Shaboozey's Biggest Year Yet

Forbes

“I personally never thought I could sing,” says Shaboozey, whose single “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” spent 19 weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and garnered a Grammy nomination (one of Shaboozey’s six) for Song of the Year. That one track about partying and whiskey has been streamed nearly 2 billion times—and with radio play, generating over $10 million in estimated earnings for the rising star. Born Collins Obinna Chibueze, Shaboozey’s decade-long career finally took off when he embraced his roots: His latest work fuses country and hip-hop, merging his Nigerian heritage with his Virginia upbringing. “I didn’t think anyone was going to like this,” he says. “Country is one of the hardest things to get people to connect with.” Now, he’s evolving from entertainer to entrepreneur. American Dogwood, his label with Empire, is actively looking to sign new artists. Endorsement deals are growing, too. His “history” with Jack Daniel’s has matured into a partnership with the brand, which sponsored his North American tour this fall.  0:00 Introducing Shaboozey 3:01 Partnership With Jack Daniels 4:23 Origin Of The Name Shaboozey 5:45 How He Found His Sound 9:24 How Shaboozey Got Featured On Two Beyoncé Songs 11:13 Dream Collaborators 12:38 The Power Of Owning A Label 14:37 Finding Entrepreneurial Inspiration In His Father 16:24 Shaboozey's Next Projects 17:42 Predictions For The Industry And Thoughts On AI 19:28 Naming The Fan Base  Subscribe to FORBES: https://www.youtube.com/user/Forbes?sub_confirmation=1  Fuel your success with Forbes. Gain unlimited access to premium journalism, including breaking news, groundbreaking in-depth reported stories, daily digests and more. Plus, members get a front-row seat at members-only events with leading thinkers and doers, access to premium video that can help you get ahead, an ad-light experience, early access to select products including NFT drops and more:  https://account.forbes.com/membership/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=display&utm_campaign=growth_non-sub_paid_subscribe_ytdescript  Stay Connected Forbes newsletters: https://newsletters.editorial.forbes.com Forbes on Facebook: http://fb.com/forbes Forbes Video on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/forbes Forbes Video on Instagram: http://instagram.com/forbes More From Forbes:  http://forbes.com  Forbes covers the intersection of entrepreneurship, wealth, technology, business and lifestyle with a focus on people and success.

Transcript

00:00I used to manage myself. I used to email people and be like, I'm the manager of myself.

00:04I've always had that kind of like, um, creative entrepreneurship,

00:09like, you know, the enterprising, that was always been a part of me.

00:16Shaboozie, thank you so much for being here today.

00:19Well, it's been a massive year for you. A number one song on the Billboard Hot 100,

00:25two features on a Beyonce album, your first VMAs,

00:29and a tour across major cities in North America. How are you feeling?

00:34I feel great. You know, dream come true. I can't even, I can't complain. No complaints.

00:38It's been a long time coming, right?

00:40Yeah.

00:41And I hear you're quite the storyteller. So I want to hear the story of you before Shaboozie.

00:47So I want to hear the story of Collins. Who were you before you became an artist?

00:51And how did you kind of find your passion for music?

00:54I feel like I was just like a curious child. Um, ever since I can remember just being in school,

01:00preschool at that, like, I was always just like, acutely aware of just like,

01:05man, like, as just, just the power I have as a human being, just like having this mind,

01:11and being able to be curious and play and have friends and communicate,

01:15and like, watch TV or watch movies and like all these different things. I was just so curious

01:20about how all of those things, honestly, were formed, you know, and I was very,

01:27I was very just like, just super, just I was just in love with ideas, you know, like,

01:33I was just like, man, like, this thing came from an idea and that piece of art came from an idea

01:38and that clothing and that, you know, so I was just always like, very infatuated and loved ideas

01:43and the power of ideas. So, um, yeah.

01:47Was there like a light bulb moment or a certain year you remember where you were like,

01:52okay, I can sing, I want to sing, I want to write, and I want to pursue music,

01:57I want to be a musician? Well, I personally never thought I could sing.

