Orville Richard Burrell, better known as Shaggy, was born in Kingston, Jamaica on October 22, 1968. The Jamaican-American reggae musician, singer, DJ, and actor is best known for his hit singles “It Wasn’t Me,” “Boombastic,” “Oh Carolina,” and others. He was nominated for seven Grammy Awards, including Best Reggae Album in 1996 and International Male Solo Artist in 2002.
Burrell grew up in Brooklyn, New York, after his mother moved there. After seeing his friends arrested, he enlisted in the United States Marine Corps in 1988. During the Persian Gulf War, he was a lance corporal with the 10th Regiment’s Field Artillery Battery. In 1993, while in Basic Training on Parris Island, he recorded his debut studio album Pure Pleasure, from which came the hit single “Oh Carolina,” a dancehall remake of the Folkes Brothers’ ska hit.
After deciding to pursue a music career, he appeared on several albums, including Kenny “Dope” Gonzalez’s hip hop album, The Unreleased Project, and collaborated with producers such as Sting International, Don One, Lloyd “Spiderman” Campbell, Robert Livingston, and Frankie Cutlass. Original Doberman, his second album, was released in 1994. It was a commercial failure, attempting to capitalize on the success of Pure Pleasure.
Shaggy released Bombastic in 1995. The same-named hit single was a commercial success in many countries, including Ireland, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and Australia. It was also nominated for a Grammy for Best Reggae Album. Midnight Love (1997) was the following album, but it failed to chart. Virgin Records dropped him in 1998, and the following year he signed with Dreamworks.
Shaggy released Hot Shot in 2000, which included the song “It Wasn’t Me,” which featured Rikrok, a Jamaican singer, on vocals. Because of the contentious lyrics, DJs in the United States initially refused to play it. However, the song went viral after a DJ in Honolulu downloaded it from Napster and played it on his show. It topped the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States and also topped the charts in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Scotland, and France.
Hot Shot debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 and was certified 8X platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), indicating that it sold eight million copies worldwide. “It Wasn’t Me,” featuring Rikrok, was nominated for a Grammy in 2002 for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocal.
Shaggy continued to perform and collaborate with other artists from 2002 to 2009. He released 12 studio albums, 7 compilation albums, 88 singles, and 44 music videos over the course of his career. In 2007, he was appointed Commander of the Jamaican Order of Distinction, and in 2016, he co-produced “Shaggy and Friends” with his wife, Rebecca Parker, a film art director. Their charity concert raised over $64 million for Kingston’s Bustamante Children’s Hospital. Richard O’Neil Burrell, Burrell’s son, is a rapper known as Robb Banks.