SHAGGY
By Odette Flemming

Mr. Boombastic still a run de road! Shaggy’s reggae-infused, dancehall-based brand of pop music invites hip hop, rock and R&B to take a spin through any one of his tracks. His top selling international status defies genres and transcends language. Shaggy, Jamaica’s only living Diamond plus selling artist, is the self described “man to beat” in the world of dancehall music. His decade-plus in the music industry has been alternately peppered with highs and lows, but throughout it all this industry veteran has remained confident that his course is already set and the tumult of his journey is the reason for his worldwide success.

In the 1990’s dancehall music made its first foray onto the US charts with artists like Patra, Shabba Ranks, Mad Cobra and Buju Banton. The hits like ‘Mr. Lover Man’, ‘Flex’ and ‘Worker Man’ momentarily turned the industry’s focus away from Rap and R& B just long enough to gain significant chart success, and receive heavy rotation on the radio and video circuits. But the US attention span is notoriously short and, even with historic collaborations with top rap artists like KRS-ONE, maintaining the focus of the industry proved more of a challenge than the Reggae’s artists and executives could handle. As the fame and notoriety of these pioneers began to wane, popular culture made room for one more star. Shaggy had entered the scene with his deep throaty remix of the Ska classic ‘Oh Carolina’, then the steady dubbin’ rhythm of the platinum selling Grammy winning ‘Boombastic’ solidified his presence as a dancehall artist to watch. Though he went to #3 on the charts with his collaboration with Janet Jackson on “Luv Me, Luv Me” from the How Stella Got Her Groove Back soundtrack, record label disputes prevented proper promotion so Shaggy and the genre quietly slid into the background once again
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