“Well, I guess I wasn’t enough in the end.” - My Fault

Artist: Shaboozey

Album: Where I've Been, Isn't Where I'm Going

Label: American Dogwood/Empire

Tracklist & Lyrics: Genius

Release Date: May 31, 2024

r/popheads [FRESH] thread

Listen: Spotify | Apple | Tidal | YouTube Music | Amazon

Introduction

If you're anything like me, when Beyoncé released Cowboy Carter on March 29, 2024, with two features from an artist named “Shaboozey,” you were sure you had heard his name before but couldn’t for the life of you remember where. A mere two weeks later, when Shaboozey dropped “A Bar Song (Tipsy),” it no longer mattered. Seven weeks after that, he released his third studio album, Where I’ve Been, Isn’t Where I’m Going.

Where I’ve Been debuted at #5 on the Billboard 200. It spent five of its first six weeks in the top ten and eighteen of its first nineteen weeks in the top twenty. At the time of this writing, it has spent 31 weeks on the chart. The album also peaked at #2 on Billboard’s Top US Country Albums chart and #1 on both the US Independent Albums and US Folk Albums charts. Where I’ve Been received fairly strong reviews, including a 9/10 from online country music magazine Holler and a 7.7/10 from Pitchfork. The album spawned five singles in total--“Let It Burn,” “Anabelle,” and “Vegas” before “A Bar Song,” then “Highway” after. Unlike “A Bar Song,” though, none of the other four singles charted, with the sole exception of “Highway” on US Country Airplay (at #60).

Let’s go back to that little brain itch when Cowboy Carter dropped, though. Where had we heard Shaboozey’s name before? For that matter, what kind of name is it, anyway? Shaboozey is the stage name of Collins Chibueze, adopted when his high school football coach in Woodbridge, VA, mispronounced his Nigerian last name. As for where we’d heard it before? Cast your minds back to 2018. By his own admission, Shaboozey “had this vibe going back to when I did [debut single] ‘Jeff Gordon’ and I was in my screamo bag when I used to scream a lot on songs.” That scream prompted Duckwrth to reach out to him to sing the hook (and, eventually, a verse) on “Start a Riot” for the Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse original soundtrack. A-ha. That’s where we’d heard the name before.

Fast forward to January 2024. By this time, Shaboozey had released two studio albums--his debut, Lady Wrangler, in late 2018, and the trap-country fusion album, Cowboys Live Forever, Outlaws Never Die, in 2022--as well as the first two singles from Where I’ve Been. Someone from Beyoncé’s team heard him perform the unreleased “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” at a showcase and asked him if he’d like to work on Cowboy Carter. The rest is history.

If you’ll indulge me, I’ve also had a bit of a musical journey over the same past six years. My then 11-year-old daughter and I were huge fans of the Spider-Verse soundtrack (and we saw the movie in theaters three times), but my musical tastes hadn’t evolved since (literally) before the turn of the century--I had been listening to classic rock, 80’s new wave, and 90’s alternative for almost thirty years. My daughter was also really into award shows back then, though, so in an effort to share that interest, I made a huge playlist across all genres from the recent Grammy nominations. For me, the rest is history. I’ve been an avid fan of new music ever since. Fast forward to October 2024, and my now 17-year-old daughter was kind enough to accompany me to Shaboozey’s sold-out show at the 1,200-seat Fonda Theater in Hollywood. I was very excited. We both had a great time.

I’m newish to the sub. I’m fairly confident that I’m older than the average sub reader. I don’t have the grounding in music criticism or music theory (or even the years of discussing music online) that some of you have. I do love music, though. It may just be vibes, but I feel like Where I’ve Been hasn’t gotten anywhere near as much attention as “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” has. I’m going to discuss some (but not all) of the other tracks today, and it's my goal that you will want to listen to the whole album if you haven’t already. I’m very excited. I hope you have a great time.

(Note that we'll discuss the tracks out of order.)

