Shaggy

Shaggy, whose real name is Orville Richard Burrell, is a Jamaican reggae artist born on October 22, 1968, in Kingston.

His family immigrated to the United States and settled in the Flatbush neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York. In 1988, he enlisted in the United States Marine Corps and served during Operation Desert Storm in the Gulf War.

After returning from Iraq, he decided to pursue a music career. His first hit in 1993, Oh Carolina, was a dancehall cover of a ska hit by the Folkes Brothers. That same year, he appeared on the hip-hop album by Kenny Dope, “The Unreleased Project”.

He has worked with producers such as Sting Intl., Don One (who produced his first track), Lloyd ‘Spiderman’ Campbell, and Robert Livingston. He then scored further major hits, including Boombastic in 1995.

He made a major comeback in 2001 with the worldwide number-one singles It Wasn't Me and Angel, the latter built around Merrilee Rush’s 1968 hit “Angel of the Morning”. The album Hot Shot, which included these tracks, reached number one on the Billboard 200.

However, his subsequent releases—the album Lucky Day in 2002 and Clothes Drop in 2005—did not match the success of Hot Shot. Shaggy performed the theme for the film Showtime in 2002.

He is one of the people behind the label Big Yard Music Group Ltd.. He is also known for his distinctive sub-barytone voice, and his nickname comes from his messy hair.