In the year 2000, Shaggy released his smash hit "It Wasn't Me," which quickly became a global sensation. The song, featuring a conversation between Shaggy and RikRok about infidelity, reached the top of charts worldwide. However, a recent revelation from Shaggy himself challenges the prevailing interpretation of the song, stating that it was actually intended as an anti-cheating anthem. In an interview with People, Shaggy sheds light on the misconceptions surrounding his iconic track and clarifies its true message.
For over two decades, fans have associated "It Wasn't Me" with a guide to cheating, as the song seemingly portrayed a conversation between two men discussing an affair. However, according to Shaggy, the prevailing interpretation misses a crucial part of the song's message. In the interview, he explains that the track was meant to be an anti-cheating song from the start.
It was a big misconception with that song because that song is not a cheating song. It's an anti-cheating song. It's just that nobody listened to the record to the end. There's a part in the record where it's a conversation between two people and you have one guy, which is me at that point, giving that bad advice, like, “Yo, bro, how could you get caught? Just tell her, ‘It wasn't me,’” and then at the end, the guy says, "I'm going to tell her that I'm sorry for the pain that I've caused. I've been listening to your reasoning, it makes no sense at all. Going to tell her that I'm sorry for the pain that I've caused. You might think that you're a player, but you're completely lost."
Nobody hears that part! That's what the song says. But everybody's just caught up on that, “It wasn't me, it wasn't me." It's an anti-cheating song. No one ever really buys into that, and I keep explaining it to people. Then, they go listen to it back and be like, “Oh dude, I totally missed that.”
Shaggy points out that listeners often overlooked the latter part of the song, where the character portrayed by RikRok expresses remorse for the pain he caused and acknowledges the illogical nature of his actions. The conversation between the two individuals in the song serves as a cautionary tale, with Shaggy's character initially giving bad advice but ultimately recognizing the need for honesty and taking responsibility for one's actions.