‘A Bar Song (Tipsy)’ : How Shabooze...

In a fractious America, there’s still one thing that people can agree on Shaboozey’s “A Bar Song (Tipsy)

Published Time: 04.12.2024 - 22:31:35 Modified Time: 04.12.2024 - 22:31:35

In a fractious America, there’s still one thing that people can agree on: Shaboozey’s “A Bar Song (Tipsy).” The Virginian’s country flip of an old J-Kwon hit rang out from bars, barbecues and car radios all summer, propelling it to the top of the charts. At the time of this article’s publication, “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” had spent 19 weeks at No. 1 on the Hot 100.

Bringing unity and merriment to the masses is a Herculean achievement that Shaboozey credits to the song’s patriotic, wide-ranging appeal. “It has an American feeling to it, that feeling when you think of apple pie,” he says from a tour stop in icy Nebraska. “You got construction workers, firefighters, teachers, everybody just holding their drink up, arms around each other’s shoulders, having a damn ball. That’s America.”

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To conjure a modern-day national anthem, Shaboozey — who, with Benson Boone, is Variety‘s Hitmakers Newcomer of the Year — only had to blend hip-hop and country in a ludicrously catchy manner that appealed to widely different demographics. It turns out, he had been toying with the concept for years. “One of my exes talks about how she feels like I have a disorder, where I’ll just start making songs without music,” he laughs, recounting stories of breaking into song on footpaths and in grocery stores.

One idea constantly bounced around in his head. “I wanted to revisit my formative years, when you’re learning who your favorite artists are,” he says. While impromptu hip-hop overhauls would fly out of his mouth from time to time, he didn’t bring it up in the studio until last year when he was putting the finishing touches on a song titled “Anabelle.” His collaborators, Sean Cook and Nevin Sastry, suggested an “ear break,” and Shaboozey casually raised the concept.

After playing a bunch of songs from the early aughts, they stumbled on J-Kwon’s 2004 debut, “Tipsy,” which came out when Shaboozey was 9 — the age when he fell in love with Southern hip-hop. Inspired, he started singing. “My two producers picked up the guitar, started playing -

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the chords and then we started writing it.” The lyrics came effortlessly. “I sang, ‘They know me and Jack Daniels got a history,’ and everyone was just like, ‘Fuck.’”

Which is an appropriate response to laying down a life-changing song. “It was definitely a lightning-in-a-bottle thing,” Shaboozey says. His managers and label, Empire, knew they were sitting on a huge song, as did J-Kwon. “Out of nowhere I got a DM from J-Kwon with fire emojis,” he says. When it came down to clearing the sample, Shaboozey reached out directly to the veteran rapper, who helped smooth things out.

Good fortune shined on Shaboozey when an A&R scout for Beyoncé attended a showcase in January. Before too long, he was in the studio lending his vocals to “Spaghettii,” one of two features he recorded for “Cowboy Carter.” On it, he resurrects the character he played on his sophomore album, “Cowboys Live Forever, Outlaws Never Die,” which follows the adventures of a “Wild West 1800s Black outlaw.”

“It felt like a true feature,” Shaboozey says. “She saw what I was doing and knew that it was authentic.” The fact that “Spaghettii,” which also features country legend Linda Martell, nabbed a Grammy nomination — to go along with the five he earned on his own — is the cherry on top. “That’s my show opener every show, night after night,” he says. “And now it’s nominated for a Grammy. It’s beautiful.”

While Shaboozey is still coming to terms with the immense critical and commercial success of “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” — “How do you congratulate someone for making history?” he ponders when asked about the song’s record-equaling 19th week at No. 1 — he isn’t daunted by it. “Hopefully, this sets me up for life and gives me that freedom to have fun in the studio,” he says. “But there’s still more No. 1s and hits on the way.”