Singapore rapper and Gen T-lister Shigga Shay has collaborated with Jay Park on his latest single uRight

Hands up if you've put a project, a launch, or a personal celebration on hold because, well, Covid. It's taken Shigga Shay two years, but he finally bit the bullet last week with the release of his latest single, Uright, featuring Korean-American R&B singer Jay Park. To celebrate this milestone, Hugo Boss hosted a (socially distant) affair at Zouk, with some of Shigga Shay's nearest and dearest in attendance.

Says Shigga Shay on why he decided to launch the single now: "The timing felt right for me. I just wanted to put some positive vibes out to the world in 2021." 

We take a quick five with the Singaporean rapper, and discuss the story behind the single, his collaboration with Jay Park, and the capsule collection he's curated with Hugo, which is now available at its Ion Orchard boutique. 

What was the inspiration behind the track?

Shigga Shay (SS) Relationships that we have with people around us. Relationships with your friends, your parents, your relatives or your significant other.

Is there a real life anecdote behind the storyline? 

SS I was freestyling with my producer Okayjjack over a beat that Superjdoug had sent over. A good friend of ours was just complaining about his relationship problems, so we freestyled about it and that was how the concept of the song came about. [Ed’s note: Uright is one of Shigga Shay's rare love songs, and follows the mantra of: "if you really loved the other person, it wouldn’t matter who’s right or who’s wrong in an argument."]

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Above Shigga Shay

Tell us how the collaboration with Jay Park came to be.

SS Producer Okayjjack and I felt that there was a missing element. We wanted to get someone who understood hip-hop as well as R&B to jump on the song. Someone who could convey the emotional message of what we were trying to do. We immediately asked each other, ‘Could we get Jay Park to do a feature?’

We’ve known each other for more than six years now, and we would always talk about working together but we never found the right opportunity to. While we were both in LA, we met up in the studio and made it happen. He had a really busy schedule but made time to come by the studio. He wrote his parts within 20 minutes and started recording. We finished the song that same night. A few months later, Jay flew down to Singapore and we shot the music video entirely around iconic locations of the city. I wanted to showcase certain places in Singapore that are not usually seen by our friends overseas.

Singapore features quite prominently in the video—how much of an influence does the Lion City and your upbringing here have on your music?

SS At the end of the day, I am Singaporean. Wherever I go with my music, Singapore will always be in my soul.

How has the pandemic changed the way you work and create music? 

SS Not being able to travel has definitely affected things. Travelling and collaborating with artists and producers from all over the world was a big part of my work. Switching from in-person studio sessions to Zoom studio sessions was a big change too, but we all managed to adapt to this new norm. The best part would be getting to spend quality time with family.

Hugo has long celebrated and supported local artistes—why do you think what they do is so important?

SS Hugo has always been a brand that stands for boldness. Fashion and music go hand in hand when it comes to culture as a whole. I feel that what they do is fundamental for the entire ecosystem when it comes to entertainment.  

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