With Where I’ve Been, Isn’t Where I’m Going, the Nigerian-American country singer interrogates his artistic impulses and creates his most dynamic body of work to date.
Shaboozey is not new to the scene, he has been working his way to the top since his viral hit “Jeff Gordon” in 2014. Then, his guest feature on the soundtrack album for Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse made him a fan favourite. The native-Virginian’s sound, punctuated by influences as disparate as Afrobeats, country and hip-hop, drew the music world’s attention. And in 2024, he was credited on two songs on Beyonce’s eighth studio album, Cowboy Carter – a project that leans into his signature country-fusion style. His out-of-the-box smash hit A Bar Song (Tipsy) propelled him into a fan favourite among both country and hip-hop fans. The song went gold in less than two months, proving just how potent genre-fluid artists are.
Where I’ve Been, Isn’t Where I’m Going, his third studio album, is a modern journey through the Wild West. Across 12 tracks, Shaboozey makes connections between contemporary hip-hop and classic outlaw country music. His interrogative approach to storytelling is the compelling connective tissue throughout the album.The opening song “Horses & Hellcats” brings us into an almost cinematic listening experience. Shaboozey sets up a distinctive sonic space, washing gleaming country/folk strings over trap percussions. His gruff antihero persona catches the ear immediately. It’s the same wounded narrator we encounter on “Anabelle” – one of the album’s standout love songs.
On this journey through his life, he frequently returns home. “For the most part, I’m inspired by Virginia so there’s some Virginia references in my songs”, he told BET.
You can always sense his roots in the songs – pockets of hip-hop, hints of soul and Bluegrass. He digs deep to get his emotions out on these records, his Virginian twang ever-present. It’s these diverse elements that make a heartbreak ballad like “Steal Her From Me” sit just as comfortably on the project as the anthemic “Vegas.”
Producer Sean Cook – who has 11 production credits on the 12-track effort – is one of the album’s guiding forces. It’s hard to imagine that he isn’t, at least in part, the architect of the album’s signature sound.The features are limited, the project is largely buoyed by Shaboozey’s own varied artistry; the selective presence of collaborators is therefore much more exciting. On “Last Of My Kind,” country star Paul Cauthen crafts a lavish Western duet with Shaboozey. Noah Cyrus and BigXthaplug complete the trio of features, each introducing a novel sonic tangent. Shaboozey’s crooning on the outro “Finally Over“ draws the curtain on a rich project. He sounds accomplished, yet ready to go again. At approximately 40 minutes, Where I’ve Been, Isn’t Where I’m Going collects dreamy Western culture and chronicles stories of heartbreak, introspection, and heroic chapters befitting a Western epic. With a sonic landscape that is vast enough to reflect his writing prowess, on this album, Shaboozey asserts his incredible talent and influence.
Stream Where I’ve Been, Isn’t Where I’m Going HERE