02:03I think for me, it really does come back to the ideas, you know, I think that I don't know that

02:08age of four, I just always go back to the age when they asked me, a teacher asked me my favorite

02:14color and I was like, I heard everyone go around the classroom and all the boys pick blue and all

02:19the girls pick pink and guys pick red too. And I was just like, why is everyone picking the same

02:25color? You know what I mean? Like, I was just like, very curious. So I was like, you know what,

02:28I'm going to pick green. And I think as soon as I did that, I kind of realized I'm like,

02:32I can pick whatever color I want, you know what I mean? I can do whatever I want, you know what I

02:37mean? So I think for me, it wasn't really knowing that I could sing, but knowing that I had like

02:42this freedom of choice, you know what I mean? To like, I can take that thing and do like that.

02:47And I can sing this thing like that. And I can, you know what I mean? Like, I was always the one

02:52with the weird, creative, zany, bold ideas and taking those risks. So, yeah. No, wait, clearly

02:59you can sing. Thank you. And I watched your show in New York, it was incredible. And seeing all

03:05the people show out in their cowboy boots, cowboy hat, a full house. Jack Daniels was a big part of

03:11it. You always have that on the stage as well. But I even overheard someone in the audience being like,

03:17if this is not the place to have a Jack and Coke, then where? So I'm actually curious,

03:22is there anything in the works with Jack Daniels, a brand partnership, something going on?

03:29Man, no, Jack Daniels, they're really good. They're really good friends. They're always

03:33in my corner supporting things we're doing. I was able to, I was fortunate enough,

03:38they invited me to the distillery in Lynchburg, Tennessee. And I learned how to make whiskey in

03:44the process of it and learned about just the history of Jack Daniels and the Green family.

03:49I don't know if you know the story of that, but Jack Daniels actually was-

03:53Uncle Nearest?

03:54Uncle Nearest, yeah, was taught how to make a whiskey from an enslaved, yeah, a slave.

04:02And then when Jack Daniels went and started his own distillery, he brought Uncle Nearest with him

04:06and they continued to make whiskey together. So I was able to learn that, that was a cool story.

04:11Drank some really, some whiskey water. It's weird, they make all their water from these

04:16quarries or the water's filtered through this natural spring. And that's why that distillery

04:21is in Lynchburg, is because of that, I think it's lime rock or something, I don't know.

04:25But it's a really cool process, but it's really awesome. So yeah, so many things.

04:29I mean, you've seen my tour bus, Jack Daniels, everywhere.

04:32No, it's interesting because you sing about booze in quite a few of your songs, your name is

04:38Shaboozie. I think that's fitting, but the name actually comes from people mispronouncing your

04:44last name with Chibueze.

04:46Yeah, no, it's really great. You got me the first person to ever pronounce that name right. Yeah.

04:51So what was it like, people in high school,

04:55and why did you decide to make it your artist name is the real question?

04:59Yeah, I think for me, it was always that thing of being a first generation Nigerian,

05:10it was always about fitting in and trying to figure out where is my group of people.

05:17It came from playing football and I was like, man, I want to be the best football player because

05:20everyone around me is doing that or being the best this. And I think the name for me was just

05:26about standing out, you know what I mean? And it's really cool to have a name that's as crazy

05:33as that one, it stands out. I've definitely had moments where I'm like, I think I want to change

05:37my name and people are like, no, it stands out and that's good.

05:41And like I said, it's fitting with the booze too.

05:42And the booze.

05:44It works so well.

05:45Yeah. It's very interesting, though, that you mentioned you wanted to fit in in high school,

05:51but now your music, what's so revolutionary about it is that it doesn't fit in with the rest of the

05:58genres. You bend genres. That's what people are loving, the country and the hip hop coming

06:05together. When you started making music at 19, was it from the beginning that you were like, okay,

06:12I can make music mixing both of these genres? Or was it kind of a period of trying to find

06:19your footing and be like, what can I own?

06:21Yeah, it was definitely a gradual process for me. I think I'm also very blessed to come from

06:28the place I'm from, also in Virginia. Growing up in Virginia was very inspiring to me just

06:34because we didn't have too many archetypes or different people to kind of look up. There wasn't

06:39like a cultural identity in Virginia all the way. If you think about Pharrell, think about what he's

06:45done. He's made Happy. He's made Pass the Carvasier. He's done the Khalees record. He's

06:49done so many things. This guy is a morph. He kind of can fit in so many different boxes,

06:56categories. You got Missy Elliott, which I just learned, her big song,

07:02if you reverse, you know what I mean? If you did that, think of the reverse.

