“Hey Sexy Lady” by Shaggy (ft. Brian & Tony Gold)
On the surface, as in if a listener is not able to pick up on every word Shaggy is putting forth, the lyrics of “Hey Sexy Lady” come off as if they are about dancing. In other words, since this song was an international hit, most of us who enjoyed it really won’t understand the vocalists’ heavy Jamaican patois. Instead, it’s the first half of Brian & Tony Gold’s chorus that really comes through most clearly in English, verifying that this is indeed an ode to a “sexy lady”. And then you have the riddim and horns and all, and this track comes across as your quintessential booty-shaking-at-a-party kinda piece.
But in reality, the lyrics are not primarily set in a public place. And without beating around the bush, let’s just say that they are also very much sexually-oriented. In fact what Shaggy and co. are ultimately chanting about is making love to the titular “sexy lady”. He intends performing this action so thoroughly that the associated “brawlin’” or what have you is actually disturbing the neighbors.
And yes, Brian and Tony do offer sort of a solid clue in the aforenoted chorus that this tune is based on such a topic, as the term “put it on me” is a pretty well-known colloquialism used in the name of requesting sex. But more comprehensively put, what this piece comes off as is the vocalist coming across a lady so attractive that he can’t help but to invite her to sex basically.
Facts about “Hey Sexy Lady”
Brian and Told Gold is a pair of reggae artists from Jamaica, which is also Shaggy’s homeland. Their album discography is limited only to the 1990s, and it’s safe to say that “Hey Sexy Lady” was the biggest song they’ve ever been involved in.
This track is from a Shaggy album called “Lucky Day“, with the release of this song, via MCA Records, being on 1 November 2002. To note there are also a number of remixes of “Hey Sexy Lady” available, including one featuring Sean Paul and another with both him and Will Smith.
“Hey Sexy Lady” charted in about 15 countries, most notably reaching 10th place on the UK Singles Chart. The song has also achieved platinum certification in Australia and Canada.
This track’s music video was directed by Antti Jokinen.
This wasn’t Shaggy’s first time working with Brian & Tony Gold. He had actually headlined a couple of earlier collaborations with them – 1997’s “Geenie” and 2000’s “You Bring Joy”.
Music producer Just Blaze alongside Christopher Birch produced “Hey Sexy Lady”. Additionally, Birch also co-wrote the song with Shaggy, Brian & Tony Gold, Rik Rok and Robert Livingston.
Shaggy’s “Lucky Day”
Jamaican-American singer, Shaggy, released “Lucky Day” as his 6th studio album on October 29 of 2002. The album shares the same name with its 6th track, “Lucky Day”.
Shaggy, being a record producer himself, has been credited with the album’s entire production. The album was officially released on two American record labels, namely MCA Records and Universal Music Group’s Geffen Records.
“Lucky Day”, peaked at No. 24 and No. 54 on the Billboard 200 in the US and the OCC in the UK respectively. It has been certified gold by the RIAA of the United States. In Canada, the album peaked at No. 5 and has attained platinum status there, according to a certification by Music Canada.
In all, three singles came out from “Lucky Day”. They are:
- “Hey Sexy Lady”
- “Strength of a Woman”
- “Get My Party On”
