In 2007, he was awarded the Jamaican Order of Distinction with the rank of Commander. In 2002, he met SC78 member Jennifer Mallory by other member Terri Matthews. They married in the same year and divorced in 2009.
Early life
Shaggy was born on October 22, 1968, in Kingston, Jamaica. In 1987, he took singing lessons and was discovered a year later while singing in the streets with friends. His son Richard O'Neil Burrell is a rapper known as Robb Banks.
Military career
Shaggy during his military service with the United States Marine Corps.Shaggy during his military service with the United States Marine Corps.
Shaggy enlisted in the United States Marine Corps in 1988 and obtained the MOS of 0811 (Field Artillery Cannon Crewman). He served with a Field Artillery Battery in the 10th Marine Regiment during the Persian Gulf War. The highest rank he achieved was lance corporal, although he was reduced in rank twice.[2] Shaggy perfected his signature singing voice while he was in the Marine Corps.[3][4]
Music career
1990s
Shaggy decided to pursue his music career and his first hit in 1993, "Oh Carolina", was a dancehall re-make of a ska hit by the Folkes Brothers, which appeared in the film Sliver.[5] The same year, Shaggy appeared on Kenny Dope's hip hop album The Unreleased Project. He worked together with producers such as Sting International, Don One, Lloyd 'Spiderman' Campbell, Robert Livingston and Frankie Cutlass on a remix from his Maxi-Single title "Nice and Lovely". He had further big hits, including "Boombastic" in 1995,[5] the theme tune of a popular Levi's commercial, and sang with Maxi Priest on his Top 20 hit from 1996, "That Girl".[6]
However, his 2002 release Lucky Day, and the 2005 album Clothes Drop, failed to match Hot Shot's success, although Lucky Day still went gold.[5] The albums, however, found success in Europe, especially with heavy airplay for the single "Hey Sexy Lady". Shaggy re-made the Scooby-Doo theme song on the soundtrack titled "Shaggy, Where Are You?". Shaggy also recorded the theme for the 2002 movie Showtime. Shaggy's last top 40 single in the United States was "Angel" from the album Hot Shot. On March 11, 2002 Shaggy and Ali G released "Me Julie" from the soundtrack to the film Ali G Indahouse. The song sold 300,000 copies in the United Kingdom, as stated by the Official Charts Company. It spent 14 weeks on the UK Singles Chart, peaking at number two.
Following the release of Clothes Drop, Shaggy began to increase his number of live performances. In March 2007, he performed the official song of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2007, titled "The Game of Love and Unity", alongside Bajan entertainer Rupee and Trinidadian soca artist Fay-Ann Lyons, at the opening ceremony of the tournament, held at The Greenfield Stadium, Trelawny, Jamaica. Later that year, he left Universal Music and released his latest album, Intoxication under his own label, Big Yard Records, with distribution rights by VP Records. In August 2007, he joined Cyndi Lauper live on stage in Singapore for the Sonnet Music Festival, where they performed "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" together. In October 2007, he was awarded the Jamaican Order of Distinction with the rank of Commander.[9]
In January 2008, he completed a six-date arena tour with Belgian singer Natalia. He later performed with band En Vogue in Antwerp, to a crowd of 78,000 people. Shaggy also collaborated with Arash Derakhshani in the song "Donya" (Arabic & Persian: "دنیا", meaning "The World"). In April 2008, Shaggy was chosen to record the official anthem for the Mascots (Trix and Flix) of the Euro 2008football tournament held in Austria and Switzerland. The song, "Feel the Rush", topped charts in most of Europe. In June 2008, a live DVD of his concert material was released under the name Shaggy – Live. In July 2008, he appeared on VH1's "I Love the New Millennium", talking about his video "It Wasn't Me". In August 2008, he performed live at the Dar es Salaam festival, to mark the Zain Global Brand launch in Tanzania. The concert was held at the Leaders Club. 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 held in South Africa. He also performed at the opening ceremony of the inaugural Champions League Twenty20 in the same month, held in Bangalore, India. In August 2009, he performed live at the Ottawa Reggae Festival in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Here he revealed plans for a new single, "Fading Away", which featured Kevin Rudolf and Lil Jon. He later cancelled this release in favour of "Fly High", a track featuring Gary Pine, which was released on December 5. Shaggy was also invited to perform at the Festival Creole, a festival held every year from November 28 to December 6 in Mauritius.
