Shaggy, who took his stage name from the ‘Scooby Doo’ character, is a Jamaican singer best known for his crossover from modern dancehall to mainstream pop.
Shaggy grew up in Kingston, and at the age of 18, his family moved to Brooklyn, New York, where he attended Eramus Hall High School and the Pratt Institute. During that time, he performed on Gibraltar Musik, a Jamaican-style sound system. In 1988 he enlisted in the United States Marine Corps where he served during the Gulf War as a “gun bunny.” It was while serving that he got the inspiration for his single Boombastic, one of his most popular songs, which was released on his third studio album, with the same name. The platinum selling Boombastic earned him his first Grammy in 1996 for the Best Reggae Album.
Shaggy’s recording career started at the age of 20, debuting with Man A Mi Yard and Bullet Proof Buddy, followed by Big Hood and Duppy or Uglyman for producer Lloyd “Spiderman” Campbell. But his musical career took a higher leap after he hooked up with New York’s premier reggae radio DJ and producer, Sting. Shaggy cut Mampie with Sting, and the song rose to number one in the New York reggae charts along with his next single, Big Up.
Born Orville Richard Burrell in Kingston, Jamaica, success was right around the corner for Shaggy when in 1993 he released Oh Carolina, a remake of an old Prince Buster classic. Oh Carolina became a surprise smash hit topping charts around the world. He became a world traveler and performed in a number of countries. He was also the first dancehall artiste to perform in South Africa following the abolishment of apartheid. His 1993 debut album, Pure Pleasure, established Shaggy as one the most exciting new voices in reggae.
A quick and talented writer, Shaggy 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.
Shaggy continued to make hits which crossed over on the international charts, including Why You Treat Me So Bad, featuring Grand Puba, In the Summertime and That Girl, a duet with Maxi Priest.
In 2000, he released his comeback album “Hot Shot,” which went multi-platinum in the U.S. The album included two number one singles Angel
featuring Rayvon and It Wasn’t Me featuring RikRok, which topped the charts in Australia, Austria, the Netherlands, France, Ireland, the U.S., and the UK.
While Shaggy prepared his follow-up album, more pieces of product hit the market in 2002: Virgin put out Mr. Lover: The Best of Shaggy Vol.1, a compilation covering his years at the label, while MCA issued a remix album, Hot Shot Ultramix. Before the end of the year, Shaggy released his new album, Lucky Day which was loosely designed as a respectful tribute to womankind. Its first two singles, Hey Sexy Lady and Strength of a Woman, didn’t fare well in the U.S., but the album sold respectably well, going gold by year’s end and charting in the Top 30 on both the pop and R&B listings.
In 2005, he returned with Clothes Drop, this time on the Geffen label. Early in 2007, his Church Heathen single began dominating the dancehall scene thanks in part to its video starring the legendary Ninja Man as a priest. The big hit single landed on Shaggy’s album Intoxication, released that same year.
Shaggy’s ninth album, 2011’s digital-only Shaggy & Friends, saw the singer collaborating with longtime pals Rayvon and RikRok, among others. A new EP, Summer in Kingston, was released just a few months later, yielding the hit single Sugarcane. Following a European release of what was essentially a repackaged Summer in Kingston called Rise, Shaggy revealed that he’d been collaborating with legendary producers Sly & Robbie on a new project. The resulting album, Out of Many, One Music was released in the summer of 2013.
The diverse collaborations continued over the next year, as Shaggy appeared with Kylie Minogue, Fernando Garibay, and Mylène Farmer. Another high-profile collaboration arrived in 2018, this time with Sting. The duo issued their first single, Don’t Make Me Wait, which was included on their LP 44/876. The following year, Shaggy released the solo album Wah Gwaan?!, which featured guest spots from Jason Derulo, Nicki Jam, Shenseea, and others. Included on the album were the singles Use Me and You, featuring Toronto singer Alexander Stewart.
In July 2020, Shaggy celebrated the 20th anniversary of his album Hot Shot with the release of an updated version of the record called Hot Shot 2020. Included were reworked versions of the original tracks, among them a rendition of the hit “It Wasn’t Me” featuring Rayvon.
Shaggy continued to make musical waves across the industry. On June 11, 2021, he performed Go Down Deh with Spice and Sean Paul on Good Morning American. Their performance was a part of the Caesars Rewards Summer Concert Series. The trio continued their journey and again performed on Jimmy Kimmel Live on June 15, 2021, as a part of the Mercedes Benz Concert Series. Later on in June, Shaggy, Spice and Sean Paul performed live once more, and was interviewed by Wendy on The Wendy Williams Show.
In 2022, Shaggy competed in season seven of The Masked Singer as “Space Bunny” of Team Cuddly. He was eliminated alongside En Vogue as the “Queen Cobras” of Team Bad.
On May 28, 2022, Shaggy was conferred with an Honorary Doctor of Fine Arts degree from Brown University.
Not only is Shaggy a decorated artiste, but he is also known for his philanthropist works across Jamaica and the wider Caribbean. After the earthquake that devastated Haiti, he collaborated with several artistes including Sean Paul, Sean Kingston and Tessanne Chin on the song Rise Again which was released to support the victims.
Shaggy is also the founder of the Jamaican charity, Make A Difference Foundation, which hosts the popular annual “Shaggy and Friends Concert Fundraiser” in aid of the Bustamante Hospital in Kingston, Jamaica.