“A Bar Song (Tipsy)”

[FRESH] thread

Most of this you already know. “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” broke the record for most weeks for a solo artist at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and tied the record for most weeks at #1 overall (19, with “Old Town Road,” also a hip-hop/country hybrid). Gallons of ink have already been spilled in discussion of this track, and I am neither smart nor skilled enough to add to or improve on that discourse. What I do want to highlight are some of the less obvious themes in this song that surface in many other tracks on the album. Second on the tracklist, “Bar Song” clearly presents as, well, a bar song. Crowd noises and clapping throughout on the backing track, the fiddle from the end of the first chorus, and multiple voices in the backup vocals all support the vision of a rollicking good time. Many of the lyrics tell a different tale, however. The first two bars express a longing for both wants (a Birkin bag) and needs (gasoline and groceries). Yet the narrator laments that “This nine-to-five ain’t workin’, why the hell do I work so hard?” He goes on to dismiss these thoughts with “I can’t worry ‘bout my problems, I can’t take ‘em when I’m gone.” He then admits in the second verse that he “Woke up drunk at 10 a.m./We gon’ do this shit again.” Suddenly that rollicking good time seems a lot more like self-medication and alcohol abuse. But “pour [him] up a double shot of whiskey!”

“Drink Don’t Need No Mix”

[FRESH VIDEO] thread

This brings us to the other party song on the album, “Drink Don’t Need No Mix.” Tenth on the tracklist, “Drink,” with its heavy beat and feature from BigXthaPlug, exhibits the most rap influence on Where I’ve Been by far and thus bears the most stylistic similarity to Cowboys. It’s also one of the strongest entries on the album. The narrator in “Drink” doesn’t examine his problems at all but instead focuses on getting as drunk as possible as quickly as possible, preferring straight liquor to drinks with “mix.” He also chases the party above all else: someone in their group “hit his head on the sidewalk” over half an hour ago and is still seeing lights, but “he good, he gon’ be alright” as they “Drive up to the dive bar, get PBR, that’s just how [they] start [their] nights.” The lyrics here again suggest self-medication and an escape from problems. The music video reinforces all of these tropes, presenting a nightmarish series of disjointed images in a crowded club, including a few brief POV frames of a boorish white guy passing out and throwing up in the bathroom.

“Last of My Kind”

Whereas “Drink” recalls the style of Cowboys, the third track, “Last of My Kind,” unquestionably recalls the themes. The previous album examines the cultural overlap between old west and modern rap, and “Kind” delves into the same territory. The solitary vocals, finger-picking acoustic guitar and banjo, and tough-guy lyrics all give the feel of a modern western.

Ain't many that are built like me
I'm the last of my kind
Grew up on a backroad, baby
I know how to survive

Americana/indie folk artist Paul Cauthen features for one verse to add some additional Western credibility. (By the way, for the best example of the vibes of Cowboys, I’d recommend “Beverly Hills” and “Tall Boy.”)

“Horses and Hellcats”

The last of the three songs that strongly recall Cowboys, “Horses and Hellcats” opens Where I’ve Been in high style. The first verse gives us Western outlaw culture with both barrels:

Foot on the gas, out on the road
Goin' for broke, plottin' on gold
Ain't lookin' back, nowhere is home
Life as an outlaw, with nowhere to go
I packed up my bags, I'm fresh out of smokes
I'm takin' my habits, I'm holdin' them close
I'm pickin' my poison, it's eatin' my soul
Tell momma I love her, I'm out with the crows

A single acoustic and a very forward pedal steel underpin those lyrics, along with whistling wind effects and an actual whinnying horse (if I weren’t sure that Shaboozey was so dedicated to the genre, I’d almost think this last bit was parody). As the chorus starts, he blends in a bit of modern rap culture by comparing palominos to SRTs (a Dodge Hellcat trimline; don’t feel bad, I had to look it up, too). Halfway through the chorus, the trap-hop beat drops, and the song achieves the full Shaboozey blend of outlaw country and hip-hop.

