Wednesday 10/30 at John Paul Jones Arena
Shaboozey may be third on the bill for award-winning country rap headliner Jelly Roll, but he’s already proven to have much of what mainstream music fans want: a No. 1 track (“A Bar Song [Tipsy]”), big name collabs (Beyoncé), and the strength of a heady country-hip-hop mix capable of pulling fans from multiple musical neighborhoods to meet in the middle.
NoVa-born to Nigerian parents, and as a teen schooled in his family’s homeland, Shaboozey, aka Collins Obinna Chibueze, steps over genre barriers without hesitation or hangups. You want f-bomb-infused tirades over Appalachian-flavored fiddle and acoustic guitars supported by a stompy trap beat? Dude’s got it. It all comes through as radio ready, pristine enough for Hollywood music supervisors, and sung with an emotional overshare that likely appeals to people under the drinking age and those beyond it who’ve got real problems that you couldn’t possibly understand.
Above all else, the authenticity that colors Shaboozey’s voice seems to be the real selling point. It’s likely the true reason for his success, which lifted off in 2018 when he blasted into the public ear with the heavily aggro crowd-frenzy-whipper “Start a Riot” (with Duckwrth). That track could be considered a type of red herring, as a good chunk of the singles that followed are a steady stream of depressed, regret-laden glimpses into the fallout from partying too hard and the mistakes that come with it.
The lonesome whistle that leads in the loss of morality that is “Vegas,” the self-destructive boozing of “Drink Don’t Need No Mix,” and “Highway,” the latest single from Shaboozey’s questionably punctuated record Where I’ve Been, Isn’t Where I’m Going, offers a not-so-subtle suicide threat on the heels of a hard breakup. He shows the tortured soul of classic country greats with production that hooks itself squarely in this century. Can’t be sure if he’ll hit up JPJ backed by a full band or singing over playback, but the choice may reveal what he values most about his musical contributions.