Shaggy deserved his Grammy moment - Industry insiders say deejay's success should not be downplayed

Grammy-winning artiste Shaggy made Jamaica proud on Sunday night when he graced music's biggest stage with the legendary Sting. While it was an exciting moment to see one of their own on the prestigious Grammy stage, Shaggy's performance was met days later with harsh comments from several international media outlets as they questioned the relevance of the entertainer's performance.

Today, Jamaicans are striking back at critics, pointing out that Shaggy deserved to be on that stage given his long list of achievements in the music industry.

Social media users held nothing back as they lashed out at inTouch Weekly and Complex Magazine for the negative undertone in their analysis of Shaggy's Grammy performance.

On Sunday night, Complex started the social media firestorm by tweeting that if Shaggy can perform at the Grammys in 2018, people can 'do whatever they set their minds to'.

Then, less than a day after Complex sent out that tweet, inTouch writer Tiffany White continued to question the entertainer's appearance at the show with an article, titled 'Why the hell is Shaggy here?'. In that article, White expressed that having not heard from Shaggy since the 90s, she cannot fathom why he would "climb out from under his rock and appear on the show."

Fellow entertainers and key industry players were livid that in 2018 the international media would seek to 'discredit or downplay' Shaggy's success as a musician.

Many persons noted that if the Recording Academy did not see it fit for him to perform on the show, he would not have even been invited there in the first place.

CONSIDER DISRESPECTFUL

ZJ Sparks, who was among the first to highlight the 'snub' by the foreign media, told THE STAR that Shaggy deserved his moment at the Grammys.

"Intouch magazine made a post which I consider disrespectful. If you read what was written, it is clear that journalist did not even do the basic research. Shaggy is a Diamond-selling artiste who has been very consistent in his work and has a hectic touring schedule. It (the article) was an insult to this Diamond-selling LIVING Jamaican legend," she said.

"Shaggy could not have been at the Grammy Awards if he were not invited, and if they saw it fit to invite him, it means that they see the merit in him being there."

The disc jock added that as an individual in the entertainment industry, she felt the need to defend her colleague as he was flying the Jamaican flag high and did not deserve the level of disrespect he was met with.

"That's why we have to rate artistes like Sting who give credit or credence to the influence of reggae or dancehall music in their work. When you have persons like these who are trying to downplay or trying to slight us, we have to highlight that kind of injustice. I hope from this that journalist or journalists will now realise that they need to do more research," she said.

Also responding to the situation was Sharon Burke of Solid Agency who does bookings for Shaggy. Burke said that Shaggy has always proudly represented for Jamaica and is the true definition of a star.

"Shaggy has always stayed true to himself as an artiste. He has been on this journey for years, always proudly waving the Jamaican flag. He has always remained relevant whether you are seeing him on TV or not, and that is because he is always working hard," she said.