07:06It's just so creative. Who thinks of an idea to take a lead vocal and reverse it? So,

07:12Kali Uchis, who's also from our area, people who don't even know that, she was also someone who

07:17was... She's Latin, but she was doing... If you go back in the day, she's mixing

07:2350s, mid-century aesthetics with this soul R&B thing. Now she's doing Latin. You know what I

07:31mean? We're able to kind of be in all these different genres without people being like,

07:35well, you're from New York. You should be making New York type of music. Or you're from Atlanta,

07:41you should be making trap music. Or you're from the Bay, you should be...

07:47So it's like, where we're from, I think since we have that lack of... I think individuality,

07:53I don't want to say lack of anything. Our culture is creating these really unique

08:00individuals. It's really cool to just be in that history of those people now.

08:07And you've been making music since 19, as I said. Do you think when you finally found

08:13your footing with mixing hip-hop, mixing country, that's what kind of changed the trajectory for you?

08:18Because again, it's been a long time coming. People have been saying for years, like,

08:23this is your year. But 2024 is really your year. So what do you think it was that finally

08:29had the world listening to Shaboozie? There's so many ways I can answer that

08:32question because I feel like when I started doing it, I was definitely like,

08:36I don't think anyone's going to like this. Because a lot of times you hear people just like,

08:41I like every genre of music but country. It's almost like one of the hardest things to get

08:45people to connect with for some reason. So I was definitely like, what am I doing? I should

08:52probably not do this. But I think for me, I'm lucky enough to be in a class of other Americana folk

09:03country artists that are really writing some really just amazing music. And they inspire me

09:07when I, whenever I go into a studio, I'm like, let me go write something that I know is going

09:11to connect with these people. So I just have so many friends in music right now. And yeah,

09:18I'm just always, I'm just lucky to be able to just be inspired by my friends.

09:23And speaking of that inspiration and friends in music.

09:26Yeah.

09:27Beyonce did her country album.

09:29Yeah.

09:29Two features on it.

09:30Yeah.

09:31How did that happen?

09:32I think that's kind of what I was saying. Just being in this kind of space, creating this

09:39sound and working on it for the past almost like 10 years. Seriously, I would say the past three

09:45years, I've been always inspired by like the Western Americana, the country and mixing all

09:52those things together. And I've done like, I made like three projects that are all in that world.

09:57So, I think when I heard she was making that project almost like a year before it came out,

10:03I think I heard in Nashville, there were some rumors starting. She was working on a project

10:07that I was like, man, that'd be so awesome to be a part of that. However that could happen.

10:14And then I was called in the studio to kind of write some records or write some things for the

10:18project. And I was able to meet one of her A&Rs and we were talking and I was like,

10:25I was like, man, y'all need to get like Chris Stapleton on a song and like,

10:29you know what I mean? And we need to get like a... I'm like trying to pitch ideas for them of

10:34features they should get on their album. And I'm like, we should get Mark Maggiore to do the cover,

10:39who's like this big French painter who does a lot of like Western oil paintings. And then they're

10:44like, yeah, maybe you can get on it. I'm like, me? Get on a Beyonce album? I'm like, yeah, right.

10:49I was like, you know what I mean? Like, it don't even make no sense, you know what I mean? At that

10:52time, you know, because for some reason I'm like, oh, I'm not, you know, I'm not one of these,

10:58I'm not there yet. So it's just, it's just so surreal that they would, you know, and humbling

11:04for me, for them to like choose me to, you know, be a part of the album, you know, not once, but

11:08like twice. Yeah. It's crazy. Crazy, crazy, crazy, crazy. What are your other kind of dream

11:15collaborations? Who do you want to make music with? Man, I mean, I'm, you know, I think what's

11:23really cool about music now, it's like you can't force anything, right? I'm just really excited

11:29about the next stuff I can create, like the next stuff I'm going to make. I don't really have,

11:34you know, I'm not always like a feature person. Like if it really makes sense, it has to really

11:37make sense. But there's no one in particular, but there's, you know, a lot of the people I

11:42wouldn't make music with, I was able to on my last album, like Love Noah Cyrus.

11:46I love that song. It's my favorite one.

