Shaggy’s Angel - SOUNDS FAMILIAR by Baby Gil

If you want rap music that is melodic, easy on the ears and made for fun times, then you should listen to Shaggy. The Grammy-winning superstar creates tunes that listeners of all ages instantly relate. And that means even those who tend to shy away from rap. The Jamaican pop/rap/reggae/R&B/dance artist elicits party vibes, smiles, bouncy strides or at the very least, a foot-tapping response from the usually immobile.

Remember Boombastic? That was Shaggy. He also did Oh Carolina. And you must have heard the immensely appealing Angel, his latest number one seller from the new album Hotshot. The tune rehashes the ’70s hit Angel of the Morning by Juice Newton and Shaggy does it wonderfully with the soulful Rayvon doing the vocals. You can dance to it, daydream or simply get lost in the fluid flow of the music.

Shaggy created chart history with the release of Hotshot and the songs It Wasn’t Me and Angel. It Wasn’t Me made number one in Billboard’s Hot 100. Hotshot also made number one in the album hit list. Six weeks after It Wasn’t Me gave up the top position, Angel followed suit. The tune became the first one in pop music history to have 8000 in one week in only top 40 radio stations in the US of A. Not only that, Hotshot returned to number one after only two weeks off the top slot. Hotshot has now sold nearly 7,000,000 copies in America alone and is also a major hit in other parts of the world.

Reaction is also very positive in the Philippines where Shaggy’s kind of rap already has a captive market. Besides, Pinoys have always found it difficult to resist the charms of an old song and Angel of the Morning remains a big favorite. If this one does not make the grade, you can bet that Shaggy will still be able to clinch it with the song Lonely Lover. With T-Lo as guest vocalist, this one also reworks a hit from the ’70s, I Just Don’t Wanna Be Lonely by Randy Vanwarmer.

Despite the varied fare it presents Hotshot was entirely written or co-written by Shaggy himself and each cut shows huge chart potential. There is Luv Me, Luv Me, Shaggy’s duet with Janet Jackson from the soundtrack of the movie How Stella Got Her Groove Back. Latin flavors Chica Bonita. Leave It to Me is soulfully sexy. There are also Hope, Dance & Shout, Freaky Girl, Not Fair and Hotshot. All these of course aside from the biggies It Wasn’t Me and Angel.

Shaggy is actually Orville Richard Burrell. He was born in Kingston, Jamaica but has lived most of his life in the US. His nickname comes from a character in the popular animated series Scooby Doo. He has always loved music and he went in pursuit of a showbiz career when he was 18 with his recording of Mampie and Big Up.

Both hit number one in the New York dance charts but nothing much followed and Shaggy went off to join the Marines. He would later find himself in the Iraqi desert fighting in the Gulf War. He could have built a solid career in the service having acquitted himself with honor during his stint in the Middle East, but Shaggy hates war. He would much rather give people a good time with his music. A short while after this, Shaggy came up with the album Pure Pleasure with the hit Oh Carolina and he was on his way to stardom.

Shaggy’s Hotshot currently holds the number four position in the top 200 album list of Billboard Magazine while Angel is at the number 3 slot in the Hot 100 singles chart. Here is how both charts look like as of this week.

The top 10 albums are: Now 6, a compilation of hits by various artists; Until the End of Time, another hit by the late rapper 2-Pac Shakur; The Life by Ginuwine; Hotshot by Shaggy; Live in New York City by Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band; Everyday by the Dave Matthews Band; Endangered Species by Big Pun; Chocolate Starfish & the Hot Dog Flavored Water by LimpBizkit; No Angel by Dido; and Part III by 112.

The top 10 selling singles are All for You by Janet; Survivor by Destiny’s Child; Angel by Shaggy Featuring Rayvon; Thank You by Dido; Missing You by Case; Butterfly by Crazy Town; Stutter by Joe Featuring Mystikal; Get Over Yourself by Eden’s Crush; Again by Lenny Kravitz; and Hanging by a Moment by Lifehouse.