Shaboozey’s “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” Celebrates the Diversity and Tradition of Virginia
Song: “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” by Shaboozey
I’ll be honest: when I first heard this song, I had no idea who Shaboozey was, or his ethnicity, or his hometown. My Millennial ears pricked up when I recognized the clever rework of J-Kwon’s massive 2004 hit “Tipsy,” my soundtrack to slapping the bag of cheap wine at college parties and hoping the club bouncer didn’t notice my ID was a blatant fake. (Helvetica 12, baby!) I was impressed by the universally relatable lyrics; the singer’s alternation of troubled yelp and soothing chorus; and the lonesome whistling, down-home fiddle, and spare guitar of country-folk. As the state of Virginia’s favorite person, I was tickled pink to find out that he’s one of us; even better, he’s from the same county (Prince William) that I lived in for years. The last breakout hit from Virginia was Oliver Anthony’s bitter right-wing dirge “Rich Men North of Richmond,” so it felt like Shaboozey was redeeming our state with a composition that could unite a whole dive pub of yowling drunks at last call.
“A Bar Song” will go down in history for a couple of reasons. It’s the first time a song from a Black male artist has simultaneously topped the Billboard Hot 100 and Billboard Country charts. It’s the second time a Black artist has achieved this at all (the first was Beyonce earlier in the year, who featured Shaboozey in her breakthrough album Cowboy Carter.) Even more remarkable, it’s the first time in history that ANY song has cracked the top 10 on country, pop, adult pop and rhythmic airplay charts all at once. And as a first single from an emerging artist on a smaller label? Unheard of. Which should tell you how good this song actually is.
The strength of this song comes from a couple of different factors. Shaboozey (the performing pseudonym of 29-year-old Collins Chibueze, a Northern Virginia native of Nigerian ethnicity) originally sought to “flip an early 2000s song” he’d enjoyed as a kid. The result was a genre-bending anthem that preserved the catchy thump of the original within a unique composition of his own. (Creative types the world over will recognize “A Bar Song” as an example of what happens when your project turns out even better than you expected.) Chibueze’s soulful, heartfelt vocals exceed those of male country counterparts like Jason Aldean or Morgan Wallen. And as a songwriter, he’s demonstrated that rarest of gifts: universal appeal.
But what fascinates me the most about “A Bar Song” is its combination of influences: mid-Atlantic alt-country, East Coast hip-hop, and Chibueze’s Nigerian heritage, expertly blended and seasoned to taste amidst the tranquil rivers and stone mills of Prince William County. Growing up in the sparsely populated “exurbs” of Washington, D.C., Shaboozey noticed the similarity between American country/folk and traditional Nigerian music- two genres rooted in rural farming communities. He also drew inspiration from state hip-hop legends Pharrell, Missy Elliot, and Timbaland, all natives of the Norfolk/Virginia Beach area.
“My whole campaign has been trying to tap in more with Virginia. . . Some of the most prolific creators of modern music, modern culture, are from Virginia.” — Shaboozey
There have been a few spats online about whether Shaboozey is really a country boy, since most of Woodbridge is pretty built up now into an endless sprawl of subdivisions and strip malls. So allow me, as a former resident, to shed some light on the issue. For the past decade, Prince William has been one of the fastest-growing counties in America- and one of the most ethnically varied. But the recent influx of corporate high-rises and apartment complexes shouldn’t fool anyone; it’s about 30 years removed from being a string of one-stoplight towns prone to Confederate battle reenactments and mountain justice. My ex was a tech for a data center and once went out with friends for a beer after work, where he mentioned that “a server wasn’t working, so. . . adios!” A few seconds later he felt a tap on his shoulder. It was the furious bar manager, who spat at him in a menacing growl: “Meet me outside in 20 minutes and I’ll show you how we treat servers around here.”
First-time visitors whizzing through on I-95 may be perplexed by the discrepancy between the working-Joe country/folk of “A Bar Song” and what appears to be a relatively affluent, diverse, and well-manicured suburb. But did it look like that when Shaboozey was growing up? Absolutely not. You’re less likely to see your neighbors dance on pickup trucks in Carharrt gear nowadays, but that only serves to reinforce the song’s intended goal: a throwback to his youth.
Hey hey! Thanks for visiting- your presence is warmly welcomed. Please correct me if I accidentally got something wrong. If there are any songs, artists, or genres you’d love to learn more about, I’m always down for recommendations! This blog is free to read (and always will be) due to a fair amount of academic traffic, but you can always buy me a coffee (aka put a tip in my jar) if you enjoyed this article.
