Shaggy

To celebrate the 20th anniversary of Shaggy’s diamond-selling album, Hot Shot, a brand-new album entitled Hot Shot 2020, featuring updated versions of the biggest hits and most beloved fan favorites across Shaggy’s catalog, along with a number of never-before-heard tracks.

Sting spent the entirety of his career studiously avoiding the appearance of having a good time, which is why his 2018 collaboration with reggae star Shaggy seemed so odd: at the age of 66, the rock star decided it was finally time to crack a smile. 44/876 – a collaboration named after the phone codes for their respective home countries – is most certainly a party record, albeit one that cooks at a low simmer as it swings between fleet-footed reggae sunsplash tunes and mellow grooves. If Sting seems subservient to Shaggy, that makes sense. Shaggy specializes in doing one thing well, while Sting took it as a point of pride that he could do anything from jazz to symphonies.

Boombastic confirmed Shaggy's status as one of the most popular dancehall acts of the '90s, and for good reason – the record is an infectiously entertaining collection of deep, funky grooves that celebrates good times. Featuring the major hit title track, the album also sports a great guest appearance by Grand Puba on "Why You Treat Me So Bad," as well as a hot duet with singer Wayne Wonder on "Something Different." Despite a silly cover of "Day Oh," Boombastic keeps the funky reggae coming and is Shaggy's best album to date.

Too bad the film "Sliver" wasn't a hit, or else this could've been one of the greatest film soundtracks of all-time. While most soundtracks just throw songs together without much thought, there's a theme on this album. You can feel the atmosphere of loneliness, lust, and mystery even if you've never seen the film. Enigma's haunting "Carly's Song" and "Carly's Loneliness" are great tracks to get you in a trance, Massive Attack's "Unfinished Symphony" is downright sexy, and Aftershock's "Slave To The Vibe" is the album's showstopper. The film (which was beautifully shot in an MTV style) could rightfully be a showcase just for these songs, kinda like "Purple Rain".

44/876 is a collaborative album by English musician Sting and Jamaican musician Shaggy. It was released on April 20, 2018 by A&M Records, Interscope Records and Cherrytree Records. The album's title refers to the country calling code for the United Kingdom (+44) and the North American area code for Jamaica (876), Sting's and Shaggy's respective home countries. In the first 3 months the album sold over 500,000 copies, world-wide.