Shaggy (musician)

2.1. Childhood and upbringing

Orville Richard Burrell was born on October 22, 1968, in Kingston, Jamaica. At the age of 18, he moved to New York City with his mother, Veronica Miller, settling in the East Flatbush area of Brooklyn.

2.2. Military service

Burrell enlisted in the United States Marine Corps on April 12, 1988. He served as a Field Artillery Cannon Crewman (MOS 0811) with a Field Artillery Battery in the 10th Marine Regiment during the Persian Gulf War. He also served as a squad leader. He was discharged on May 4, 1992, having achieved the rank of Lance Corporal, though he experienced two reductions in rank during his service. It was during his time in the Marine Corps that Burrell honed and perfected his signature "toasting" vocal style, a technique that became a hallmark of his musical career. His experiences during this period also influenced the themes and inspiration behind some of his later work, including his hit song "Boombastic".

3.1. 1990s

Shaggy officially began his music career after his military service, releasing his first major hit in 1993, "Oh Carolina". This track was a dancehall remake of a ska hit by the Folkes Brothers and was featured in the film Sliver. In the same year, Shaggy appeared on Kenny Dope's hip hop album The Unreleased Project and collaborated with producers such as Sting International, Don One, Lloyd 'Spiderman' Campbell, Robert Livingston, and Frankie Cutlass on the maxi-single "Nice and Lovely" Hip Hop Remix. His success continued with the release of "Boombastic" in 1995, which became a significant hit, serving as the theme tune for a popular Levi's commercial. The album Boombastic earned him his first Grammy Award for Best Reggae Album in 1996. In 1996, he also collaborated with Maxi Priest on the Top 20 hit "That Girl" and contributed to the Japanese tribute album one voice THE SONGS OF CHAGE&ASKA, covering a song by CHAGE and ASKA alongside Maxi Priest.

3.2. 2000s

The turn of the millennium marked a pivotal period for Shaggy. In 1999, he was dropped by Virgin Records, who doubted his ability to replicate the success of "Boombastic". However, he subsequently signed with MCA Records and released the album Hot Shot in 2000. This album spawned two massive international singles: "It Wasn't Me" and "Angel". "Angel" famously incorporated samples from Chip Taylor's "Angel of the Morning" (popularized by Merrilee Rush and Juice Newton) and The Steve Miller Band's "The Joker". Both singles topped the Billboard Hot 100 and achieved number one status in the UK Singles Chart, Irish Singles Chart, Scotland, and France, among other countries. Female artist Lady Saw (Marion Hall) released an answer record to "It Wasn't Me" titled "Son of a Bit@h", which also charted. Hot Shot debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 and was certified 8x platinum by the RIAA, becoming the second most successful album of 2001 on the Billboard Year-End charts. In 2001, Shaggy performed "Angel" and "It Wasn't Me" at Michael Jackson's 30th anniversary alongside Rayvon and Rikrok.

Following the immense success of Hot Shot, Shaggy's popularity in the United States saw a decline with his subsequent albums. His 2002 album for MCA, Lucky Day, sold 352,000 copies in the US and achieved Gold by the RIAA, but it was considered a sales disappointment compared to Hot Shot. MCA, having relied on the album's success, was later absorbed into Geffen Records in July 2003. Shaggy's 2005 album on Geffen, Clothes Drop, sold only 40,000 copies, leading to his departure from the label the following year. Despite this, both Lucky Day and Clothes Drop found greater international success, particularly in Europe, where the single "Hey Sexy Lady" from Lucky Day received heavy airplay. Shaggy also re-recorded the theme song for the Scooby-Doo movie, titled "Shaggy, Where Are You?", and recorded the theme for the 2002 film Showtime. His last top 40 single in the United States was "Angel". On March 11, 2002, Shaggy and Ali G released "Me Julie" from the soundtrack to the film Ali G Indahouse, which sold 300,000 copies in the United Kingdom and peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart.

Shaggy was featured on True Love by Toots and the Maytals, an album that won the Grammy Award for Best Reggae Album in 2004 and featured collaborations with numerous notable musicians. After Clothes Drop, Shaggy increased his live performances. In 2006, he was featured on Japanese-American singer Ai's song "Famous" alongside Turkish singer Yalın, performing the song in Los Angeles in 2008. In March 2007, he performed "The Game of Love and Unity", the official song of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2007, with Rupee and Fay-Ann Lyons at the opening ceremony in Trelawny Parish, Jamaica. Later that year, he left Universal Music Group and released Intoxication under his own label, Big Yard Records, distributed by VP Records. In August 2007, he joined Cyndi Lauper on stage in Singapore for the Sonnet Music Festival, performing "Girls Just Want to Have Fun". In October 2007, he was awarded the Jamaican Order of Distinction with the rank of Commander.

