When Shaboozey was writing “A Bar Song (Tipsy), he wanted to keep the arrangements as organic as possible. He built the track around J-Kwon's 2004 hit 'Tipsy,' and within an hour, he had his own his ode to raising a glass—with a country twist.The megahit quickly went viral and reached the top Advertising sign'Hot Country Songs chart, surpassing Beyoncé's “Texas Hold 'Em.” (Shaboozey had collaborated with her on two songs on her recent country LP, Cowboy Carter.) Together, they became the first two black artists to top this chart back to back.
The influences
At the time he wrote the song, Shaboozey was listening to a lot of music from artists like Zach Bryan and the Lumineers. But while he drew inspiration from their stripped-down acoustics, he also channeled hip-hop heavyweights like Pharrell Williams for the four-to-the-floor instrumental breakdown. (And of course, he wanted to pay homage to J-Kwon's party skills.) “Some have said it reminds them of [Oasis’] “Wonderwall,” says Shaboozey. “I don't hear it.”
All together now
In the same way that J-Kwon captured the essence of the club on “Tipsy,” Shaboozey wanted his song to channel the vibrancy of a packed dive bar. Shaboozey achieved the stomp-and-chout elements of the single by bringing in friends to play vocals. “We like to incorporate gang vocals and all our friends singing stuff,” says the Nigerian-American musician. “I think the more energy and the more people you put into a song, the more it feels.” He adds that because he was working with producers Nevin Sastry and Sean Cook, the studio “definitely turned into a party by the end of the song, which is a good sign.”
Basic country items
To get the country vibe right, Shaboozey refers to what he thinks of as a chest of essential sounds. “You can't have a country song without a 12-string, you can't have a bluegrass song without a 12-string guitar,” he says. “It has a brighter tone.” His other must-haves include fan-like drum brushes that create a sense of warmth within a song's percussive pattern. “You don't have an Americana song without brush loops,” explains Shaboozey. He also likes to combine classical and modern touches: “I always try to incorporate some super traditional element into the music.”
Trends
Shaboozey was born in Fairfax, Virginia, a suburb of Washington, D.C. His upbringing gave him a front row seat to the imperial era of Southern rap. Before Missouri's J-Kwon found success with “Tipsy,” North Carolina's Petey Pablo burst onto the scene in 2001 and made a Shaboozey fan who still wants to experiment with his music. “He had a record called 'Raise Up' that I thought would be really cool to turn into a country song,” he shares. “I'm still thinking about doing it.” He's thinking of an entire project around reimagining hits from that time period — and it already has the potential to become a genre-wide trend. “I've got some friends in Nashville who are from St. Louis and all those areas, and now they're talking about turning old hip-hop samples into country songs,” he says.
from our partners at https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/shaboozey-a-bar-song-tipsy-interview-the-breakdown-1235030246/
