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Charismatic Jamaican dancehall singer and deejay Spice has built her career on a mixture of crafty wordplay, risque lyrics, and an appealing sense of bravado that has earned her worldwide renown, chart success, and a designation as the Queen of Dancehall. After breaking out in 2009 with the controversial Vybz Kartel collaboration "Romping Shop," she issued a prolific stream of singles, made her EP debut with 2014's popular "So Mi Like It," and delivered her first full-length in the form of 2018's Captured mixtape. In between, she found the time to appear in the feature film Destiny and join the cast of VH1's reality series Love & Hip-Hop: Atlanta. In addition to her deep catalog of singles, Spice has been featured on a variety of tracks by Mýa, Kid Ink, Jax Jones, and many others. In 2021, she released her proper debut set, the Grammy-nominated 10, followed a year later by Emancipated.

Born Grace Latoya Hamilton in Spanish Town, St. Catherine, Spice was raised partly in nearby Portmore while also spending some of her youth living in London, England with her grandparents. After attending the Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts, she cut her teeth as a singer in the dancehall world, turning heads with her strong deejay skills at the popular Jamaican dancehall festival Sting in 2000. A touring connection with singer Baby Cham led Spice to record her first few singles with producer Dave Kelly on his Madhouse Records imprint. 2003's "Complain" marked her recorded debut and she scored a minor dancehall hit two years later with "Fight Over Man," which used the popular Eighty Five riddim.

Her breakthrough came in 2009 when she and fellow dancehall artist Vybz Kartel teamed up for the single "Romping Shop," a sexually explicit track that sampled Ne-Yo and became a runaway hit -- especially in the U.S. -- and spent 15 weeks on Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart; it was ultimately banned by the Jamaica Broadcasting Corporation. Her profile significantly raised, Spice was honored that year with a number of awards including the Excellence in Music and Entertainment award for Female Deejay of the Year, a trophy she also took home in 2010. Newly signed to VP Records she began releasing a barrage of singles over the next several years leading up to the 2014 release of her first EP So Mi Like It. The EP's title track found legs and despite not charting, became a widely heard track that even ended up in remix form on a Busta Rhymes mixtape. The EP itself debuted at number 14 on Billboard's Top Reggae Albums chart and featured another popular Vybz Kartel collaboration in "Conjugal Visit." Prominent features on songs by A$AP Ferg and Kid Ink were scattered among Spice's numerous solo singles between 2015 and 2017. A guest appearance on the reality show Love & Hip-Hop: Atlanta led to her joining as a cast member on the seventh season, and in early 2018 she revealed to fans that she and her label were at odds regarding the release of her debut album. Her first longform release did appear later that year in the form of the Captured mixtape, put out on her own imprint. Led by the racially charged colorism anthem "Black Hypocrisy," Captured topped Billboard's Reggae Albums chart and yielded additional popular songs like "Romantic Mood" and "Cool It." Meanwhile, Spice barely slowed her steady output of non-album singles that continued through 2019. In late 2020, she released the song "Frenz," followed in 2021 by "Go Down Deh" featuring Shaggy and Sean Paul. The latter track became a streaming hit that helped her Shaggy-produced debut album, 10, reach number six on Billboard's Reggae Albums chart and earn a Grammy nomination. A follow-up album, Emancipated, arrived one year later. After enduring a health scare, Spice returned to her typically prolific output in 2023 with singles like "Spice Marley" and "Bed a Rock," followed in 2024 by "Hollywood" and "2085 Rock." ~ Timothy Monger

Jamaican dancehall singer and rapper Sean Paul broke into the global mainstream in the early 2000s with pop-friendly party jams like "Get Busy" from his Grammy-winning Dutty Rock album, plus the chart-topping smash "Temperature." An early proponent of the dancehall pop movement, Paul also earned a reputation as a worthy guest star, appearing on Beyoncé's hit "Baby Boy," then enjoying a career resurgence in the latter part of the 2010s when he was introduced to a fresh generation of fans via high-profile collaborations with artists like Sia, Clean Bandit, and Pharrell Williams. His 2018 EP Mad Love: The Prequel thrust him back in the spotlight, boasting major hits like "No Lie" with Dua Lipa and "Mad Love" with David Guetta and Becky G. Paul carried his success into the next decade with a barrage of singles including 2020's Tove Lo collaboration "Calling on Me" and 2021's "Dynamite" with Sia.

