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)

Delaware lawmakers put aside protests from major investors and approved fast-tracked legislation Tuesday night that backers say will protect its status as the corporate capital of the world after criticism by billionaire Elon Musk and other influential business titans rattled public officials.

The bill is headed to Gov. Matt Meyer, a Democrat who met with corporate leaders about their concerns about precedent-setting court decisions governing corporate conflicts of interest and urged lawmakers to quickly pass changes to the law.

They did, sending the bill through both chambers within two weeks of its introduction, despite shareholders’ lawyers, consumer groups and pension funds slamming it as a giveaway to billionaires and corporate insiders. The House approved it Tuesday night, 32-7, after a unanimous Senate earlier in March.

Delaware’s experienced corporate law courts and their well-developed body of corporate case law have become the go-to destination to settle all sorts of business disputes as the legal home of more than 2 million corporate entities, including two-thirds of Fortune 500 companies.

The state also reaps billions of dollars from the activity, making lawmakers nervous that corporations could flee Delaware and undercut a major source of revenue that funds one-third of Delaware's operating budget.

After two hours of debate Tuesday, Rep. Krista Griffith told colleagues that the bill was complex, but the reasons for voting for it were simple: “Protect Delaware’s economy, protect future opportunities for the people in our state. We have the best business court in the nation.”

However, an opponent, Rep. Madinah Wilson-Anton — referring to the business courts as Delaware's “golden goose” — warned that the changes being passed could end up "cooking that golden goose.”

A legal challenge is widely expected after Meyer signs the bill.

In hearings, lawmakers were warned by corporate lawyers and state officials that businesses were contemplating moving their legal home — a “Dexit,” as it has been dubbed — and that startups are being advised to incorporate elsewhere, such as competitors Nevada or Texas.

Corporate leaders complained about a lack of predictability, clarity and fairness, lawmakers were told.

Last year, Musk slammed Delaware, saying “Never incorporate your company in the state of Delaware” and instead recommended Nevada or Texas as destinations after a Delaware judge invalidated his landmark compensation package from Tesla worth potentially more than $55 billion.

Musk and Tesla are appealing in the state Supreme Court, and Musk’s companies — Tesla, SpaceX and Neuralink — all departed Delaware for Nevada or Texas.

The fallout seemed to accelerate in recent weeks when the Wall Street Journal reported that Meta Platforms — the parent company of social media platforms Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp — was considering moving its incorporation to Texas. Meta — run by billionaire chairman and CEO Mark Zuckerberg — didn’t confirm the report.

The bill has come under withering criticism that it will tilt the playing field decisively against investors, including pensioners and middle-class savers, and make it harder for them to hold billionaires and corporate insiders accountable for violating their fiduciary duty.

In a statement, the Consumer Federation of America said Delaware's lawmakers “clearly failed to protect investors with the passage of the Billionaire’s Bill.”

Opponents argue that the bill overturns decades of court precedents. But its backers say it is only affecting newer precedents, modernizing the law, clarifying gray areas and maintaining balance between corporate officers and shareholders.

The bill changes several provisions.

One, it gives corporate officers and controlling stockholders more protections in certain conflict-of-interest cases in state courts when fighting shareholder lawsuits.

Two, it limits the kind of documents that a company must produce in court cases and makes it harder for stockholders to get access to internal documents or communication that could prove time-consuming and expensive for a company to produce — not to mention, damaging to its case.

Institutional investors warn that such a law may prompt them to push corporations that they own to incorporate elsewhere.

Follow Marc Levy on X at: https://x.com/timelywriter.

FILE - Elon Musk departs the Capitol following a meeting with Senate Republicans, in Washington, Wednesday, March 5, 2025. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, file)