A biography for Shaggyhasn’t been written yet.
“I think the reason I got into the music business was basically for the live aspect of it.”
“I'm Shaggy. I'm a business.”
“'Shaggy' was a nickname before it was ever a stage name. I have no problem with it.”
“When I was doing 'Hot Shot,' I didn't even have an album deal.”
“The thing about Shaggy's records are those records are very timeless.”
“I'm inspired by day to day life, things that people go through, things that make people tick. Everybody has a story, so you try to put stories into songs and try to make it as entertaining as possible.”
“I've been criticized for doing so - crossover music. But I never claimed to be a pure dancehall artist.”
“I'm one of those artists that nobody ever sees coming. We started with Virgin in 1993. If you look at the climate of that time in reggae and you were to pick the top five people that'd have a shot at having mainstream success, I was nowhere in that equation at all.”
“I've seen the harshest of reggae purists come give me my props because I've been at it for so long... They've seen me come from the hardest of hard-core dancehall to where I am, and they've heard my music change through the years. Some might not agree, but they respect.”
“Gays and lesbians should have the same rights as anybody else, and when they're in Jamaica, they do have the same rights.”
“I've always been faced with all kinds of criticism. People were saying, 'Oh, Shaggy is pop. He can't do dancehall,' even though I came from dancehall.”
“I fought for the U.S. government. I live in New York. I pay taxes in America.”
“The greatest thing about me is I have always been able to reinvent. We have done that about three or four times with my sound.”
“If I'm not on tour, then I'm sometimes laying down four or five records at a time.”
“'Shaggy' is a brand.”
“'Fields of Gold' is my favourite record.”
“I'm from a single-parent family. My mom is like my mom and dad. She's my world.”
“I'm not big on collaborations with 'superstars.' It generally doesn't work for me.”
“I don't want another 'It Wasn't Me.' I've been asked that question so many times. Do I want a song of that magnitude? Great, always, but not the same type of music.”
“My career has taken so many directions.”