Getting his start in music at age 18, Shaggy did some local Jamaican style performances in Brooklyn, NY. Eventually he joined the Marines to secure a steady income. Traveling back and forth from his station in North Carolina to New York for recording sessions, he released his first single “Man a Mi Yard.” One of the major connections he made was with Sting, who was able to get Shaggy gigs at Phillip Smart’s studio. After releasing one of his more popular singles “Oh Carolina” he landed a deal with Virgin Records and conquered the charts with the 1995 release of his album “Boombastic.” The album went platinum and spent an entire year sitting at Number 1 on Billboard’s Reggae album chart. Fast forward through several years of major success to his ninth album in 2011, Shaggy released a digital only version of Shaggy & Friends and continued to collaborate with top name artists in the music industry for years to come.