2010s
Shaggy in 2006
In January 2010, "Rise Again", a track featuring Sean Paul, Sean Kingston, Alison Hinds, Shontelle Layne, Edwin Yearwood, Destra Garcia, David Rudder, Kees Dieffenthaller, Tessanne Chin, Etana & Belo, was released to support victims of the 2010 Haiti earthquake which struck on January 12. His collaboration with the Balkan group Sahara (consisting of the Romanian singer Costi Ioniţă and the Bulgarian singer Andrea) and French House DJ Bob Sinclar on a track entitled "I Wanna" was a commercial success, released as a single in March 2010 throughout Europe. Shaggy later performed the track several times during Miami's Winter Music Conference in April 2010. In May 2010 he once again performed before cricket audiences at the ICC T20 World Championships, also providing between play performances.
On July 17, 2010, he performed at the Party FM Meja Jam Concert in Country Fair Entertainment Park, Medford, New York. Later that month, he recorded the song "Target" with Japanese reggae singer lecca, which was released on her album, パワーバタフライ (Power Butterfly). Shaggy also released "For Your Eyez Only", which topped reggae charts across the world.[citation needed] Shaggy recorded the song with fellow Jamaican singer Alaine.
In 2011, Shaggy released the official videos for "For Your Eyez Only", along with the hit singles "Sweet Jamaica", featuring Mr.Vegas and Josie Wales and "Girlz Dem Luv We" featuring Mavado. That same year it was announced that Shaggy would release his first new album in four years. Preceded by the single "Champagne", featuring Sahara, the album was released digitally on January 19, 2011. Titled Shaggy & Friends, the album featured many collaborations, including songs with his long-time collaborators Rikrok and Rayvon. A physical release of the album followed. On July 16, 2011, he launched the album Summer in Kingston which contained his single "Sugarcane".[10] The album was launched at a free party in Kingston, Jamaica, where he released the video for "Sugarcane". The video was premiered globally on MTV. "Sugarcane" went on to become the number 2 best selling reggae song on the Canadian iTunes chart, and number 4 in the United States.[citation needed] Shaggy also collaborated with Apache Indian on the latter's album, Home Run, on a remix of "Chokthere".
On January 7, 2012, Shaggy released a collaborative single with Egyptian star Tamer Hosny, "Smile", with a music video filmed in New York City. In February 2012, he re-released his EP, Summer in Kingston, in the form of the Lava Edition, containing two new tracks, one of which was taken from his upcoming Sly & Robbie & Shaggy project, plus a remix of the track "Dame" featuring Kat Deluna.
On April 5, 2012, Shaggy released the lead single from his eleventh studio album, Rise. The track, "World Citizen", is a collaboration with European folk singer Jahcoustix, and was a hit all over Europe. Shaggy launched his own label, Ranch Entertainment, on June 4, 2012, at a press launch in New York City. He was joined by label mates Rayvon and Red Fox for the launch, which was publicized by Manhattan-based PR firm, Fox Fuse and publicist Rhona Fox. Ranch Entertainment is based in New York and Jamaica.[11]
On August 24, Shaggy released his new single, "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun", featuring American female rapper Eve. The song samples the homonymous 1983 hit song by Cyndi Lauper, written by Robert Hazard in 1979 and recorded and released by Lauper in 1983. The video for the song was directed by Ras Kassa and released on YouTube on June 14, 2012.[12]
On September 28, Shaggy released Rise across Europe. The album contains nine of the ten tracks from Summer in Kingston, as well as new tracks "Rise", "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" (the second single), "Diva", "World Citizen" (the first single) and "Get Back My Baby", as well as his single from three years previously, "Fly High".[13]
Shaggy confirmed in January 2012 that he is working on a new studio album, where all of the tracks will be produced by production duo Sly and Robbie. A taster track from the album, "Make Up", featuring Wayne Wonder was released in July 2012,[14] while one of the tracks, "She Gives Me Love", was released early on the Lava edition of Summer in Kingston. In December 2012, Shaggy confirmed that the album would be released in the summer of 2013. On May 14, 2013, Shaggy released the lead single from the album, entitled "Fight This Feeling", featuring Beres Hammond.[15] Shaggy started the year with his first live presentation in Costa Rica on January 20.[16]
Shaggy is credited for persuading Tessanne Chin to compete in NBC's singing competition The Voice, which she ultimately won.
