Borderline: 5 Songs You Should Know From Shaboozey (original) (raw)
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VIBE runs through 5 songs -- handpicked by Shaboozey -- that represent his artistry for Borderline.
Jason Chandler/VIBE
Borderline is a segment dedicated to Black artists on the fringes of Hip-Hop & R&B, highlighting and speaking to stars across country, jazz, blues, gospel, house, alternative, and other genre-blending spaces, who then detail what songs best represent their artistry.
Shaboozey is one of this year’s breakout acts, leading the charge with his unique, trap-tinged country records. The star, né Collins Obinna Chibueze, hails from Virginia, and while VIBE readers may closely associate the state with Hip-Hop powerhouses such as Pharrell, Chad Hugo, Missy Elliott and Timbaland, VA can also be celebrated for its contributions to the country genre.
Blending bluegrass, folk, and Americana, Virginia’s sound of country is distinct, and Shaboozey is a product of that. The result? Just a historic feat finding the country upstart landing atop Billboard’s Hot 100 for the 15th week straight with his hit song, “A Bar Song (Tipsy).” Yeah, 15 straight weeks. Shaboozey’s hit song is the best example of his brand of country music: energetic, throaty, swaggering anthems built on the promise of a new experience, and yet, it’s familiar.
“My music is me, it’s mine, it’s Virginia,” the rising star told VIBE. “There are so many points of reference for artists and people that have done [country music] before me, so I’m just trying to keep it going, take the inspiration in the things legends have done and be inspired by that—different sounds, details, images, all my favorite artists. And then, hopefully, I’ll create music and do things that are going to inspire the next person, the next generation of artists. All that, we start here.”
For Borderline, Shaboozey runs through 5 songs from his catalog that best represent his artistry, with additional insight into those compositions.
“Winning Streak” (2018)
Image Credit: Jason Chandler/VIBE
Album: Lady Wrangler (2018)
Song Breakdown: Shaboozey‘s Lady Wrangler arrived in 2018. The work served as the artist’s debut album, with 11 tracks. While this version of Boozey was eons beyond his skill set on his Millennium mixtape, released five years prior, his first LP still showed he needed more time in the oven. However, that doesn’t mean there weren’t flashes of greatness there.
“Winning Streak” is the best example of this, as it blends his now-signature anthemic compositions — more closely associated with Hip-Hop — with the honest and raw story-telling oft-celebrated in country. The track was produced by Nevin, who has gone on to work with Boozey on a number of tracks in his catalog, and features slowed and slurred hi-hats rattling off of a thudding drum and snare. “Winning Streak” finds Shaboozey at his most braggadocious, flexing his drip and promising to fulfill his purpose as a musician.
Why This Song? According to Shaboozey: “I love the confidence and the cadence on this track. And like I said, what was really big, what was the lightning bolt for me, is when I started realizing as [I’m] listening to old, outlaw, country Western songs and then going to listen to Future’s New Project, I’m like, ‘They’re talking about the same thing.’ So, that’s what this is, just a way to say country and Hip-Hop have more in common at times, you know what I mean?”
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mFCi7jU\_ZxI?feature=oembed&w=500&h=281\]
“All Men Die” (2022)
Image Credit: Jason Chandler/ VIBE
Album: Cowboys Live Forever, Outlaws Never Die (2022)
Song Breakdown: Remember how Boozey said that he finds commonalities between country and Hip-Hop music? Well, “All Men Die” is thematically similar to DMX‘s “Friend of Mine”—two tracks detailing the impact of a deep-seated betrayal amongst supposed friends. Shaboozey‘s fan-favorite track was produced by Shaboozey, Sean Cook, and John Mark Nelson, and features a sparse composition with an assortment of gently reverbed strings backing the artist. The VA artist tells a story of a tarnished friendship marred by treachery, which then leads the singer, or a character, to send his associate to the grave by way of “a loaded six-shooter.” Shaboozey pours his pain into the lyrics, illustrating his disappointment in his former confidante for choosing to turn their back on him. “And go ahead and run for the hills/You don’t wanna know what wе do to traitors ’round here,” he sings.
Why This Song? According to Shaboozey: “When I made the record, my manager was like, ‘Yo, this is one of the best songs you’ve ever made.’ And it was the last song on [_Cowboys Live Forever, Outlaws Never Die_] And we never promoted it or anything, and it’s one of the best, one of those songs, sleeper hits, that just came out of there,” Boozey said. “That’s probably my favorite song I’ve written.”
