Shaggy guides his silver BMW sedan through the
streets of Brooklyn, pump
ing the remix for "Summertime," the fierce follow-up to his sexy hit single "Boombastic" (which struck gold before his album of the same name was even released). The boomin' Beemer-no flash or frills, just smooth like its driver-is one of the few things t
hat have changed in the 27-year-old's life during his swift progression from around-the-way lyrics man to international dancehall ambassador.
Shaggy still creates fun, innovative reggae music with the same crew outta Flatbush, Brooklyn. Production genius Sting Intl. is still at the controls, and longtime sparring partner Rayvon is still very much in the mix. The addition of dancehall hitmake r Robert Livingston helped kick Shaggy's career into overdrive. "I can't imagine being without these people," he says. Cars have also played an important role in Shaggy's rise to raggamuffin royalty. When the Jamaican youth with the Scooby Doo nickname and the Scud-missile voice realized that chatting on Brooklyn sound systems wasn't paying the bills, he joined the Marine s. While stationed at Camp LeJeune in North Carolina, Shaggy sometimes borrowed a friend's car to drive 18 hours on weekends so he could voice tunes in New York. "I'd come here and live the life of a star with my friends," he recalls. "Then I'd go back [t o work] with a mop and a bucket during the week."
Before recording "Oh Carolina" (a reworking of an old ska favorite which had nothing to do with his military base) in 1993, Shaggy had to drive down an even rockier road. The Gulf War was in full swing, and Mr. Boombastic found himself guiding an armor ed HumVee tank through an Iraqi minefield. He describes the experience as "nerve-racking." But soon after, "Oh Carolina" was topping the charts from England to Israel and selling massive amounts everywhere except America. Virgin Records stuck with him, th ough, and the reward is Boombastic.
"Reggae is the only music that has no barriers," says Shaggy. "This is music for everyone. Whether you black, you white, pink, blue, whatever. We all listen reggae. So this should be a worldwide thing." And thanks to ambassadors like Shaggy, it is.