Also in 2015, Shaggy was featured on Farruko's "Sunset" alongside Nicky Jam.
In 2016, he collaborated with French singer Mylène Farmer on "City of Love".
Sting and Shaggy on tour
January 2018 saw the release of "Don't Make Me Wait", the first single from a collaboration album with Sting, who invited him to tour along. The album, titled 44/876, was released on April 20, 2018.[18] In March 2018, the single "Why" featuring Massari was released.[19]
In August 2019, it was announced that Shaggy, alongside Sean Paul would be headlining the One Love Festival In Queensland slated for February 1, 2020. This is the first time the festival will hold in Australia.[21]
In November 2019, Shaggy played Sebastian in musical television special The Little Mermaid Live! on ABC.
2020s
In January 2020, Shaggy told the Daily Star in an interview that some of Rihanna's representatives had reached out to him to collaborate on a song for her ninth album. However, he turned down the opportunity because he was asked to audition, saying that he would "leave that to the younger guys." In which Shaggy later stated in another interview that he meant no offense by his remarks. Despite passing on the project, Shaggy seemed optimistic about how it would turn out, saying "from what I hear, it should be good."[22]
In April 2020, Shaggy celebrated the 20th anniversary of his 2000 album Hot Shot by announcing an updated version of the album, called Hot Shot 2020. "It Wasn't Me" returned as the first single on the updated album with Rayvon. His original collaborator on the song, Rikrok does not appear on the new version.[23]
Shaggy started his philanthropy, as a project called Shaggy and Friendz, in 2016, donating over US$1 million, to the Bustamante Children's Hospital in Jamaica. Along with financial assistance to the hospital, he donated hospital equipment and machinery.[citation needed] He also did his first collaboration in the Caribbean called “Can't Let my Love go” which he performed with the Queen of Soca Alison Hinds of Barbados.
Sean Paul Ryan Francis Henriques OD is a Jamaican rapper, singer and producer who is regarded as one of the genre's most prolific artists.
Hot Shot is the fifth studio album released by Jamaican-American singer Shaggy. The album was first released on August 8, 2000, in the United States, before being issued in the United Kingdom on 5 February 2001, with a revised track listing. The revised UK edition was also released in Europe, but without the song "Why You Mad at Me?". Hot Shot went on to be certified six times platinum in the United States according to the RIAA. The album has sold over 9 million copies worldwide. A remix album, entitled Hot Shot Ultramix, was released in June 2002. Four singles were released from the album: "It Wasn't Me", "Angel", "Luv Me, Luv Me" and the double A-side single "Dance & Shout / Hope".
"In the Summertime" is the debut single by British rock band Mungo Jerry. Written and composed by its lead singer, Ray Dorset, it celebrates the carefree days of summer. In 1970, it reached number one in charts around the world, including seven weeks on the UK Singles Chart, two weeks on one of the Canadian charts, and number three on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart in the US. It became one of the best-selling singles of all-time, eventually selling 30 million copies.
"Angel" is a song by Jamaican reggae artist Shaggy featuring additional vocals from Barbadian singer Rayvon. Containing samples from Steve Miller Band's "The Joker" and the Chip Taylor-written "Angel of the Morning", it was released to radio in 2000 as the follow-up to Shaggy's international number-one hit, "It Wasn't Me". "Angel" also proved to be successful, reaching number one in 12 countries, including Australia, Germany, Ireland, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
"It Wasn't Me" is the first single from Jamaican-American reggae artist Shaggy's multi Platinum studio album Hot Shot (2000). The song features vocals from Rikrok. The lyrics of the song depict one man (Rikrok) asking his friend (Shaggy) what to do, after his girlfriend caught him cheating on her with "the girl next door". His friend's advice is to deny everything, despite clear evidence to the contrary, with the phrase "It wasn't me."
