ENTERTAINMENT
PRINCE MYDAS · PRESS & INTERVIEWS · 1999
For Love of the Game — The Soundtrack and the Story of Hope
A Mydas Pen Entertainment retrospective.
The film
For Love of the Game was released by Universal Pictures in 1999. Directed by Sam Raimi and starring Kevin Costner, it follows veteran pitcher Billy Chapel through what may be the final game of his career.
The song
Shaggy’s “Hope”, featuring Prince Mydas, was recorded for the film’s soundtrack and released as a single in the United States on 23 November 1999. It sat alongside tracks from Semisonic, Joan Osborne, Jonny Lang, Lyle Lovett, Trisha Yearwood and Vince Gill.
AllMusic’s review of the soundtrack singled out its “lite reggae (Shaggy, with ‘Hope’)” and described the album as having “an appealingly mellow vibe”. “Hope” is a song about resilience and keeping faith, a fitting match for a film about a player who refuses to give up.
What came next
“Hope” went on to appear on Shaggy’s multi-platinum album Hot Shot (2000), where the featured vocal is credited to “Mister Mydas”. Released in the UK as a double A-side with “Dance and Shout”, it reached No. 19 on the UK singles chart in 2001.
The song was later included on Best of Shaggy: The Boombastic Collection, which was certified gold in the UK in 2022.