“Vegas”

The ninth track on Where I’ve Been, “Vegas” retains whispers of the recurring Western themes but moves solidly into the realm of heartbreak. A strumming acoustic guitar opens the song, joined shortly by a deep electric guitar line, a whistling track right out of Sergio Leone, and lyrics evoking images of dirt roads, four-by-fours, and cigarettes. Our narrator comes quickly to the heart of the matter in the first chorus, though, relating how he risked everything by leaving his hometown for a woman and lost it all. The second verse finds him yet again drowning his sorrows with whiskey and lacking the means to cover his expenses. This verse also subtly shifts from a syncopated Western rhythm as it opens to a more staccato hip-hop flow by its end. Evoking another timeless Western theme--gambling--he finally leaves us with the assertion that he lived his life “like it was one big Vegas.”

“Let It Burn”

[FRESH VIDEO] thread

Another song delving into themes of heartbreak and despair, the seventh track, “Let It Burn,” marks not only a further tonal shift, but also a structural one. As one of only four songs on the album not written strictly in first-person, “Burn” casts the listener in the role of a friend recovering from heartache, while the narrator pleads with the listener to keep going. While we are admittedly examining the tracks out of order, we now have our first mentions of both suicide and faith:

Prayed to God, said "Please can you pull me out," but God said that the test ain't done yet
Contemplating leaving all this behind but I'm begging you don't give up yet

We also again hear Shaboozey float between styles within the same song. The intro and first chorus treat us to a very spare country feel, with lone vocals layered over a single strumming guitar and the faintest pedal steel and bass in the background. The beat drops at the beginning of the first verse, bringing rhythmic claps and a choir along with it. The second chorus is lyrically identical to the first, but with more instrumental layers and an up tempo that feels more distinctly "poppy" to my untrained ear. Finally the second verse resolves into another staccato hip-hop flow with a similar feel to “Vegas,” all building to the crescendo of the third and final chorus.

“Anabelle”

The fourth track on the album, “Anabelle” is a solid pop-country ballad. It was the second single, released nine weeks before Cowboy Carter and eleven weeks before “A Bar Song.” Had it been released after “Bar Song,” I think it could have done well, as it’s possibly one of the most accessible songs on the album, at least for an older mainstream audience. The bass line is straight out of a Fleetwood Mac tune, anchoring the narrator as he laments a lost love but warns her that she’s missed her chance with him. Finally, the theme of self-medication returns, but this time for the listener, not the narrator:

Now your whiskey glass is filled with regrets
And you drink 'til I'm no longer stuck in your head

The twin themes of broken hearts and drowned sorrows, Shaboozey's delicious drawl, and a soaring pedal steel line throughout all combine to keep one foot of this ballad firmly planted in the country sphere.

“Highway”

[FRESH VIDEO] thread

I have three songs left to discuss, and I saved two of them until (almost) last on purpose, as I firmly believe they are the emotional hearts of the album and honestly much more representative than “A Bar Song.” The first of them, and the sixth track, “Highway” is a cautionary tale told by an admittedly flawed man who is desperately clinging to the life he wants to lead. As much as I love the song and as many times as I have listened to it, I cannot be entirely sure whether the highway in question is literal or metaphorical, but it almost doesn’t matter. The narrator intimates that his relationship has not been perfect by any means:

I see dead-ends, but we're still goin' strong
We've been headin' down a one-way street, but it feel like it's wrong

he struggles to correct his course:

Gave me your heart, gave you heartbreak (I let you down)
I'm sorry, I'm lost in this dark place (I'll fight it out)
If somehow I make it to Sunday
I promise, I'll be comin' back

but the tacit danger is that he’ll give up:

I might die on the highway with all my regrets
I've been driving for miles and miles and miles, I can't see where it ends 
I've been tryin' to find ways to tell you how I feel
Yeah, but I can't tell you goodbye 'cause I know it'll hurt if I let go of the wheel

Certainly, “Highway” brings back the theme of suicide in stark fashion, whether letting go of the wheel is a literal act or a more metaphorical surrender. The second verse brings back the themes of both alcohol abuse and faith:

Goin' out, lookin' for a good time, but I'm goin' through hell
Got Jesus on the hotline sayin', "You need help"
Put the liquor on the shelf, tell the devil, "Farewell"

All of this is couched in rich, beautiful instrumentals and delivered with some of the most emotional vocals on the album. Finally, the narrator delivers his final plea, that he "[doesn't] wanna be the story that others tell/The guy who died on the highway."