Bruce Alexander Michael Brewster, better known by his stage name Rayvon, is a Barbadian singer and songwriter, known for his work with Shaggy.
Rickardo George Ducent, known by his stage name Rik Rok, is an English-Jamaican singer. His most famous recording is his appearance on Shaggy's 2000 hit single "It Wasn't Me".
Boombastic is the third studio album released by Jamaican artist Shaggy. The album was released on July 11, 1995.
"Oh Carolina" is a 1958 song by John Folkes released by the Folkes Brothers in 1960 and by Shaggy in 1993.
Mr. Lover Lover: The Best of Shaggy...Part 1 is the first compilation album released by the Jamaican singer Shaggy. The album includes material from Shaggy's first five studio albums, as well as the new recording, "Get Up, Stand Up".
Cherine Tanya Anderson is a Jamaican actress and dancehall/reggae vocalist.
Jamaican-American singer Shaggy has released twelve studio albums, seven compilation albums and eighty-eight singles. He is best known for his hit singles "Oh Carolina", "Boombastic", "It Wasn't Me", and "Angel". In 2000, Shaggy released the album Hot Shot, which was certified 6x Platinum in the U.S. The album featured the singles "It Wasn't Me" and "Angel", the latter of which was built around two song samples – Merrilee Rush's 1968 hit "Angel of the Morning", and The Steve Miller Band's 1973 hit "The Joker". In 2001 Shaggy performed with Rayvon and Rikrok at Michael Jackson's 30th anniversary the songs "Angel" and "It Wasn't Me" from Hot Shot. The album hit number one on the Billboard 200 and U.K. albums chart.
Best of Shaggy: The Boombastic Collection is the fourth compilation album released by Jamaican singer Shaggy. The album was released in the United Kingdom on August 25, 2008. It reached #22 on the UK Albums Chart. The album features material from all eight of Shaggy's previous studio albums, making it his only compilation to include material from post-Hot Shot.
The Best of Shaggy is the third compilation album released by Jamaican singer Shaggy. The album was released through joint agreement between EMI and Virgin Records, on August 4, 2008. It includes material from his first four albums, as well as his collaboration with Maxi Priest, from Priest's album Man with the Fun. As Shaggy's later releases were under a different record label, EMI and Virgin did not hold the right to release tracks from them.
Tessanne Amanda Chin is a Jamaican recording artist, best known for winning Season 5 of NBC's reality TV singing competition The Voice as part of Adam Levine's team. She has opened for artists such as Patti Labelle, Peabo Bryson and Gladys Knight, and toured for three years with Jimmy Cliff. She is the younger sister of singer Tami Chynn.
"Boombastic" is a song by Jamaican-American musical artist Shaggy from his third studio album, Boombastic. Released on June 5, 1995, the single achieved commercial success in many countries, including Ireland, UK, Sweden, New Zealand, and Australia, where it topped the singles charts. It spent a week at number one on the US Billboard R&B chart, and a similar stint atop the UK Singles Chart. It also reached number three on the Billboard Hot 100. A remix featuring Sting International, which features a sample of Marvin Gaye's "Let's Get It On", was released in January 1996. The latter is featured on some versions of the Boombastic album as a bonus track.
Philip Smart was a Jamaican music producer based in New York City.
Grace Latoya Hamilton, known professionally as Spice, is a Jamaican dancehall recording artist, singer and songwriter. Beginning her career in the early 2000s, she had her first major success with the controversial single "Romping Shop" with Vybz Kartel in 2009.
Richard Mark Bailey, known professionally as Honorebel, is a Jamaican born singer, rapper, songwriter, producer and CEO of Phantom Music Group and Caribbean Paradise Publishing LLC.
Shaun Pizzonia, or Sting International is an American musician, DJ, sound engineer, song writer, and two-time Grammy Award winning producer best known for his work with Sting and reggae artist Shaggy.
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United States 
United States Marine Corps 
Lance Corporal 
10th Marine Regiment 
