Shaggy at the 21st Przystanek Woodstock: Jamaican hits on the Main Stage in Kostrzyn

We are delighted to announce that another star joining the Main Stage at the 21st Przystanek Woodstock is one of Jamaica’s most prominent and unpretentious performers. This singer began his career with a reworking of one of the most important songs in the history of ska, rocksteady and reggae, “Oh Carolina”, and recently returned to his roots by recording an album with the iconic duo Sly & Robbie. Mr Boombastic himself: Shaggy!

Orville Richard Burrell was born in 1968 in Kingston, Jamaica. Just a few years later, nobody called him by his real name. The child who first gave him his nickname earned a place in popular music history. The tousle-haired Orville became Shaggy, after the character in the “Scooby Doo” cartoon, although he did not inherit his namesake’s absent-mindedness. At 18, he moved to New York to join his mother and began taking his first steps on the local reggae scene. Discouraged by the harsh living conditions in Brooklyn, he enlisted in the Marines and took part in Operation Desert Storm in Iraq. By 25, he had become a fully mature man who turned his street experience, military discipline and musical talent into extraordinary success.

The 1993 single “Oh Carolina” made him an international star. Two years later came “Boombastic”, unleashing a real frenzy: the whole planet danced and hummed the title track from the record, which won the Grammy for Best Reggae Album a year later. After reaching the top, Shaggy did not slow down. Almost every album collected prestigious awards and Grammy nominations, accumulating countless gold and platinum certifications. People danced to “It Wasn't Me”, “Angel” and “Hey Sexy Lady” at every latitude. Shaggy brilliantly combined the joyful, purely entertaining roots of Jamaican music with an extraordinary instinct for trends in contemporary dance music.

He has always moved with the times, using television advertising and new music-distribution channels to promote his work, and founding his own label, Big Yard Records. He is the only living Jamaican artist to have sold more than 10 million singles and albums. Released in 2013 and produced by Sly & Robbie, “Out of Many, One Music” proves that he has never forgotten his career’s beginnings. It brings more than twenty years of work full circle, demonstrating respect and artistic awareness. Shaggy is an artist who gives everything. Everyone attending Przystanek Woodstock will soon see that for themselves.

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