Shaggy: Return of the Boombastic

 

LOS ANGELES , California -- Luck is always a fine thing in entertainment and in life, but SHAGGY knows better than almost anyone that you make your own luck. "You don't get by on luck this many times," he says from his Long Island, New York studio, in the process of finalizing his Geffen debut album, Clothes Drop. "How does luck happen four, five times?" It's a good question -- especially considering that, when Shaggy makes his luck, he has a knack for doing so on a massive scale. In his extraordinary career, he's done several rounds of major heavy lifting for his brand of music, helping to stake, and even re-build, the global profile of dancehall reggae over the last decade and more.

Shaggy's latest CD, "Clothes Drop," is attracting attention from a worldwide audience.

The first worldwide reggae crossover record to come out of the New York dancehall underground was Shaggy's "Oh Carolina.' Then, his platinum album and single Boombastic came at a time when the early fusion of hip-hop and computer-style dancehall was well past its creative peak. More recently, Shaggy recorded the most successful dancehall reggae CD in history, the 10-million selling Hot Shot. Released in 2005, Clothes Drop, Shaggy's sixth studio release, is a non-stop boomshot of a CD, a varied and invigorating explosion of tough rhythms, with Shaggy's unique rough-and-smooth toasts devoted to music, women, fun, and even, at the appropriate moment, the spirit.   The dancehall underground has been rocking in recent weeks to the pre-release track "Ready Fi Di Ride," a rugged club banger that's currently in the Jamaican sales top IO and top 5 on local Jamaican radio, produced by Tony Kelly. With an irresistible electro-tribal rhythm and a tongue-twisting speed-toast, "Wild 2nite" pairs Shaggy with Olivia, the G-Unit diva who recently shared the Number One "Candy Shop" with 50 Cent. Another inevitable early focus of the album is the wickedly catchy "Supa Hypnotic," a steamy and pulsating team-up with vocalist Nicole of the notorious Pussycat Dolls entertainment troupe.   Shaggy is recognized as one of the most personable celebrities in the music industry. Also highlighting the CD is the mind-bending rhythm of "Clothes Drop," devised by the quintessential Jamaican rhythm geniuses Sly and Robbie, at once bouncing, addictively melodic and jaw-droppingly creative.   CONTINUE