Shaggy, who was born Orville Richard Burrell in Kingston, Jamaica, has released four albums featuring collections of his greatest hits. The latest, “Best of Shaggy: The Boombastic Collection,” which includes hit songs from both the artist’s “Boombastic” and “Hot Shot” eras, was certified Gold in the United Kingdom by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI), having sold more than 100,000 units in the UK as of October 14, 2022. The compilation album was first released in 2008 and certified Silver in July 2018. It has been on Billboard’s Top Ten Reggae Album chart for the past three years. The “Best of Shaggy: The Boombastic Collection” comprises 19 tracks produced by Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, Prince Buster, and Tony Kelly, Shaun “Sting” Pizzonia, and Christopher Birch.
Shaggy expressed his gratitude to his fans in an interview with World Music Views Magazine, saying that “anytime you have a body of work that is recurrent as this it is a significant accomplishment, especially in our genre.” He added that it is not a strategy to create a collection album just to drive sales, but more a testament to his music catalog’s value and that he wants to make it easy for fans to connect to relatable and popular works by putting them together in a “best of” collection.
With the Gold certification for his fourth compilation album, Shaggy has a total of 24 music certifications from BPI. The first, a Silver certification for “Oh Carolina,” was achieved in 1993. The “Boombastic” single is one of just a few Jamaican reggae tracks that debuted on the British singles chart at Number 1. It made such an impression that Shaggy has been known since as “Mr. Boombastic, fantastic, romantic lover, A.K.A Mr. Luva” worldwide. His “Boombastic” album, which was released in 1995, won the Best Reggae Album Grammy award in 1996 and had great success in the UK, Ireland, New Zealand, Sweden, and Australia, where it also reached the top of the singles charts. It was Number 1 on Billboard R&B Chart in the United States and Number 3 on Billboard’s Hot 100 list as well.
The success of the original “Boombastic” recording has been attributed, in part, to its involvement with a commercial for Levi’s jeans that was played throughout the world in major music markets. Shaggy has stated that more artists should create songs that can “synchronize” to attain greater success. He believes they should create “sync records” that do well in commercials and films that reach larger markets rather than focus on local niche markets. He told World Music Views in May 2021 that his syncs do very well, outpacing those of other reggae artists. He noted his work with high-profile brands like Cheetos and Chase, which he attracts because he is willing to do whatever is necessary to receive radio play. “So I share revenue with them even though the catalog makes money, I have partners,” he said.
