Sting and Shaggy offer a new reggae song as musical medicine for a fractured world

NEW YORK (AP) — The affection between Sting and Shaggy is palpable from the moment they sit down together. When the two prolific recording artists are asked where the chemistry comes from, Shaggy simply says they make each other laugh.

The pals have worked together on several projects, including their Grammy-winning reggae album “44/876” in 2018 and on Shaggy's 2022 album “Com Fly Wid Mi,” where Sting encouraged Shaggy to depart from his trademark “toasting” on reggae/dancehall hits to sing Frank Sinatra songs.

Their latest collaboration is “Til A Mawnin” — an upbeat reggae track showcasing some of the pair’s playfulness released Feb. 27. Sting, 73, and Shaggy, 56, spoke to The Associated Press recently about the new song and finding friendship and musical inspiration in each other. Answers have been edited for clarity and brevity.

STING: You know, you meet people sometimes and you recognize them immediately. I don’t know, chemistry maybe, but I recognized him as a kindred spirit. And yeah, we’re both students. We’re both curious about music. We’re both dads.

SHAGGY: Husbands!

STING: Good citizens!

STING: The first time I heard it, I started to smile. There’s a lot of joy in this song, and I feel it’s kind of necessary at this time in the world. ... The world is fractured and so we need music to be a medicine. We need something that makes us smile.

SHAGGY: It’s a feel-good track. But it’s a little deeper for me. There’s a cultural undertone here with this song. The original riddim track was from an old Yellowman song, “I’m Getting Married,” produced by a legendary producer by the name of (Henry) “Junjo” Lawes. He’s arguably the guy that was responsible for a whole genre, which is dancehall, because he did reggae music, but he voiced “toasters” on these reggae beats. And what he did was sound system music, which is these huge speakers they used to block the streets, and that sound system music was part of a deep part of the ghetto sound. Culturally, it’s the soundtrack to almost every inner-city person’s life in Jamaica.

SHAGGY: The reggae community and the Jamaican communities have embraced this track solid and they’re very, very proud of it. I like the fact that it’s going beyond just the range. There’s a lot of international eyes on it and ears on it. You know, people are really sending their comments in and you could feel it. There’s an energy with this record that we haven’t felt in a long time, and it’s just sunshine and joy.

STING: Absolutely. I — like him — am a student of music. I will be until my dying day and I’m here to learn. So I could teach him something and he can teach me something.

SHAGGY: And he’s taught me a lot. I’m a singer now. Did I mention that? (laughs)

SHAGGY: He has always had energy. There’s such a huge cultural background with him and with the Jamaican culture and the reggae culture, you know, obviously with the undertones of The Police, those reggae undertones from back then where he lived in Notting Hill. A lot of West Indian community, strong calypso and stuff like that.

STING: Ska, blue beat, rocksteady, reggae.

SHAGGY: On paper, it looks weird, Shaggy and Sting. But you come and catch a show or see us together, it actually works. We’re still surprised! (laughs)

SHAGGY: I’m in the digital age. At his house, he has a very expensive record player…

STING: I like the ritual of selecting an album, taking it out of the cover, out of the inner sleeve and then putting it down on the turntable and then hearing that lovely noise as the needle goes onto the vinyl and then the music starts. There’s something religious about that ritual, which I miss. I missed — for the CDs and the cassette era — I really missed that ritual. And then looking at the album cover and reading all the credits. Who played the bass on it? Who engineered it? I miss that information. I think modern music has become commodified by being just, you switch it on, you switch it off, so you don’t really know where it comes from.

SHAGGY: It makes you less interested in it, to be honest, the fact that I can’t read that anymore. Makes me not want to really buy full body of works like I used to.

STING: No one calls me by my real name.

SHAGGY: Really? Well, that’s my new name for you. I’m going to start calling you that, Gordon (laughs as Sting sticks his tongue out playfully). My wife calls me Orville.

STING: Only when you’re in trouble. (laughs)

SHAGGY: With something rolled up. (laughs)

STING: That is such a cliche.

SHAGGY: Is it? Why not?!

STING: You’ve never smoked weed in your life!

SHAGGY: I know, but you never tell them that. Never let the truth get in the way of a good story. (laughs)

Sting poses for a portrait on Tuesday, March 11, 2025, in New York. (Photo by Matt Licari/Invision/AP)

Shaggy poses for a portrait on Tuesday, March 11, 2025, in New York. (Photo by Matt Licari/Invision/AP)

Sting poses for a portrait on Tuesday, March 11, 2025, in New York. (Photo by Matt Licari/Invision/AP)

Shaggy poses for a portrait on Tuesday, March 11, 2025, in New York. (Photo by Matt Licari/Invision/AP)

Sting, left, and Shaggy pose for a portrait on Tuesday, March 11, 2025, in New York. (Photo by Matt Licari/Invision/AP)

Sting, left, and Shaggy pose for a portrait on Tuesday, March 11, 2025, in New York. (Photo by Matt Licari/Invision/AP)

Sting poses for a portrait on Tuesday, March 11, 2025, in New York. (Photo by Matt Licari/Invision/AP)

Shaggy poses for a portrait on Tuesday, March 11, 2025, in New York. (Photo by Matt Licari/Invision/AP)

Sting, left, and Shaggy pose for a portrait on Tuesday, March 11, 2025, in New York. (Photo by Matt Licari/Invision/AP)

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — The top United Nations court on Friday wraps a week of hearings on what Israel must do to ensure desperately needed humanitarian aid reaches Palestinians in Gaza and the occupied West Bank.

