After one decade, six albums, two of the multi-platinums, five #1 hits, and eleven top ten singles worldwide, Grammy winning Big Yard recording artist Shaggy (born Orville Richard Burrell Kingston (Jamaica), 22 oktober 1968) is still on the grind. Making music that celebrates his culture and being an ambassador for Reggae music has always been the driving force in the heart of Jamaica’s only living Diamond-plus selling Dancehall Reggae artist.
In the early 1990’s Shaggy entered the scene with his deep throaty remix of the Ska classic ‘Oh Carolina’, the first major Reggae record to come out of the dancehall underground. Soon after, the steady dub rhythm of the platinum selling Boombastic solidified Shaggy as a dancehall hit-maker winning the 1996 Grammy Award for Best Reggae Album.
When Hotshot dropped in 2000 no one could have predicted that this was going to be the album to set Shaggy totally apart from any artist on the dancehall stage. Hotshot, the best-selling album in 2001, sold over 13 million albums world wide and topped the charts in the US, UK, Germany and Australia simultaneously. The album was seven times platinum certified in Canada and six times platinum in the US. Hotshot rocketed to the top of the charts with two phenomenal singles, “It Wasn’t Me” and “Angel”, which featured Big Yard protégés Rik Rok and Rayvon, respectively.
Fall of 2005 found Shaggy releasing Clothes Drop an album that gave his audience chart topping dancehall singles like “Wild2Nite” and “Ready Fi Di Ride”. Steady contributions to the dancehall are what keep Shaggy current. He is one of very few Reggae artists who always have a fresh new record pulsing through the dancehall market. And fall 2006 being no exception, he released one to keep the masses guessing with “Reggae Vibes”, a well-received tune that finds Shaggy taking on the role of singing. “Reggae Vibes” is the first song to ever feature this famed deejay singing, just more proof that with Shaggy’s ingenuity anything is possible.
In the beginning of 2007 saw another huge hit single “Church Heathen”. Unexpected yet the perfect much of Gregorian chant and hardcore dancehall vibes added with Shaggy’s very own wordplay soon caught the attention of reggae and dancehall scenes all over the world. By the mid 2007, highly anticipated full length album Intoxication was dropped with killer tunes like “What’s Love feat Akon”, “Bonafide Girl feat Rik Rok & Tony Gold”, “Mad Mad World feat Sizzla & Collie Buddz” and “Those Days feat Nasha”. The album has been doing very well all over the world.
To date, Shaggy has sold over 20 million albums, but he doesn’t take that achievement lightly. Knowing that records are meant to be broken, Shaggy has been grinding harder than ever. One of the two official theme songs he’s done for the world UEFA Euro Cup Soccer Championship 2008 “Feel The Rush” became #1 on German Top 40 chart and appearing within Top 5 in other European countries. As a result, the song was chosen as Billboard’s European Hot 100 in 2008. His world wide Intoxication tour in 08 was a massive success appearing various summer festivals throughout Europe and Africa as the headliner. And 2009 looks brighter than ever for his musical career. Working from his strong foundation and always expecting the best, Shaggy is doing his part to make good music, make a difference and prove that the ‘World Is Just One Big Yard!!
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Luka4xeWM8Q
