Shaggy
Orville Richard Burrell was born in Kingston, Jamaica, and moved to New York as a teenager, later serving in the U.S. Marine Corps during the Persian Gulf War before pursuing music full-time. He broke through in 1993 with 'Oh Carolina,' a dancehall remake of a Jamaican ska standard, and became one of the genre's biggest crossover stars with the 2000 album 'Hot Shot,' home to the global hits 'It Wasn't Me' and 'Angel.' Working a gruff, singsong deejay delivery into radio-ready pop, R&B, and reggae fusion, he helped carry Jamaican dancehall to the top of international charts.
Discussing his own crossover in a Billboard interview, Shaggy has credited hardcore Jamaican dancehall artists such as Shabba Ranks with paving the way — and the two share a lineage: gruff-voiced Jamaican deejays who carried dancehall's swaggering 'loverman' persona onto pop radio.
listen forPlay Shabba's gravel-throated chat gliding over the slick riddim of 'Mr. Loverman,' then Shaggy's growled, boastful come-ons on 'Boombastic' — the same deep, gruff deejay voice selling itself as an irresistible lover.
Shaggy's growling deejay delivery has been described as a tribute to the old-school dancehall toasters, and Yellowman was that scene's breakout star in the early 1980s — the rapid, playfully boastful patois 'chat' over a riddim that Shaggy adopts wholesale on his early sides.
listen forCue Yellowman's tumbling, singsong toast on 'Zungguzungguguzungguzeng,' then Shaggy's rapid-fire patois chatting on 'Oh Carolina' — both ride the beat with the same rhythmic, half-sung deejay flow rather than a straight melody.
Talking about reggae's fight for mainstream acceptance, Shaggy has invoked Bob Marley — noting Marley faced criticism for his hybrid, pop-facing approach much as Shaggy did — and Marley's warm, melodic reggae songcraft is the template behind Shaggy's smoother radio ballads.
listen forSet Marley's tender, lilting romantic reggae on 'Is This Love' against Shaggy's soft-focus reggae-pop hook on 'Angel' — the same gentle offbeat lilt and warm, hummable melody carrying a love song to a wide audience.