Sting and Shaggy offer a new reggae song as musical medicine for a fractured world

NEW YORK (AP) — The affection between Sting and Shaggy is palpable from the moment they sit down together. When the two prolific recording artists are asked where the chemistry comes from, Shaggy simply says they make each other laugh.

The pals have worked together on several projects, including their Grammy-winning reggae album "44/876" in 2018 and on Shaggy's 2022 album "Com Fly Wid Mi," where Sting encouraged Shaggy to depart from his trademark "toasting" on reggae/dancehall hits to sing Frank Sinatra songs.

Their latest collaboration is “Til A Mawnin” — an upbeat reggae track showcasing some of the pair’s playfulness released Feb. 27. Sting, 73, and Shaggy, 56, spoke to The Associated Press recently about the new song and finding friendship and musical inspiration in each other. Answers have been edited for clarity and brevity.

AP: How did this friendship come about?

STING: You know, you meet people sometimes and you recognize them immediately. I don’t know, chemistry maybe, but I recognized him as a kindred spirit. And yeah, we’re both students. We’re both curious about music. We’re both dads.

SHAGGY: Husbands!

STING: Good citizens!

AP: Describe this new song and what you were aiming for.

STING: The first time I heard it, I started to smile. There’s a lot of joy in this song, and I feel it’s kind of necessary at this time in the world. ... The world is fractured and so we need music to be a medicine. We need something that makes us smile.

SHAGGY: It’s a feel-good track. But it’s a little deeper for me. There’s a cultural undertone here with this song. The original riddim track was from an old Yellowman song, “I’m Getting Married,” produced by a legendary producer by the name of (Henry) “Junjo” Lawes. He’s arguably the guy that was responsible for a whole genre, which is dancehall, because he did reggae music, but he voiced “toasters” on these reggae beats. And what he did was sound system music, which is these huge speakers they used to block the streets, and that sound system music was part of a deep part of the ghetto sound. Culturally, it’s the soundtrack to almost every inner-city person’s life in Jamaica.

AP: How have reggae fans received the song?

SHAGGY: The reggae community and the Jamaican communities have embraced this track solid and they’re very, very proud of it. I like the fact that it’s going beyond just the range. There’s a lot of international eyes on it and ears on it. You know, people are really sending their comments in and you could feel it. There’s an energy with this record that we haven’t felt in a long time, and it’s just sunshine and joy.

AP: Sting, you stretched your voice in a different way for this song. Is it fun to still do that at this point in your career?

STING: Absolutely. I — like him — am a student of music. I will be until my dying day and I’m here to learn. So I could teach him something and he can teach me something.

SHAGGY: And he’s taught me a lot. I’m a singer now. Did I mention that? (laughs)

AP: How did Sting do with the song?

SHAGGY: He has always had energy. There’s such a huge cultural background with him and with the Jamaican culture and the reggae culture, you know, obviously with the undertones of The Police, those reggae undertones from back then where he lived in Notting Hill. A lot of West Indian community, strong calypso and stuff like that.

STING: Ska, blue beat, rocksteady, reggae.

SHAGGY: On paper, it looks weird, Shaggy and Sting. But you come and catch a show or see us together, it actually works. We’re still surprised! (laughs)

AP: How do you listen to music now?

SHAGGY: I’m in the digital age. At his house, he has a very expensive record player…

STING: I like the ritual of selecting an album, taking it out of the cover, out of the inner sleeve and then putting it down on the turntable and then hearing that lovely noise as the needle goes onto the vinyl and then the music starts. There’s something religious about that ritual, which I miss. I missed — for the CDs and the cassette era — I really missed that ritual. And then looking at the album cover and reading all the credits. Who played the bass on it? Who engineered it? I miss that information. I think modern music has become commodified by being just, you switch it on, you switch it off, so you don’t really know where it comes from.

SHAGGY: It makes you less interested in it, to be honest, the fact that I can’t read that anymore. Makes me not want to really buy full body of works like I used to.

AP: You both go by stage names. Does anyone ever call you by your real names (Gordon and Orville)?

STING: No one calls me by my real name.

SHAGGY: Really? Well, that’s my new name for you. I’m going to start calling you that, Gordon (laughs as Sting sticks his tongue out playfully). My wife calls me Orville.

STING: Only when you’re in trouble. (laughs)