11:48Love Noah Cyrus. And she's someone that inspired, like a friend that inspires me. And I was able to

11:54get her on my project. And Big X The Plug is also an artist I'm like super, that's my home,

11:58and it's my brother. Like he's, you know, I'm inspired by his music, his tone, and just the

12:03way he approaches his songwriting. You know what I mean? And just, he's just an entertaining figure

12:08from Texas as well. So he country too. So got him, Paul, I got all, I kind of got the people

12:14I wanted on, you know, but what I would love to see, I want to see a lot more like crossovers,

12:20for sure. Like, you know, I'd love to do like just a lot more of this, like bring a lot of

12:24other hip hop artists or pop artists into this space and just see how they would approach it.

12:29Because, you know, I think that's what I did. I just took, I just got into the space and

12:35approached it the way I would do it, you know? Has having your own label, so you own your own

12:40label, American Dogwood, you're initially signed to Republic, but now you have your own under

12:45Empire. Has being able to take ownership of that, you know, played a role in the success we see

12:52today? Or, you know, I also just want to like, how involved are you in the productions and the

12:58music videos? Like what has changed for you since owning your own label? You know, I think what's

13:04beautiful about what Empire has been able to do with, you know, with me and other artists too,

13:08it's like, they're able to just like, they really, really understand like artists' business first,

13:15you know what I mean? Like, that's what we're in, you know, we're in, you know, we're in music

13:19business, so it's music first. So I've always been someone that feels like artists are going to be

13:23the best A&Rs, artists are going to be the best producers, they're going to be the best artist

13:28managers, they're going to understand other artists, they're going to, they got great ears.

13:31So I've always been, even when I was at Republic, I was like, you know, I told my, you know,

13:38my team at that time, like, I was like, yo, I want a JV, you know what I mean? They're like,

13:40oh, you got to work your way up. I'm like, no, like, I know, you know what I mean? As in,

13:44like how I got into artists for myself was like, I used to manage myself. I used to email people

13:49and be like, I'm the manager of myself, because I was emailing blogs, doing write-ups, like going

13:55to different venues and getting tickets and selling tickets and doing things like that. Like,

14:00just, you know, for me, I wanted to, I just felt like artists just needed that infrastructure.

14:05And I was really ready to like find an artist I believed in and stop making music to give them

14:10that infrastructure. But unfortunately, there was no one around. So I was like,

14:14let me just do it for myself. So I think like, I take those things. And I've always had that kind

14:19of like, you know, creative entrepreneurship, like, you know, the enterprising, that was always

14:24been a part of me, you know, like, my dad was an entrepreneur and always like gave me different

14:29business books and told me about different people I should like,

14:32look up to and read their stories. So I apply a lot of that to my to my music.

14:37So you mentioned your father was an entrepreneur.

14:40Yeah.

14:40What exactly did he do? And how did that influence you in your lifetime?

14:45Yeah, my dad, he, he brought himself over to the United States and went to school in Texas

14:53and got his master's in business management. So I think for me, just always seeing him,

14:58it's kind of crazy. I always see him like starting ideas. And he's like, he's a big dreamer. He's

15:02always like, he had this company called like Empower Africa. And like, his goal was to go

15:07and create these like entrepreneurship programs or, or just like figure out how to

15:11mean empower Africa, you know what I mean? Especially like where he's from.

15:14So I think for him, he tried a lot of different things. Some successful, some not, you know,

15:20I think he started like a chicken farm at some point, like, was just like doing like,

15:24had like, like $10 on chicken and just like, just being a wholesaler of like eggs and chicken

15:30products and stuff like that and try to sell cars.

15:32Did you ever participate in any of that?

15:35Yeah, I went, you know, and I, you know, it was, it was like, it was very like,

15:39primal the way he was doing it, you know what I mean? Like he was, he was, he was, he was,

15:44he had his methods of getting the chicken, you know, that's a whole thing. That's another

15:49story, more traumatizing. But, um, you know, I love my dad, but I feel like, you know, obviously,

15:55like, um, he got somewhere and I feel like I just took that and I saw his dream and I just figured

16:00out how he was so passionate about those things. I was like, I want it. I want to make sure,

16:04you know, that he feels like his son took that and excelled with it. You know what I mean?

16:09Yeah. Does he love the success?

