Shaggy’s Greatest Hits Collection Goes Gold In The UK

Shaggy’s Best of Shaggy: The Boombastic Collection, a greatest hits compilation released in 2008, was certified gold in the United Kingdom (UK) on Friday, October 14.

According to the British Phonographic Industry (BPI), Shaggy‘s album was issued the Brit Certified Gold Award after it sold over 100,000 units in the UK, as measured by The Official Charts Company.

The Boombastic Collection was the fourth compilation of hit material recorded by the two-time Grammy Award winner.  All Music’s David Jeffries described the collection as “a near-perfect representation of Shaggy’s career and a great argument that he’s reggae’s most popular crossover artist since Bob Marley.”

It featured 19 songs from eight of Shaggy’s previous studio albums, including Boombastic and In the Summertime with Rayvon from Boombastic (1995), Angel and It Wasn’t Me from the multi-platinum Hot Shot (2001), Hey Sexy Lady and Strength Of A Woman from Lucky Day (2002), and Oh Carolina from Pure Pleasure (1993). 

The album also featured contributions from producers Shaun “Sting” Pizzonia, Christopher Birch, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, Prince Buster, and Tony Kelly, among others.

Best of Shaggy: The Boombastic Collection is currently at No. 2 on the US Billboard Reggae Albums chart, where it has spent 184 weeks.  The album first peaked at that position in January 2020.

On the UK Albums Chart, the compilation peaked at No. 22 in 2008, and had spent four weeks on the chart.

Shaggy’s other UK-certified albums are Hot Shot, which is 3X Platinum for sales exceeding 900,000 units, and Boombastic and the compilation Mr Lover Lover…Best Of – Part 1, which are both certified Silver for sales exceeding 60,000 units each.

In the US, Shaggy’s Hot Shot is certified 6X Platinum for sales exceeding 6 million units, Lucky Day is certified Platinum for sales exceeding 1 million units, and Boombastic is certified Gold for sales exceeding 500,000 units, according to the RIAA.

Shaggy’s latest album is Come Fly Wid Mi , a strong contender for a Grammy nomination at the upcoming 65th Awards in 2023.

Released earlier this year, the eleven-track set covered Frank Sinatra songs on Reggae beats and was produced by English singer Sting.  The two singers had also teamed up in 2018 for their chart-topping 44/876 album, which won the Grammy Award for Best Reggae Album the following year.

Shaggy, who has been nominated seven times for a Grammy, had also won the Best Reggae Album award with Boombastic in 1996.

According to the singer, his next project will be a Dancehall album.

Speaking with BBC 1Xtra’s Seani B earlier this year, Shaggy teased: “I got my Dancehall album that is coming out.  It a guh have Wa-Do-Dem [Mi Nuh Know] and listen out for the Dexta Daps and Shaggy.  Look out for another Spice coming,”