Born Sean Paul Francis Henriques on January 9, 1973, the multi-ethnic Paul (his parents had Portuguese, Chinese, and Jamaican forebears) grew up comfortably in St. Andrew, Jamaica; his mother was a renowned painter. He was a skilled athlete, excelling in swimming and especially water polo, playing for the Jamaican national team in the latter. Although his education was enough to land him a prosperous career, dancehall music remained Paul's first love, particularly crafting rhythm tracks. He became a DJ after he began writing his own songs, patterning his style largely after Super Cat and finding a mentor in Don Yute; he also found contacts in several members of the reggae-pop band Third World in 1993, which helped him foster business connections.

Paul released his debut single, "Baby Girl," with producer Jeremy Harding in 1996; it proved a significant success, leading to further Jamaican hits like "Nah Get No Bly (One More Try)," "Deport Them," "Excite Me," "Infiltrate," and "Hackle Mi." In 1999, Sean Paul started to make inroads to American audiences; he was first commissioned to collaborate with fellow dancehall hitmaker Mr. Vegas on a production for rapper DMX; titled "Here Comes the Boom," the song was included in director Hype Williams' film Belly. Also that year, Paul scored a Top Ten hit on the Billboard rap charts with "Hot Gal Today."

That fall, Paul released his first album on VP Records. The sprawling Stage One collected many of his previous hit singles and compilation cuts, plus a few brand-new tracks. His breakthrough arrived in 2002 with sophomore effort, Dutty Rock (VP/Atlantic). The Grammy-winning album featured the hit singles "Get Busy," "Gimme the Light," and "Baby Boy" with Beyoncé. In addition to topping the Canadian and U.S. Reggae charts, Dutty Rock entered the Billboard Top Ten and was certified multi-platinum.

Paul followed with The Trinity (Atlantic) in 2005. The album peaked at number seven on the Billboard 200, his highest showing to date, and included chart hits like "We Be Burnin'," "Temperature," and "(When You Gonna) Give It Up to Me" with Keyshia Cole. Four years later he returned with Imperial Blaze. Featuring the singles "So Fine" and "Hold My Hand" with Keri Hilson, Imperial Blaze topped the Billboard rap chart, but did not capture the same mainstream attention as his prior two releases. The loose Odyssey Mixtape dropped in 2011 and was followed a year later by Tomahawk Technique, a more pop- and dance-oriented album with production from the likes of Stargate, DJ Ammo, and Benny Blanco. While the set yielded a handful of international hits, it stalled in the U.S. Although his sixth studio album, Full Frequency, topped the U.S. reggae chart in early 2014, it didn't make much of a splash in the pop mainstream. The effort spawned the singles "Other Side of Love," "Entertainment 2.0" (featuring Juicy J, 2 Chainz, and Nicki Minaj), "Turn It Up," and "Want Dem All" (featuring Konshens), which helped Paul score his fifth Grammy nomination for Best Reggae Album.

In the years that followed, Paul would appear on notable singles by Enrique Iglesias, Major Lazer, and Pharrell Williams, but it wasn't until 2016 that he would experience massive chart resurgence, appearing on hits by Sia (the Grammy-nominated "Cheap Thrills"), Little Mix ("Hair"), Clean Bandit ("Rockabye"), and Dua Lipa ("No Lie"). After Paul signed a deal with Island Records, he returned to the studio to record his seventh album. The first single from the record, "Mad Love" with David Guetta and Becky G, arrived in early 2018. Mad Love: The Prequel was issued later that year and included collaborations with Jhene Aiko, Ellie Goulding, Stefflon Don, Migos, Tory Lanez, and more. Paul extended his prolific streak in 2019, pairing with J Balvin on "Contra la Pared" and Wiley, Stefflon Don, and Idris Elba on "Boasty." In early 2020, he and Tove Lo collaborated on the single "Calling on Me." More collaborative singles followed in 2021, including "Dancing on Dangerous" with Imanbek and Sofía Reyes, "Dynamite" with Sia, and "Up" with Inna, all of which led up to the release of his eighth studio album, 2022's Scorcha. ~ Steve Huey & Neil Z. Yeung

