Orville Richard Burrell was born on October 22, 1968 in Kingston, Jamaica. The American reggae artist started the reggae boom in 1993, surprising singers such as Shabba Ranks and Chaka Demus and Pliers.
Shaggy has been noted for having a singing voice in the baritone range, easily recognizable by his inappropriate way of rapping and singing. He is said to have taken his nickname from his shaggy hair.
Singles by Shaggy
Orville got his nickname on the animated Saturday morning show "Scooby Doo". Shaggy moved to America with his parents at 18, and at 19 he joined the Marines based in Lejoune, North Carolina.
He began recording singles for various labels, including Man A Me Yard, Bullet Proof Baddie for Don One and Big Hood, Duppy or Uglyman for Spiderman.
A chance encounter with Sting, a radio DJ at KISS FM, WNNK, led to the first New York reggae chart Shaggy No. 1 Mampie, Sting's version of the Drum Song beat for New York reggae ruler Phillip.
His next single, Big Up, released on Sting International and recorded in tandem with singer Raywon, also became a No. 1 hit, as did Oh Carolina. A spectacular cover version of the Folkes Brothers classic, replete with samples of the original, became a hit on the import charts.
At the time, Shaggy was still in the Marine Corps and had to make the 18-hour flight to Brooklyn for meetings and studio sessions.
At the end of 1992, Greensleeves Records chose Oh Carolina for a UK release, and by the spring of 1993, the song had reached No. 1 in the UK and several other countries.
But his next track Soon Be Done did not become as successful as the previous single.
An association with Maxi Priest for One One Chance led to a recording deal with Virgin Records and the Pure Pleasure album. The third single from the album Nice and Lovely again failed to match the sales of the song Oh Carolina (which by that time had hit the soundtrack to the film "Sharon Stone").
Shaggy returned to the pop charts in 1995 with the UK No. 5 single In The Summertime (featuring Rayvon) and Boombastic which topped the UK and US singles charts. This was facilitated by a show in England where Shaggy's song was on the soundtrack.
An album followed, produced by the New York team of Robert Livingston and Sean "Sting" Pizzonia for Big Yard Productions, with Tony Kelly as guest producer on two tracks Something Different and How More More.
Another song "Why do you treat me so badly" was performed in a duet with the rapper Grand Puba. Composition Boombastic quickly took a leading position in the charts, after which Shaggy began a big tour.
It won a Grammy Award in February 1996 for Best Reggae Album (Boombastic). And Midnite Lover (1997) aroused little interest among the listeners, although it was performed together with Marsh.
After the release of Drop clothes, Shaggy began to increase his live performances.
In March 2007, he performed the official song of the 2007 Cricket World Cup "The Game of Love and Unity" along with Bajan artist Rupia and Trinidad artist Soka Fay-Ann Lyons at the opening ceremony of the tournament held at Greenfield Stadium (Trelawney, Jamaica) .
Orville Richard Burrell's own label
Later that year, he left Universal and released a final album, Intoxication, under his own label, Big Yard Records, with distribution rights from VP Records.
In August 2007, he sang alongside Cyndi Lauper at a performance in Singapore for the Sonnet Music Festival, where they performed the single Girls Just Want to Fun together.
In April 2008, the singer was chosen to record the official anthem (Trix and Flix) of the Euro 2008 football tournament held in Austria and Switzerland. The song Feel the Rush reached number 1 in most countries.
In June 2008, a live DVD of his Shaggy Live material was released. In July 2008, he appeared on VH1's "I Love the New Millennium" talking about his "It Wasn't Me" video.
In 2011, Shaggy released the official For Your Eyez videos only along with the hits Sweet Jamaica Ft Mr. Vegas, Josie Wales and Girlz Dem Luv Weft Mavado. In 2011, it was announced that the singer would release a new album.
The Shaggy & Friends album includes many collaborations, including songs with his longtime collaborators Rick and Ryvon.
On July 16, 2011, he released the album Summerin Kingston which contains the single Sugarcane. The album was released at a free party in Kingston, Jamaica.
Money problems
In 1988, Shaggy's musical career was temporarily put on hold. He was trying to find a job with a steady paycheck, wanting to break out of the gun-to-the-head mentality on the streets of Brooklyn.
After all, the only job that could be found was illegal, as a result of which Shaggy joined the US Marines.
He thought it was a way out of poverty and an opportunity to relocate the rugged streets of Brooklyn, but was misled and ended up in the Gulf War. He also drove an armored Humvee tank through a minefield.
