple times. I was lucky to go through that roller coaster ride of the fanning-out, the craziness. Everything for me is strategic. You go to your aunt’s house and she’s happy to see you. She’s making your bed, she’s cooking for you. You stay there for two weeks, [then] she’s like, ‘Alright, you’re cooking for yourself, you need to take out the garbage.’ You don’t want to overstay your welcome. That’s part of what’s known as longevity, and this is why I’m here.
“I’ll take myself away from the scene, do some theatre. And then we’ll come back in when the time is right. You just kind of know where you are, you look at the market—the market is always changing. The game is always changing. You always look at where your audience is.”