Shaggy: Sunshine Soldier

“Everyone thinks that the minute you do commercial records there’s no way you’re going to survive within the dancehall.” That’s an honest statement coming from multi-platinum selling reggae artist and Grammy winner Shaggy, born Orville Richard Burrell 42 years ago in Jamaica. But if anyone has proven you can still engage core fans while becoming a pop star it’s Shaggy, who simultaneously issues upbeat crossover recordings – such as his latest album, Summer in Kingston -- alongside more traditional reggae singles like “Sweet Jamaica,” recorded at his home island studio. A former U.S. Marine and Operation Desert Storm veteran, Burrell, who emigrated to Brooklyn at age 18, has had nothing but success since re-making The Folkes Brothers’ classic Jamaican boogie number “Oh Carolina” in 1993.

"Feeling Alive feat. Agent Sasco" Shaggy

"Sugarcane" Shaggy

My Morning Jacket: An American Band

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The music of Louisville rockers My Morning Jacket is American in the old weird sense of the word -- rugged, strange and beautiful. Their songs are timeless and genre-agnostic with serious attention given to writing and structure, though their live shows tend to be looser. "Victory Dance," from their recent album, Circuital, begins in a crouched stance of white noise and whispered vocals, leaps forward and catches the grooves of Tom Blankenship's rolling bass riff and rises to a majestic and psychedelic payoff. "Holdin' on to Black Metal" matches singer Jim James' weary falsetto with a hillbilly soul romp rhythm and a girls' chorus backdrop. As with much of the album, the song rocks, but there is something eerie and intimate about the singularity of its vision and scope.

"Holdin' On To Black Metal" My Morning Jacket

"The Day is Coming (Live)" My Morning Jacket