Shaggy emerged in the early '90s as the biggest crossover success in dancehall reggae. Not only did he become the genre's most commercially potent artist in the international market, but he managed to sustain a lasting career over the coming decade thanks to wildly popular albums like 1995's breakout Boombastic (featuring the chart-topping single of the same name) and 2000's multi-platinum Hot Shot. Perhaps in part because he wasn't based in Jamaica, he never really needed to have it both ways; virtually ignoring the hardcore dancehall crowd, Shaggy's music was initially geared toward good times, a friendly (if horny) persona, and catchy party anthems. While he wasn't shy about lifting hooks wholesale from pop hits of the past, he also had fairly eclectic tastes, giving his records a musical variety lacking in other dancehall stars. As a result, Shaggy became one of the few reggae artists to top the album and pop singles charts in America, not to mention numerous other countries where he's had even greater success. His approach seemed to work and he remained both busy and relevant heading into the next decade, landing another major hit with "Church Heathen" from his 2009 album Intoxication and continuing to nurture his collaborative spirit, recording with friends like Rayvon and RikRok as well as releasing an album with the legendary Sly & Robbie in 2013's Out of Many, One Music. In another unusual crossover, he collaborated with Sting on the 2018 duo album 44/876, before returning to solo work with various singles and albums such as 2019's Wah Gwaan?! and 2022's ambitious Com Fly wid Mi, a collection of reggae interpretations of pop vocal standards.

Shaggy was born Orville Richard Burrell on October 22, 1968, in Kingston, Jamaica, and was nicknamed after the Scooby-Doo character. At age 18, he joined his mother in the Flatbush area of Brooklyn, New York, and soon began performing with the local Jamaican-style sound system Gibraltar Musik. A steady income proved to be a more pressing matter, however, and in 1988 Shaggy joined the Marines. Stationed at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina, he continued to pursue music in his free time, and often made the drive back to New York for recording sessions. He cut his first single, "Man a Mi Yard" b/w "Bullet Proof Buddy," at age 20 for producer Don One's own small label; for the follow-up, "Big Hood" b/w "Duppy or Uglyman," he worked with producer Lloyd "Spiderman" Campbell.

Shaggy's most important connection, however, proved to be radio DJ/studio engineer Sting (born Shaun Pizzonia), who got him a gig cutting dubplates at Phillip Smart's studio. One of those records, "Mampie," became a huge hit among New York reggae fans; its follow-up, "Big Up," was even more popular locally, and marked the first of several duets with Brooklyn singer Rayvon. However, Shaggy still had obligations to the military, and his budding career was interrupted by Operation Desert Storm in 1991; he was sent to Kuwait for a five-month tour of duty. After returning to Camp Lejeune, Shaggy resumed his sessions in New York, and waxed a cover of the Folkes Brothers' ska hit "Oh Carolina." Originally recorded for Prince Buster's label, the song was given a modern dancehall update complete with a prominent "Peter Gunn" sample. At first, "Oh Carolina" was simply another local hit, but thanks to some overseas promotion, it was picked up for release in the U.K. by Greensleeves in late 1992. It was an instant smash, vaulting all the way to the top of the British pop charts early the next year and doing the same in several other European countries.

"Oh Carolina" wasn't as big a hit in the U.S., where it stalled in the lower half of the charts, despite its inclusion on the hit soundtrack to the Sharon Stone film Sliver. Furthermore, its follow-up singles, the tongue-in-cheek gospel of "Soon Be Done" and the jazzy "Nice and Lovely," failed to duplicate its success. Nonetheless, the overseas success of "Oh Carolina," coupled with the high-profile Maxi Priest duet "One More Chance," was enough to land Shaggy a lucrative deal with Virgin Records. His debut album, Pure Pleasure, was released in 1993, and included many of his recent singles; the following year, Greensleeves issued a collection called Original Doberman, which covered many of his earliest recordings.

Now firmly a star in Europe, Shaggy went on to conquer the U.S. with his next album, 1995's Boombastic. The title track was an inescapable hit, selling over a million copies; it reached number three on the pop charts and number one on the R&B charts, and also became his second U.K. chart-topper. "In the Summertime," the flip side of the American single release of "Boombastic," climbed into the U.K. Top Five as a follow-up. Meanwhile, the album went platinum, nearly reaching the R&B Top Ten, and spent a full year at number one on Billboard's reggae album chart; it also won a Grammy for Best Reggae Album. A third single, "Why You Treat Me So Bad," featured guest rapper Grand Puba and nearly reached the British Top Ten in 1996 but failed to make much of an impact stateside.

Shaggy followed his breakout success with an extensive world tour, consolidating his European following, and recorded a hit duet with Maxi Priest, "That Girl," in 1996. He returned to solo action in 1997 with the Midnite Lover album. The first single, a dancehall version of Big Brother & the Holding Company's "Piece of My Heart" featuring duet partner Marsha, was a relative flop in the U.S., though it had some international success. Similarly, the album was a commercial disappointment, and Virgin, assuming that Shaggy's moment had passed (as it quickly had for many of dancehall's crossover hitmakers), dropped him from its roster.