16:12A hundred percent. He lives in Nigeria now. He's not here, but, you know what I mean?

16:15But a lot of just any idea, he's like that too. He, if he has an idea, he's like, let me try it

16:20out. Not, not all of them work out, but, you know, so.

16:24What can we expect in 2025 from Shabazz?

16:27Man, to be honest, like selfishly, you know, I want to, you know, I want to continue to like,

16:33kind of like, just give people just music that's like, that's heard across the world,

16:37you know what I mean? Just keep kind of just, yeah, making songs that resonate with people.

16:42I think this album is really different because that's what I did. That's what I went in,

16:46when I went in there, this kind of album cycle and this create, this like process, I was like,

16:52I was like, man, I want to write really big songs and not big in the sense of like sonically,

16:56but also deep, you know what I mean? Like just writing things that were super meaningful.

17:03And I think we're going to connect with people. And I think that's kind of what

17:06is happening in music with everybody. That's, that's killing, killing the charts right now.

17:11It's a lot of really authentic songs in there. It's so beautiful to just see people like,

17:16you know, like Tommy Richman and like, you know what I mean? And like hearing him talk about,

17:20you know, he's from where I'm from and he's talking about Queen's Gambit, which is like a

17:24small little bar in Manassas or Northern Virginia. Like nobody in the world knows that, but the fact

17:30that you can put that in a song and it still has that reach and, you know, even Chapel's music,

17:35like the stuff she talks about is so personal to her. It's really, I want to get, I'm excited

17:41for like music, you know? So do you have any predictions for the music industry in the next

17:45five, 10 years? What do you think it's going to be big? You know, I was, it was actually crazy.

17:51I was going to answer that question without even bringing it up, but it was just, I always think

17:56about how like, there was like an article I saw on Billboard back about like a year or two ago,

18:00they were like, where are all the stars at? You know what I mean? And it's like, now there's like

18:03so many, you know what I mean? So it's beautiful to just see all of these acts coming in with like,

18:08like Teddy Swims, you know, he's got this super, super soulful voice. It almost sounds like

18:14something straight out of like, you know what I mean? Like old Hollywood. And then you got all

18:18these, all these things coming out. I don't know. I mean, this AR thing is like, I know a lot of

18:24people hate it, you know, AI. It's a pretty interesting tool, you know, when, you know,

18:30when utilized in a way that, you know, obviously it can help people. Like, I think it, I think it

18:35can, it can, you know, you're supporting. I mean, I don't support like, yeah, I feel like I've mixed

18:41feelings about that with musicians, but it can make your job easier. It's just like different

18:45things to just figure out how to like, even if it's organization systems and, and just helping

18:50certain things out. Like sometimes you even use it to like figuring out like the keys of which

18:55songs work and stuff like that. You know, I might be, I might be the first artist to say,

19:03it's just like, you gotta have to have, you know, it's just, it's, it's something that's

19:05coming and you know, it's, it's, it's something that people can get ahead of and just figure out

19:10how to just help it help you do your craft better. You know what I mean? It doesn't have to replace

19:14you. It does. Yeah. You know what I mean? Exactly. Like with reference vocals, you can take someone's

19:19vocals and reference and figure out like, oh, this person fits in this song or just so many

19:23different ways you can use that. You asked me the future of music. I'm just telling you,

19:27you know what I mean? My last question for you. Do we have a name for your fan base yet?

19:32Oh man. Uh, D, uh, I mean, I, I like the bootcut gang, the bootcut kids, the bootcut boys,

19:39bootcut girls. I love the bootcut jeans. So, um, the booze cruise. Oh God. Maybe. I mean,

19:46no, I'm going to put a hat. I'm going to ask them at the next show. I'm going to take a,

19:50like a, you know what I mean? Have like a little, little hat in a bag or something. What is it?

19:54Piece of paper and a hat, pull it out and see what everyone kind of responds to.

19:59What do you think? Booze cruise? The booze cruise. I do want to open a bar in Nashville though.

20:04Called Boozies. Boozies or Shaboozies or something. Boozies would be hard.

20:10On 5th street. On 5th street. Yeah. Oh my gosh. Yeah. Crazy.

20:14All right. Well, thank you so much again for being here. It's been a pleasure.

20:18Thank you so much.

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