Shaggy INTERNATIONALLY ACCLAIMED DJ Shaggy is doing extremely well on the international circuit, claiming an enviable number two position on the Billboard Top 200 singles chart, but he is not without problems.
The artiste will have to answer questions from a funk group called War, which claims he has used a sample from one of its songs in his top-selling single It Wasn't Me.
The group's song from the mid-1970s is called Smile Happy and there is a similarity in a part of that song, to Shaggy's It Wasn't Me. The songs have similar introductions, in which a low-pitched horn plays for about 16 bars, accompanied by strings.
War is contending that it was not credited for the sample. Under international copyright law, the group is entitled to compensation for its use, if that group is proven to be the original composers of the melody used in parts.
Speaking with The Gleaner from New York, Shaggy's manager, Robert Livingston, said they were not ready to go public with the matter, but noted that his team was scheduled to have discussions with War. The single It Wasn't Me which features Ricardo 'Rik Rok' Ducent, was produced by Shaun 'Sting' Pizzonia, who produced several other tracks on the album, Hot Shot.
War is a veteran funk group out of California, struggling to keep itself on the road. Most of the original members have left. Information on the group's Web site reveals that it was at one time signed to MCA Records, the company to which Shaggy is now signed.