Undaunted, Shaggy turned to movie soundtracks to keep his name in the public eye. He appeared on a minor hit duet with Janet Jackson, "Luv Me, Luv Me," from the soundtrack of How Stella Got Her Groove Back in 1998, and followed it by contributing the solo cut "Hope" to For Love of the Game in 1999. By this time, Shaggy was able to land a new deal with MCA, and he rewarded them with one of the biggest-selling reggae albums ever. Released in 2000, Hot Shot started off slowly as its lead single, "Dance and Shout," flopped in the States. However, a radio DJ in Hawaii downloaded the track "It Wasn't Me" (featuring Rik Rok) from Napster and began playing it on his show. Soon it was a national hit, rocketing up the pop charts and hitting number one in early 2001; naturally, it did likewise in the U.K. and many other European countries. Its follow-up, "Angel" -- a rewrite of the country hit "Angel of the Morning," featuring Rayvon on vocals -- also went straight to number one in the U.S. and U.K. Hot Shot, meanwhile, spent six weeks at number one on the album charts and eventually sold over six million copies in the U.S. alone -- an almost unheard-of figure for a reggae release.

While Shaggy prepared his follow-up album, more pieces of product hit the market in 2002: Virgin put out Mr. Lover Lover: The Best of Shaggy, Vol. 1, a compilation covering his years at the label, while MCA issued a remix album, Hot Shot Ultramix. Before the end of the year, Shaggy released his new album, Lucky Day, which was loosely designed as a respectful tribute to womankind. Its first two singles, "Hey Sexy Lady" and "Strength of a Woman," didn't fare well in the U.S., but the album sold respectably well, going gold by year's end and charting in the Top 30 on both the pop and R&B listings. In 2005, he returned with Clothes Drop, this time on the Geffen label. Early in 2007, his "Church Heathen" single began dominating the dancehall scene thanks in part to its video starring the legendary Ninjaman as a priest. The big hit single landed on Shaggy's album Intoxication, released that same year.

His ninth album, 2011's digital-only Shaggy & Friends, saw the singer collaborating with longtime pals Rayvon and RikRok, among others. A new EP, Summer in Kingston, was issued just a few months later, yielding the hit single "Sugarcane." Following a European release of what was essentially a repackaged Summer in Kingston called Rise, Shaggy revealed that he'd been collaborating with legendary producers Sly & Robbie on a new project. The resulting album, Out of Many, One Music, was released in the summer of 2013. The collaborative single "Habibi (I Need Your Love)" featured a multicultural team of Shaggy, Swedish-Congolese singer Mohambi, Australian-Lebanese singer/songwriter Faydee, and Romanian singer/songwriter Costi. Sung in English, Arabic, and Spanish, the song reached number 66 on the Billboard 100 in 2015.

The diverse collaborations continued over the next year, as Shaggy appeared with Kylie Minogue, Fernando Garibay, and Mylène Farmer. Another high-profile collaboration arrived in 2018, this time with Sting. The duo issued their first single, "Don't Make Me Wait," which was included on their LP 44/876. The following year, Shaggy released the solo album Wah Gwaan?!, which featured guest spots from Jason Derulo, Nicki Jam, Shenseea, and others. Included on the album were the singles "Use Me" and "You," featuring Toronto singer Alexander Stewart. In July 2020, Shaggy celebrated the 20th anniversary of his album Hot Shot with the release of an updated version of the record called Hot Shot 2020. Included were reworked versions of the original tracks, among them a rendition of the hit "It Wasn't Me" featuring Rayvon. The same year, Shaggy had a cameo appearance on a remix of rapper Steven Malcolm's popular song "Fuego," as well as taking things in a very different direction with reggae holiday album Christmas in the Islands. Over the next few years Shaggy would be part of several minor hits, including a featured appearance on Niko Moon's 2021 track "Good Time," a collaboration with Sean Paul and Spice the same year on "Go Down Deh," and yet another remix of his ubiquitous "It Wasn't Me" in 2022 with new elements from Embody, Moss Kena, and Tenchi. In 2022, Shaggy also issued Com Fly Wid Mi, a collection of rocksteady reggae reworkings of standards from the Rat Pack era. Old friend Sting showed up on the album to duet with Shaggy on "You Make Me Feel so Young." In 2023 Shaggy released several stand-alone singles, collaborated on songs with artists like Teejay and Kes, and in May of that year released In the Mood. The seven-song EP included guest appearances from Konshens, Noah Powa, Patrice Roberts, and others. ~ Steve Huey