“It Wasn’t Me” is the first single from Jamaican-American reggae musician Shaggy’s fifth studio album, Hot Shot (2000). The song features vocals from British-Jamaican singer RikRok (credited as Ricardo “RikRok” Ducent). The lyrics of the song depict one man (portrayed by RikRok) asking his friend (Shaggy) what to do after his girlfriend caught him cheating on her with “the girl next door”. His friend’s advice is to deny everything with the phrase “it wasn’t me”, despite clear evidence to the contrary.
“It Wasn’t Me” was serviced to US contemporary hit radio on 7 November 2000 and has been regarded as Shaggy’s breakthrough in the pop market. The single topped the charts in Australia, Flanders, France, Ireland, the Netherlands, Poland, the United Kingdom, and the United States. It was the best-selling single of 2001 in the UK, selling over 1.15 million copies that year and over 1.42 million as of 2017.
