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Shaggy is mostly known for his hit singles "Boombastic", "It Wasn't Me" and "Angel". It's said he got his idea for his stage name from the look of his hair.
He was born in Jamaica, but at the age of 18 he moved to Booklyn, New York with his family, which is where he began taking singing courses.
He originally enlisted in the US Marine Corps, and throughout his time in the military service he carried on singing, which he decided to officially pursue in 1993.
In the year 2000, he released the album "Hot Shot", which included the single "It Wasn't Me". Shaggy actually went on to remake the Scooby-Doo theme tune and titled it "Shaggy, Where Are You?".
In 2007 he performed at the ICC Cricket World Cup and sung "The Game of Love and Unity" next to the likes of Bajan and Rupee.
In 2008 he had completed a six date arena tour with Natalia, a belgian singer. The following year he performed at the closing ceremony of the 2009 IPL tournament in South Africa.
In January 2010 he released "Rise Again", which collaborated with Sean Paul and other artists. And in 2012 he confirmed that he was working on a new album.
Starting out with reggae beat Shaggy explosively questions “are you ready” to the audience before beginning his set. The reggae beats add a bit of funk to his Jamaican flare. His unhurried verses are backed by lilting female voices and remind me of African Savannah music as well as Caribbean party music.
His seamless blending of the styles almost as impressive as his studio quality vocals. Dancing simply around the stage he goes between softer vocals and frenzied, guttural, reggae vocals. He shouts “reggae people” to the audience over and over to get them more involved.
As they increase in volume so does he until the entire venue is filled with his noise and the noises of appreciation. Still performing “Angel” and “Mr. Boombastic” years later Shaggy moves through the songs with a smooth understanding. His throaty vocals scrape at the song and I wonder if he has always been this proficient in his live performances.
For over an hour and a half he leads us through a mix of his new songs, old songs, and improvised sounds. The only constant is his calls for “reggae people” to make more noise reminding us of his genre and his connection to the genre. Ending with “It Wasn't Me” Shaggy seems to come full circle on himself and its easy to imagine I am at a concert of his in the 90's.
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