From ‘Cowboy Carter’ To Obama’s Playlist: Shaboozey’s Managers On The Singer’s Meteoric Rise

Few artists have accomplished what Shaboozey has done in just five months. The renegade singer-songwriter who is conquering the country and Americana world by melding hip-hop into the mix just reached the top of the Billboard Hot 100 for a seventh week with the hit single “A Bar Song (Tipsy), something no artist has done in 2024. His upbeat tune about getting tipsy after a hard day’s work even made a fan out of former President Barack Obama, who put it atop his 2024 Summer Playlist.

It’s a lot for anyone to achieve in a matter of weeks, especially for an artist who has yet to go on a proper headlining tour.

“It’s funny because Shaboozey calls me in the morning and is like, ‘What’s next?’ co-manager Jared Cotter, who is a partner at Range Music, tells Pollstar. “He really wants to figure it out.”

Luckily for Shaboozey, he has the right team behind him to help him navigate such uncharted waters. The 29-year-old singer and rapper who was born in Virginia to Nigerian parents has gone on a remarkable run since working with Beyoncé on her 2024 LP, Cowboy Carter.

Being featured on two songs with Queen Bey was a massive boost for Shaboozey, and yet, it almost didn’t happen had it not been for his management duo of Abas Pauti and Cotter. They convinced the hesitant artist to play a showcase at Winston House in Venice, California, put on by Range Music.

That performance ultimately changed his life because Ricky Lawson, who works A&R for Beyoncé’s Parkwood Entertainment, happened to be in attendance. Two months later, Queen Bey’s foray into country was released and Shaboozey was part of it.

“Without our show, we would not be on the Beyoncé album,” says Cotter. “It’s a testament to us being prepared, to us pushing our artist who did not want to do that show.”

Cotter and Pauti found out Shaboozey’s collabs made the final cut on Cowboy Carter days before it dropped and took advantage of the Beyoncé effect, pushing up the release of “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” by more than a month to April 12. The move obviously paid off as it has arguably become the song of the summer.

A headlining tour was already in the works before Shaboozey’s meteoric rise. Announced in June, the run starts Sept. 9 at Minneapolis’ First Avenue, with shows booked in clubs and theaters such as New York City’s Irving Plaza; 9:30 Club in Washington, D.C. and The Fonda Theatre in Los Angeles. The hype train he’s riding at the moment calls for something bigger (maybe arenas), but Pauti says he wouldn’t have it any other way.

“We probably could have put up 5,000-cap rooms in some markets, but we still feel like we weren’t there yet,” says Pauti, who was neighbors with Shaboozey in L.A. five years ago before managing him. “… He had done I think six shows in the entirety of his career. It’s one thing having a record blow up overnight and having your name everywhere to then being fully prepared to play in front of 5,000 people every night. That’s something he’s learning now by going on the road.”

Cotter and Pauti didn’t want to skip steps, booking shows in smaller venues earlier this year to help Shaboozey develop his stage presence. They laid the groundwork early on to help their artist transition into the country spotlight by forging relationships with key Nashville figures and having the singer play intimate concerts to better understand the culture. They are seeing the fruits of their labor with Shaboozey supporting Jelly Roll’s arena tour this fall.

Shawn McSpadden, a managing partner at Range Media Partners, says Shaboozey has been accepted by the Nashville music scene — so much so that the singer had to pass on supporting another major country tour happening next year.

“He’s a part of this community, the pop community and the country community because of what [Cotter and Pauti] did early on in cementing him in these relationships in Nashville,” McSpadden says.

The work put in by Cotter, Pauti and Shaboozey has everyone at Range Music excited, not only about the future of the artist but also about the country music genre.

“Shaboozey is a prime example of an artist we built the Range ecosystem to support — he is a genre-bending multihyphenate with endless potential,” says Matt Graham, Range Media Partners’ co-founder. “Watching Jared and Abas properly utilize and lean on the resources of our Nashville leadership, as well as our branding team, has allowed them to unlock so much opportunity and navigate an extremely fast-moving career with intention and care.”

Pauti truly believes we have yet to see the best of Shaboozey, and though the future is exciting, he says they can’t get fixated on what’s possible and remain in the moment.

It’s fitting that Shaboozey titled his newest (and most successful) album Where I’ve Been, Isn’t Where I’m Going because there’s no going back now, for him and country music.

“We are opening doors for kids who look like him in a whole new space. We’re opening doors for artists who can cross genres, between country, hip-hop, pop and adult contemporary,” says Cotter, who also manages rap artist Paul Russell. “… We have to remember that we are pioneers, and we have to be respectful of the fact that we’ve been given this opportunity to be great and remind Shaboozey of that.”