Shaggy - Intoxication Review

Shaggy's 2005 effort Clothes Drop was widely ignored in the States and only semi-accepted in the U.K. and Europe. In Jamaica and Japan, however, the album had serious legs, carrying the dancehall singer's career all the way to 2007 and the release of the "Church Heathen" single. Seeing as how his most supportive territories were Jamaica -- the home of it all -- and Japan -- where they'll take their dancehall straight, no R&B chaser required -- it made perfect sense for Shaggy to deliver a JA flavored tune featuring Jamaican Patois and references for the dancehall literate. That tune, "Church Heathen," took the dancehall world by storm, re-established the singer's footing in the U.K., and began to make an impact in the States towards the end of the 2007. ...full text Shaggy uses "Intoxication" to once again show that while he and his crew can crank out solid pop, they can match it with cuts that genuinely rock the dancehall. The thing is, everyone knows he can do pop. What he needs to do now is just crank out a full disc of bangers. It's the point proved by his new album's boastful opening track, "Can't Hold Me," and the raunchy rhythm driving the sexy title song. The foundation of the disc is aimed at the airwaves, and a few songs could easily see chart action....full text For the committed, reggae is honed on the tropical sufferah's redemption: sweat, riddim, and a virile roots-rebel stance. So where to place a gregarious hip-swiveler like Shaggy and Intoxication, his latest set of dance-floor fodder? A well-mannered brown chap rhyming about erotic antics is no hero to those who prefer artists served up as avenging myths. Still, plenty of fans within and without the London-NYC-Jamaica reggae axis have already demonstrated their appreciation for a sharp musical intelligence that merges catchy choruses with deep, fluid growls landing like smart bombs over irresistible beats....full text