Shaggy's reggae renaissance

25-08-2007 07:15

Shaggy's unmissable presence has been notably absent from the music scene in recent years.But anyone who thought they'd seen the last of the reggae star is set for a rude awakening as he ramps up the promotion for the release of new album 'Intoxication' in October.The self-styled 'Mr Lover Lover' hasn't had hit since 'Me Julie', his artistically questionable 2002 collaboration with Ali G. Five years is a long time to spend in the wilderness in the cut and thrust music world, but if you listen to the man himself anyone would think his long absence had all been part of a masterplan.While a US Billboard chart position of 124 would be considered a disaster by most artists, Shaggy insists the failure of 2005's 'Clothes Drop' to make any impact on the commercial scene has allowed him to "build credibility back up from the grass roots".Now he feels he has achieved that "street buzz", he has emerged from the shadows. He recently presented the launch of the MOBO (Music of Black Origin) awards in London with Jamelia, and the pair will co-host the star-studded awards themselves at 02 Arena on September 19.It is typical of the man that he has chosen to re-introduce himself to the mainstream on the arm of a stunning young R'n'B princess. For the awards launch he made it clear he still enjoys the trappings of stardom when he and Jamelia rolled up to London's Mo*vida nightclub in a bright yellow Lamborghini Gallardo Spyder.

It would be easy to dismiss his positive spin on things as rhetoric, but the 38-year-old has a proven track record of Lazarus-style recoveries, and the survival skills one might expect of a former US marine who served in the first Gulf War.

The reggae artist - whose real name is Orville Richard Burrell - first burst into the charts with 'Oh Carolina' in 1993, but it was with third album 'Boombastic' in 1995 that he became a global star, scoring a number one single with the title track in the UK and selling more than one million albums in the US alone.

But the New Yorker soon learnt the fickle nature of the business. When 'Piece Of My Heart', the first song from his next album, 'Midnite Lover', limped to just 72 on the US top 100 Shaggy's label Virgin Records withdrew all support. Rudderless, the album didn't even chart at all.

Fast forward four years and Shaggy was suddenly bigger than ever; a genuine global superstar boasting a monster hit of an album. 'Hot Shot', with two massive singles in 'It Wasn't Me' and 'Angel', sold more than 10 million copies worldwide and was one of the stand-out records of 2001.