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1stUrwCHRrw?feature=oembed&w=500&h=281\]
“Last Of My Kind” (2024)
Image Credit: Jason Chandler/VIBE
Album: Where I’ve Been, Isn’t Where I’m Going (2024)
Song Breakdown: Tambourines, temperate acoustic guitar plucks, and a couple of synchronized stomps make up the production behind “Last Of My Kind.” Country singer Paul Cauthen joins Shaboozey as the two men discuss growing up in hardship and their wherewithal to survive an even more challenging road ahead. Shaboozey paints a picture of struggle juxtaposed with his resilient demeanor, vowing that there won’t be another like him—he’s clearly built different. The track appears on his latest album, Where I’ve Been, Isn’t Where I’m Going, which has garnered him critical acclaim and even a chart-busting song, but that’s a story for another day.
Why This Song? According to Shaboozey: “‘All Men Die’ and ‘Last Of My Kind’ were the perfect…that was the perfect storm of what I’ve been going for and trying to create,” Boozey said of the two tracks. “I’m inspired by so many things. Future is my favorite artist. And then, Bob Dylan is also my favorite artist. You know what I mean? Then Marty Robbins is my favorite artist, but then Ja Rule. You know what I mean? It kind of goes all over the place, so it’s like these songs, I believe they are a good representation of that.”
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=769vXLvjxvA?feature=oembed&w=500&h=281\]
“Vegas” (2024)
Image Credit: Jason Chandler/VIBE
Album: Where I’ve Been, Isn’t Where I’m Going (2024)
Song Breakdown: “Vegas” is one of those joints that’ll have you pouring up a shot of Uncle Nearest or SirDavis and slowly sipping your night away. It’s a sad and, ironically, sobering tale of shame, superficiality, and an attempt at solace. Shaboozey‘s voice appears to be riddled with pain as he searches for answers in his new world after being thrust into fame and fortune.
Why This Song? According to Shaboozey: “‘Vegas’ has passion in it. It’s a favorite of mine that captures several feelings and moments. It has the same kind of spirit about it that different groups of people who have to go by other means to achieve things because society has set it up where they can’t really get it the way others have historically done it, you know, circumstance. People who are victims of circumstances have to just break through a mold a different way and face whatever is on the other side of that.”
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rQMtXDkF9q4?feature=oembed&w=500&h=281\]
“Spaghettii” (2024)
Image Credit: Loccisano/Getty Images
Album: Cowboy Carter (2024)
Song Breakdown: As previously mentioned, 2024 has been a massive year for Shaboozey. One of the biggest moments for the young star arrived as millions of fans were treated to the Shaboozey experience on Queen Bey’s foray into country music. “Sweet Honey Buckin'” may be your favorite of the two tracks, but Boozey’s favorite just may be “Spaghettii.” The track was produced by Beyoncé, Khirye Tyler, and Swizz Beatz and features additional vocals from legend Linda Martell and a sample courtesy of DJ Dede Mandrake. With a blend of musicians from various walks of musical life, how fitting that Martell uses the intro to speak on the concept of genre.
Shaboozey arrives after Bey’s Jay-Z-like barrage of bars and offers a couple nods to the history of the Black cowboy. The Black cowboy and the Black artist follow the same trajectories and codes, as both tend to be looked at as outlaws, operating outside of the lines of traditional societal expectations. Boozey paints the picture with lyrics alluding to Black cow people migrating out West in hopes of freedom and economic opportunities. Yeah, that’s all in Shaboozey’s verse.
Why This Song? According to Shaboozey:
On working with Beyoncé: “[Beyoncé] is an artist, super creative, super imaginative, ambitious, has so many things she wants to do, and she’s doing them. All of them. You hear me? And she’s a dreamer, so I think that was what the respect was when I was able to work with her,” Shaboozey passionately told VIBE. “She’s like, ‘Man, we’re all just dreamers at the end of the day,’ so it was cool to just speak with her and be like, ‘Oh, you want to make a variety show for your project?’
“Like I said, it was validating just to connect with her. Because there’s different levels. You got songwriters, you got recording musicians and artists, you got musicians, you got session players, but there’s—being an artist is a different thing. So Beyoncé, she’s a true, true, true, true to the T, a true artist. Some people may not get that.”
On “Spaghettii”: “My manager and I were talking about my verse on ‘Spaghettii,’ and it was like, ‘Man,’ (laughs). When I made the verse, I was like, ‘Man, she’s going to love this.’ Just because of how different it was,” Boozey added. “And then, we talked about it. She was like, ‘Yo, what you did on Spaghettii,’ I was like, ‘Mannnnnn’ (laughs). We just had a little artist-to-artist, ‘Ooh,’ kind of moment. It was love, for real.”
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MxNMvZ5BhSU?feature=oembed&w=500&h=281\]
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