Shaggy

He was born Orville Richard Burrell in Kingston, Jamaica on October 22nd 1968. Leaving with his family for the States when he was just 18, he quickly put his enthusiasm for dancehall reggae to good use on Brooklyn sound-systems like Gibraltar Musik. His debut single 'Man A Mi Yard' b/w 'Bullet Proof Buddy' for the Don One label was released two years later but failed to make an impression. The cheekily slack 'Big Hood' and 'Duppy Or Uglyman' for Lloyd 'Spiderman' Campbell were next, the latter a tune he's since re-voiced as ''Fraid To Ask'. His first real break however came after meeting up with underground club DJ Sting, now a highly influential radio DJ on both New York Kiss FM and station W.N.N.K. More recently Sting has become an exciting reggae producer in his own right after an early introduction as studio engineer for Philip Smart's HC&F studio in Freeport.

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Once his name was established, there was no stopping him. 'Big Up' was an infectious combination voiced with another Flatbush hopeful, a singer named Rayvon and it also reached the coveted No.1 slot. This was the first real glimpse of producer Sting's innovative approach to injecting classical reggae into today's ragga styles.