Without a record label and losing the spotlight to younger artists, Shaggy seemed to be on a downward slide. “They saw me as a guy bringing them a couple of hits, not somebody building a career, ” Shaggy lamented in conversation with Time. Despite strong initial support from the Virgin label the album went nowhere, and Shaggy was dropped from Virgin ’s roster. “We showed on this album that I can do whatever Beenie Man or Buju Banton are doing, ” Shaggy told Billboard. urban radio play, but the artist also felt the need to reestablish his credibility with the dancehall reggae hard core. The album contained various single-ready tracks tailored for U.S. An ambitious outing, it attempted to cover perhaps too many bases. Shaggy ’s third album, Midnite Lover, was released in 1997. Boombastic earned Shaggy a 1996 Grammy award for Best Reggae Album. market for the artist the album received a gold record for sales of 500,000 copies, appeared on pop, rap, and R&B charts in the United States, and remained atop Billboard magazine ’s U.S. The title track of Boombastic became another international hit and also cracked open the doors of the U.S. Boombastic, released in 1995, reunited him with the New York reggae DJ Shaun “Sting ” Pizzonia, who had produced his earliest dancehall efforts. Shaggy kept his momentum with his sophomore release. That led to the release of Shaggy ’s debut album, Pure Pleasure, in 1993. pop charts with single “It Wasn ’t Me, ” 2001.Īwards: Grammy award for Best Reggae Album, for Boombastic, 1995.Īddresses: Agent -The Agency Group., Ltd., 1775 Broadway, Suite 433, New York, NY 10019.īy the major Virgin International label. Recorded singles that gained exposure in New York reggae dance clubs, late 1980s and early 1990s “Oh Carolina ” topped reggae dance charts signed to Virgin International label and released debut album, Pure Pleasure, 1993 released second album, Boombastic, 1995 released third album, Midnite Lover, 1997 appeared on soundtrack of film How Stella Got Her Groove Back in duet with Janet Jackson, 1998 signed to MCA label released Hot Shot, 2000 became first reggae artist since 1991 to top U.S. ![]() Marine Corps.Ĭareer: Reggae/hip-hop/pop vocalist. Took nickname “Shaggy ” from Scooby Doo television cartoon program. “Oh Carolina, ” recorded while Shaggy was still in the Marines, was released in Great Britain by the larger Greensleeves label, topped pop charts there and in several other countries, and was in turn picked up At a Glance …īorn Orville Richard Burrell on Octoin Kingston, Jamaica grew up in Kingston moved at age 18 to New York City, where his mother worked as a medical secretary. Shaggy ’s version inventively incorporated samples of the original song. The most successful of them, “Oh Carolina, ” was a remake of a pre-reggae classic of Jamaican pop, by a group called the Folkes Brothers, which in turn drew on U.S. “The atmosphere was kind of like Three Kings, ” a 1999 film that starred actor George Clooney.īack in New York at the war ’s end, Shaggy released several singles on small independent labels that did well in New York ’s numerous reggae clubs. ![]() But he was also a keen observer of the war ’s slightly surreal aspect. ![]() The experience sharpened his ambitions, and he made profitable use of the long waiting periods required of the U.S. With the outbreak of the Gulf War in 1991 he was sent to Iraq. Trying to keep a hand in the reggae recording scene, he drove long hours into the night between New York and his Marine base in North Carolina. Attending high school just as rap music was exploding in popularity, he found that his skills at Jamaican-style “toasting, ” a style that in fact was one of rap ’s forerunners, put him in high demand.Īfter graduating from high school Shaggy grew discouraged with his prospects in Brooklyn and joined the U.S. After growing up in Jamaica ’s violent central city, Shaggy left at age 18 for the Flatbush neighborhood in Brooklyn, New York, where his mother was already living and working as a medical secretary. His nickname referred to his long hair and came from the hippie-like character by that name on the children ’s cartoon Scooby Doo. Shaggy was born Orville Richard Burrell in Kingston, Jamaica, on October 22, 1968. A quick and talented writer, he created a style that was rooted in Jamaican dance traditions but displayed a pop sensibility and a sense of humor that endeared him to ordinary music fans in the United States and beyond. Yet Shaggy, with two huge hits and several successful album releases in the 1990s and early 2000s, accomplished just that. ![]() Characterized historically by political and spiritual lyrics and a serious attitude, the Jamaican musical tradition of reggae has been difficult to bring to widespread popularity with fun-loving American audiences.
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