In January 2008, Shaggy completed a six-date arena tour with Belgian singer Natalia and later performed with En Vogue in Antwerp to a crowd of 78,000 people. He also collaborated with Arash on the song "Donya" (meaning "The World"). In April 2008, Shaggy recorded "Feel the Rush", the official anthem for the Mascots (Trix and Flix) of the UEFA Euro 2008 football tournament, which topped charts across Europe. A live DVD of his concert material, Shaggy - Live, was released in June 2008. In July 2008, he appeared on VH1's "I Love the New Millennium" discussing his video for "It Wasn't Me". He performed live at the Dar es Salaam festival in Tanzania in August 2008. In December 2008, Intoxication was nominated for Best Reggae Album at the 51st Grammy Awards. In May 2009, Shaggy performed at the closing ceremony of the 2009 IPL tournament in South Africa and at the opening ceremony of the inaugural Champions League Twenty20 in Bangalore, India. In August 2009, he performed at the Ottawa Reggae Festival in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, where he announced plans for a new single, "Fading Away", featuring Kevin Rudolf and Lil Jon, though he later released "Fly High", featuring Gary Pine, on December 5. Shaggy also performed at the Festival Creole in Mauritius.

3.3. 2010s

In January 2010, Shaggy released "Rise Again", a collaborative track featuring Sean Paul, Sean Kingston, Alison Hinds, Shontelle Layne, Edwin Yearwood, Destra Garcia, David Rudder, Kees Dieffenthaller, Tessanne Chin, Etana, and Belo, to support victims of the 2010 Haiti earthquake. His collaboration with the Balkan group Sahara (consisting of Romanian singer Costi Ioniţă and Bulgarian singer Andrea) and French House DJ Bob Sinclar on "I Wanna" achieved commercial success as a single in Europe. Shaggy performed this track multiple times during Miami's Winter Music Conference in April 2010 and again at the ICC T20 World Championships in May 2010.

On July 17, 2010, he performed at the Party FM Meja Jam Concert in Medford, New York. Later that month, he recorded "Target" with Japanese reggae singer lecca, released on her album パワーバタフライ (Power Butterfly). Shaggy also released "For Your Eyez Only", featuring fellow Jamaican singer Alaine, which topped reggae charts worldwide. In 2011, he released official videos for "For Your Eyez Only", "Sweet Jamaica" (featuring Mr. Vegas and Josie Wales), and "Girlz Dem Luv We" (featuring Mavado). His album Shaggy & Friends, featuring collaborations with long-time partners Rikrok and Rayvon, was released digitally on January 19, 2011, preceded by the single "Champagne" (featuring Sahara). A physical release followed. On July 16, 2011, he launched the album Summer in Kingston at a free party in Kingston, Jamaica, premiering the video for its single "Sugarcane" globally on MTV. "Sugarcane" became the number-two best-selling reggae song on the Canadian iTunes chart and number four in the United States. Shaggy also collaborated with Apache Indian on a remix of "Chokthere" for the latter's album Home Run.

On January 7, 2012, Shaggy released "Smile", a collaborative single with Egyptian star Tamer Hosny, accompanied by a music video filmed in New York City. In February 2012, he re-released his EP Summer in Kingston as the Lava Edition, including two new tracks, one from his upcoming Sly & Robbie & Shaggy project, and a remix of "Dame" featuring Kat DeLuna. On April 5, 2012, Shaggy released "World Citizen" with European folk singer Jahcoustix, the lead single from his eleventh studio album, Rise, which became a hit across Europe. Shaggy launched his own label, Ranch Entertainment, on June 4, 2012, in New York City, with label mates Rayvon and Red Fox. Ranch Entertainment operates from New York and Jamaica.

On August 24, Shaggy released "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun", featuring American female rapper Eve. The song samples Cyndi Lauper's 1983 hit. The video, directed by Ras Kassa, was released on June 14, 2012. On September 28, Rise was released across Europe, including nine tracks from Summer in Kingston and new songs like "Rise", "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun", "Diva", "World Citizen", "Get Back My Baby", and "Fly High". In January 2012, Shaggy confirmed he was working on a new album entirely produced by Sly and Robbie. A preview track, "Make Up" (featuring Wayne Wonder), was released in July 2012, and "She Gives Me Love" was included on the Lava Edition of Summer in Kingston. In December 2012, Shaggy announced the album's release for summer 2013. On May 14, 2013, he released the lead single, "Fight This Feeling", featuring Beres Hammond. Shaggy began the year with a live performance in Costa Rica on January 20. He is also credited with persuading Tessanne Chin to compete in NBC's singing competition The Voice, which she ultimately won.