“My Fault”

If you only listen to one other song on this album, please, please, please choose “My Fault,” eighth on the tracklist. Shaboozey enlisted Noah Cyrus to feature on this piece, and it is both stunningly gorgeous and achingly sad. Musically, the song opens in stripped-down fashion, with nothing but an acoustic and their two voices singing the chorus. Shaboozey takes over alone for the first verse, still with the lone acoustic. The pedal steel sneaks in as Noah rejoins for the pre-chorus, and the gentlest of bass and guitar lines fill out the instrumentals as the two of them repeat the chorus. From start to finish, the lyrics do not pull any punches. The song opens with the first line of the chorus, “Is it my fault that you’re lost,” and doesn’t really let up from there. The characters in question abuse both pills and booze:

It's hard for me to see you when you're drunk
In a bathroom stall, takin' pills, givin' up

then, finally:

When I beg you not to go, you leave again
Well, I guess I wasn't enough in the end

The vocals are soulful, and the lyrics are moving and cathartic. Songs without a happy ending are not for everyone, but I find this song incredibly beautiful and can listen to it for hours. I do love the entire album, but “My Fault” is unquestionably my favorite and, in my uneducated opinion, the best track on offer.

“Finally Over”

I’ve saved the final track on the album, “Finally Over,” for last, and it is both an appropriate finish and a curious song. Both upbeat and up tempo, “Over” is almost the diametrical opposite of “My Fault.” A jaunty strummed acoustic guitar in a major key opens the song, then Shaboozey joins with lyrics about how all his “friends have got careers,” but his “just might be over” if he doesn’t “sell his soul for another viral moment.” He touches lightly on the previously explored themes of alcohol (“Starin’ down the whiskey, longin’ to be sober”) and faith (“‘Cause I’ve been tryin’ to talk to Jesus, shoutin’ at the altar”). In the chorus, though, he cheerfully sings that he’s “good if it’s all over.” The mood is overwhelmingly one of contentment and satisfaction. I’ve tried to find some evidence of when Shaboozey wrote and recorded this track, but as far as I can tell, he only mentions it in one NPR interview, in which he explains that the song is about his home state of Virginia and how he would be perfectly happy with a simple life and career. If he wrote and recorded it before he released “A Bar Song,” though (and he probably did), it seems awfully prophetic.

Final Thoughts

Shaboozey closed with “Finally Over” at the show we caught in October (and indeed on his entire tour), and it very much felt like an encapsulation of his attitude and outlook. Like Kacey Musgraves or Noah Kahan, he banters with the crowd a fair amount, and though he did tout a few of his recent accomplishments (and who can blame him), he absolutely exuded grace, joy, gratitude, and humility more than anything, and nowhere more so than during his closer. I certainly realize that all artists are entertainers and performers who project a carefully crafted persona, but Shaboozey certainly feels genuine, and it’s hard not to root for him.

So what’s next? Shaboozey has been everywhere this fall: SNL, GQ’s Man of the Year event, the Billboard Music Awards, the Detroit Lions halftime show by himself, the Christmas Day NFL halftime show with Beyoncé, and more. He released a new single in November, “Good News,” which hit #14 on the Hot Country chart. Christmas songs finally dethroned “A Bar Song” from #1, but if he can manage to snag a 20th week now that the holiday songs are gone, he’ll break the record held by “Old Town Road.” He launches a European tour in March. Can he match 2024? We’ll have to wait and see. If he doesn’t, though? He’s “good if it’s all over.”

Questions

1. Would “A Bar Song” have had the same success without Shaboozey’s appearance on Cowboy Carter?
2. Had you previously been curious enough to listen to the entire album, and why or why not?
3. How do you feel about the blending of hip hop and country, be it by Shaboozey, Lil Nas X, or others?
4. Do you think “A Bar Song” will stand the test of time?
5. Do the other tracks on the album change your perception of “A Bar Song” or of Shaboozey himself?

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