Shaggy live in Manila Sept. 6

MANILA, Philippines - Get ready to party with Shaggy (photo), the Jamaican-American reggae fusion singer and deejay, who is best known for the hit singles Boombastic, It Wasn’t Me, Angel and his first hit Oh Carolina. His concert, dubbed Up Close & Personal with Shaggy, is happening on Sept. 6, 8 p.m. at the Chaos Nightclub of City of Dreams.

Shaggy (whose real name is Orville Richard Burrel) was born in Kingston, Jamaica. At the age of 18, he and his family moved to the Flatbush area of Brooklyn, New York. In 1987, he took singing courses in Brooklyn and was discovered a year later, while singing in the streets with friends.

Shaggy enlisted in the United States Marine Corps and obtained the MOS of 0811 (field artillery cannon crewman). This was where he perfected his signature singing voice and it was also where he got the inspiration for Boombastic.

In 1993, he decided to pursue his music career, scoring his first hit Oh Carolina, a dancehall re-make of a ska hit by the Folkes Brothers, which was used in the film Sliver. Boombastic won the Best Reggae Album at the 1996 Grammy Awards. In 2000, Shaggy released the album Hot Shot, which was certified six times Platinum in the US and featured the singles It Wasn’t Me and Angel. The album also hit No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and UK albums chart.

Up Close & Personal with Shaggy is a Steven Browstein Production, the same group that staged American Idol first runner-up Jessica Sanchez’s Up Close & Personal concert. Tickets are available at SM Tickets with outlets at the Mall of Asia Arena (MOA), all SM Cinema branches and select SM Store branches.

For details, call SM Tickets at 470-2222 or log on to smtickets.com. Chaos Nightclub can also be reached at 0917-8863678.