In 2015, his single "Habibi (I Need Your Love)", featuring Mohombi, Faydee, and Costi, peaked at number 66 on the Billboard Hot 100 and charted internationally. Shaggy was also featured on "Black and White" from Kylie Minogue and Fernando Garibay's EP, Kylie + Garibay, and on Farruko's "Sunset" alongside Nicky Jam. In 2016, he collaborated with French singer Mylène Farmer on "City of Love".

January 2018 saw the release of "Don't Make Me Wait", the first single from a collaborative album with Sting, who invited Shaggy to tour along. The album, titled 44/876, was released on April 20, 2018. In March 2018, the single "Why", featuring Massari, was released. In November 2018, Shaggy was featured on the title track of Olly Murs' sixth album You Know I Know. In May 2019, Shaggy's album Wah Gwaan?! was released. In August 2019, it was announced that Shaggy, alongside Sean Paul, would headline the One Love Festival in Queensland, Australia, on February 1, 2020, marking the festival's Australian debut. In November 2019, Shaggy played Sebastian in the musical television special The Little Mermaid Live! on ABC.

Also in 2019, Shaggy collaborated with Indian singer Mika Singh on the track "Belly ring".

3.4. 2020s

In January 2020, Shaggy revealed in an interview with the Daily Star that he declined an opportunity to collaborate on Rihanna's ninth album because he was asked to audition, stating he would "leave that to the younger guys." He later clarified that he meant no offense and remained optimistic about the project. In April 2020, Shaggy commemorated the 20th anniversary of his 2000 album Hot Shot by announcing an updated version, Hot Shot 2020. "It Wasn't Me" was re-released as the first single on the updated album, featuring Rayvon instead of the original collaborator Rikrok.

Shaggy, Spice, and Sean Paul performed "Go Down Deh" on Good Morning America on June 11, 2021, as part of the Caesars Rewards Summer Concert Series. They performed the song again on Jimmy Kimmel Live! on June 15, 2021, for the Mercedez Benz Concert Series. On June 18, 2021, the trio performed live and were interviewed on The Wendy Williams Show. During Caribbean Heritage Month in 2021, they celebrated "Go Down Deh" on Pix 11I New York. On International Reggae Day, July 1, 2021, Shaggy, Spice, and Sean Paul were interviewed live on ITV1's Good Morning Britain.

In 2022, Shaggy competed in season seven of The Masked Singer as "Space Bunny" of Team Cuddly. He was eliminated alongside En Vogue, who performed as the "Queen Cobras" of Team Bad. On May 28, 2022, Shaggy was awarded an honorary Doctor of Fine Arts degree from Brown University, delivering an oration and performance for the Class of 2020. In 2024, Shaggy's 2001 hit "Angel," featuring Rayvon, received Platinum certification from the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) for achieving over 600,000 sales and streams in the United Kingdom, as tracked by the Official Charts Company.

5.1. Studio albums

• Pure Pleasure (1993)
• Original Doberman (1994)
• Boombastic (1995)
• Midnite Lover (1997)
• Hot Shot (2000)
• Lucky Day (2002)
• Clothes Drop (2005)
• Intoxication (2007)
• Shaggy & Friends (2011)
• Summer in Kingston (2011)
• Rise (2012)
• Out of Many, One Music (2013)
• Wah Gwaan?! (2019)
• Christmas in the Islands (2020)
• Com Fly Wid Mi (2022)
• In the Mood (2023)

5.2. Collaborative albums

• 44/876 (with Sting) (2018)

5.3. Compilation albums

• Ultimate Shaggy Collection (1999)
• Hot Shot: Ultramix (2002)
• Mr. Lover Lover - The Best Of Shaggy...Part 1 (2002)
• Bombastic Hits (2003)
• The Essential Shaggy (2004)
• Best of Shaggy: The Boombastic Collection (2008)

8.1. Grammy Awards

8.2. American Music Awards

8.3. Billboard Music Awards

8.4. Juno Awards

8.5. Other honors

• In 2002, Shaggy won the Brit Award for International Male Solo Artist.
• In October 2007, he was awarded the Jamaican Order of Distinction with the rank of Commander.
• In May 2022, he was awarded an honorary Doctor of Fine Arts degree from Brown University.