“The very values we fought for are under threat”: former U.S. Marine Shaggy speaks out on Memorial Day Weekend

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ABC/Paula LoboThis Memorial Day Weekend, let’s salute a chart-topping pop star who actually saw battlefield combat: Shaggy

Mr. Boombastic served during the first Persian Gulf War as a member of the U.S. Marine Corps.  He says that’s why he has a right to use his platform as a musician to speak out about current issues.  For example, on The Late Late Show with James Corden, he used his hit “It Wasn’t Me” to poke fun at President Trump and the Russia investigation.

“I fought for this country,” Shaggy tells ABC Radio. “I’m a vet…[and] the very values that we fought for are under threat.”

“You look at what’s going on right now, the political times that we’re in, there’s nothing beautiful about it,” he continues. “And there’s a lot of people that feel the way I feel. I should basically use the music as a platform to voice my opinion, to start some sorta conversation, to be a voice for the voiceless.”

Shaggy’s also used his music over the years to entertain his fellow soldiers, performing for the USO in Bosnia and Germany.  He laughs, “We were supposed to go to Afghanistan, but…they started to bomb it a little bit when we were going there so they figured it wasn’t a good idea!”

Shaggy spent Friday morning performing in New York’s Central Park with Sting, as part of Good Morning America’s Summer Concert Series — the two will tour the U.S. together this fall in support of their new joint album 44/876.  But Shaggy says observing Memorial Day is very important to him.

“Oh it’s big time, ” he tells ABC Radio. “I’m actually leaving this evening to go play for the veterans in Miami, if the weather permits.  Yeah, I’m big on that.”

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