![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.uncarved.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/08\/02-shaggy-100307.jpg\" "\\"Shaggy\\"")
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I get sick of all the purism exhibited by people who know a little about reggae and are desperate to defend their cred. In their clamour to appear hip, they make a completely false distinction between “real” reggae and artists such as Sean Paul, Maxi Priest<\/a> and especially Shaggy.<\/p>\n At the bottom line this approach fails to understand that most reggae is (and has always been) pop music. It also misses the point that each of these artists is versatile and cannot just be dismissed as a top 40 crossover act.<\/p>\n Shaggy is perhaps the best example of someone who is able to produce the odd top 40 hit but whose output is mostly tunes which are released on seven inch, on riddims which also feature versions by his less pop JA contemporaries. His Big Yard label has also released a stack of great tunes by other people.<\/p>\n Last year I did a little mix of this stuff for my own amusement and then promptly forgot about it.<\/p>\n I was reminded of this all recently when yet another thread appeared on an internet discussion forum slagging off Shaggy and decided to unearth said mix. It’s about half an hour long and is quite rough and ready. It was done before the release of Big Yard’s wicked take on 007\/Shanty Town so that is not included. It also misses off the bonkers acid-ragga tunes which appear as the last few tunes of my Bounce Me Back To 98 mix for blogariddims<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n