90 Minutes with Shaboozey

Twenty-nine-year-old Shaboozey is having an undeniable year. A profile-raising guest appearance on Beyoncé’s bone-rattling Cowboy Carter LP, a single that doesn’t just hit but catapults to the top of the charts and then stays there—“A Bar Song (Tipsy)” just logged its eighth week at number one on the Billboard Hot 100—and starting next week, a sold-out tour. In May, I saw him perform at Baby’s Alright in Brooklyn. As soon as he grabbed the mic, the room seemed to cave in. The venue, which fits just shy of 300 people, was wall-to-wall with bodies, but no one cared. In fact, everyone seemed to love it. When he returns to New York City this fall, he’ll headline two shows that’ll see him sell tickets to ten times as many people. In July, Esquire met up with Shaboozey to do some record shopping.