AMERICAN rapper Nelly, female R&B quartet En Vogue, and US Virgin Islands’ R City will be among the international acts slated for the January 2 staging of Shaggy and Friends in Concert.
The biennial charity event is scheduled for the lawns of Jamaica House in St Andrew. “We’re trying not to repeat too many artists. But there are artists that people have not seen in a while and they are great. We’re looking for artists with big international songs.
Because we have iHeartMedia on board, which will be broadcasting two hours of the concert to an American audience, we want those artists who are great reggae artists and have those great reggae hits,” Shaggy told Jamaica Observer in a previous interview. iHeartMedia, Inc is an American mass media company headquartered in San Antonio, Texas.
Nelly (given name Cornel Haynes) is a two-time Grammy-winning artiste, having secured the award in 2003 and 2004. He is best known for the singles Hot in Herre, Dilemma, Grillz and Air Force Ones. The quartet En Vogue, who are best known for the album Funky Divas, is expected to perform some of their popular anthems including Hold On, Don’t Let Go and Giving Him Something He Can Feel. Producers-turned-artistes, R City (Timothy and Theron Thomas) tasted chart success with Locked Away, featuring Maroon 5 frontman Adam Levine.
The track made the Billboard Hot 100 Chart. On the local side, the Billboard chart-making artiste Omi, makes his local debut since conquering the globe with his breakout track Cheerleader.He will be joined by acts including deejays Beenie Man, Busy Signal and Popcaan. Gospel act Kevin Downswell also makes the cut. Italian automotive dealer Fiat are also sponsors of the event. Started in 2009, the biennial Shaggy & Friends concert has raised more than US$1.6 million for the Bustamante Hospital for Children.
— By Richard Johnson
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