Last year, the U.N. General Assembly asked the International Court of Justice to give an advisory opinion on Israel’s legal obligations after the country effectively banned the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, the main provider of aid to Gaza, from operating.

Experts say the case could have broader ramifications for the United Nations and its missions worldwide.

The hearings are taking place as the humanitarian aid system in Gaza is nearing collapse and ceasefire efforts remain deadlocked. Israel has blocked the entry of food, fuel, medicine and other humanitarian supplies since March 2. It renewed its bombardment on March 18, breaking a ceasefire, and seized large parts of the territory, saying it aims to push Hamas to release more hostages.

Israel denies deliberately targeting civilians and aid staff as part of its war with Hamas and did not attend the hearing. The country did provide a 38-page written submission for the court to consider.

The hearings focused on provision of aid to the Palestinians, but the U.N. court's 15 judges could use their advisory opinion to give legal guidance on the powers of the world body.

“The court has the opportunity to clarify and address questions about the legal immunities of the United Nations,” Mike Becker, an expert on international human rights law at Trinity College Dublin, told The Associated Press.

Advisory opinions issued by the U.N. court are described as “nonbinding” as there are no direct penalties attached to ignoring them. However, the treaty that covers the protections that countries must give to United Nations personnel says that disputes should be resolved through an advisory opinion at the ICJ and the opinion “shall be accepted as decisive by the parties.”

“The oddity of this particular process,” Becker said, “is a clear response to any argument that the opinion is nonbinding.”

The resolution, sponsored by Norway, seeks the ICJ’s guidance on “obligations of Israel … in relation to the presence and activities of the United Nations … to ensure and facilitate the unhindered provision of urgently needed supplies essential to the survival of the Palestinian civilian population.” The United States, Israel’s closest ally, voted against it.

Israel’s ban on the agency, known as UNRWA, which provides aid to Gaza, came into effect in January. The organization has faced increased criticism from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his far-right allies, who claim the group is deeply infiltrated by Hamas. UNRWA rejects that claim.

“We cannot let states pick and choose where the U.N. is going to do its work. This advisory opinion is a very important opportunity to reinforce that,” Becker said.

Whatever the judges decide will have an impact beyond the current situation in Gaza, according to Juliette McIntyre, an expert on international law at the University of South Australia. “Are these immunities absolute or is there wiggle room? This is useful for where United Nations personnel are working in other places,” McIntyre told AP.

An authoritative answer from the World Court can have influence beyond judicial proceedings as well. “Every time a norm is breached, the norm gets weaker. The advisory opinion in this case could push the norm back,” said McIntyre.

In separate proceedings last year, the court issued an unprecedented and sweeping condemnation of Israel’s rule over the occupied Palestinian territories, finding Israel’s presence unlawful and calling for it to end. The ICJ said Israel had no right to sovereignty in the territories, was violating international laws against acquiring territory by force and was impeding Palestinians’ right to self-determination.

According to McIntyre, the arguments presented this week reflect the opinion handed down just nine months ago. “Now the starting premise is that Israel is illegally occupying all of Palestine,” McIntyre said.

On Monday, the Palestinian delegation accused Israel of breaching international law in the occupied territories and applauded the move to bring more proceedings to the court. “Our journey with the international institutions, be it Security Council, the General Assembly or the ICJ, is we are building things block on top of another block while we are marching towards the accomplishment of the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people, including our right to self-determination, statehood, and the right of the refugees,” Palestinian U.N. envoy Riyad Mansour told reporters.

Israel has denied it is in violation of international law and said the proceedings are biased. Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar hit back at the case during a news conference in Jerusalem on Monday. “I accuse UNRWA, I accuse the U.N., I accuse the secretary-general and I accuse all those that weaponized international law and its institutions in order to deprive the most attacked country in the world, Israel, of its most basic right to defend itself,” he said.

The court is expected to take months to deliver its opinion.

—— Associated Press writer Mike Corder in The Hague contributed to this report.

A Palestinian flag flies outside the International Court of Justice, rear, which opened hearings into a United Nations request for an advisory opinion on Israel's obligations to allow humanitarian assistance in Gaza and the West Bank, in The Hague, Netherlands, Monday, April 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)