1) You've been having hits for over 10 years. Do you still enjoy what you're doing?

I do enjoy what I'm doing still. It does get a little bit overwhelming as I do it
a lot longer and it gets. And for the most part, sleep is a very important thing.
I guess when you're younger and you're doing promotion, you tend to want
to party every night, and it just doesn't work well with promotion,
promoting the records, when you got to get up really early in the morning
and look your best. So, after a while you realize that these things are
important. The thing I like about the music business, and the reason
I got into the music business, was to perform live.

The live aspect is the most important part to me for the simple fact I think it's...
it is so real when you're in front of an audience. You know what I mean?
It's either they like you, or they don't, you know what I mean? It's not sugarcoated.
I think with an audience, they pay their money, and they're pretty much into what
you're doing. You know what I mean? And they'll just give it to you as raw:
they either like you, or they don't. If they don't, they'll boo and ask for their money.
I've been a person that have always been musically driven. My career has gotten
where it's gotten because of great songs that I've written, and I want
it to continue like that. You know what I mean?

2) You've said that you feel the most comfortable on stage. Tell us about that.

It's always been that way. Still is. I feel I can do no wrong, though I must admit
that recently, since the rise of Hotshot, we've gotten to bigger venues, we've
been seeing ourself playing [he sighs] with the likes of Backstreet and these people.
And I've been forced to put dancers with me, and it has become a little bit too
rehearsed. That bothers me a little bit sometimes, you know. I like to be free,
you know, I like to be spontaneous and throw it here and there. But I do
understand that the bigger these things get - you know, you're starting
to play coliseums and, you know, things got to blow up and explode,
and there's got to be great lighting, and there's got to be a little bit more
entertaining than me just going on stage and playing great music. So, you know,
yeah, I guess dancers do play an important role, you know, but I refuse to have
my show become like someBritney Spears, theatrical showcase. I guess it's good
for what it's good for, because I did watch her show and it was enjoying it, but to me,
um, that's not me. That's not what I'm about, you know, so I don't think that live
show should be like some friggin' Broadway show, or nothin' like that.

3) Shaggy is a fictional character. tell us a bit about how you became this person.

"Shaggy" is...is somewhat - I wouldn't even say it's a fictional character because
a part of the "Shaggy" character is me. I think it is, though, a character,
you know, and I do have fun, and fun playing it. It's, like, you're in a party,
and there's this guy who's the good guy, but he's very quiet. And he probably
isn't, but he probably is an interesting guy, but you just got to get to know him
to find out how interesting he is than the loud-mouthed guy that steps in there,
looking flamboyant and talking and cracking all the jokes. It's, that person
happens to be the person that everyone gravitates to, you know. And that
is what "Shaggy" is to me. He is - he's that alter-ego that's the life of the party.
You know, you step in, you put on the voice - [in character] "Oh, Mr. Lover, eh,
yeah, rah, rah" - you know, talkin' all this crap, and being flamboyant and somewhat
chauvinistic, and not necessarily, for the most part, a very nice person, but very
entertaining person. And it attracts people, and I think that's why people gravitate
to the character so much, and you know, I really do have a lot of fun doing it.
For the most part, I try to make it as tongue-in-cheek and somewhat witty, and unique.

4) What's your real name? What's he like?

My real name is Orville Richard Burrell [sp]. I sometimes think my mom was drunk
the day she named me. However, with a name like "Orville," how could you get laid,
you know? But I somehow manage, [he laughs] you know. Orville, I think, is a very
...somewhat like the Shaggy in a way, but just a very softer -softer version of Shaggy.
I'm very witty, gives a lot of jokes, like jokes, like practical jokes, love women, will always
love women, but more sensitive, like to be in touch with the ladies' needs. And I'm a listener -
I like to listen to women, their problems, their goals, just friends in general. I shouldn't
just narrow it down to just women, you know - everybody. But extremely kind. I like
to be generous. I feel good when I'm generous - I get a good sense of satisfaction when
I give things away, which could also be bad because I sometimes end up giving
away too much. But there's nothing that beats the feeling of seeing someone's
face smile because they got something, even if they're taking advantage of you
sometimes, though.

5) Is it difficult to be on the road? Whom do you travel with?

It should be difficult to be on the road, but it sometimes isn't. [pause] I have
a great, great crew, a great team of people that I've worked with over the years.
They're great people. And they're just ground people. I think if I'm doing
something wrong, they'll more or less let me know, for the most part. We have
a very strong respect for each other, and we get along very well. It's hard being
away from your family, especially my two boys, you know what I mean?
And sometimes you're on the road, and you're trying your best not to get laid,
especially if you have a girl, and it does become difficult sometimes, especially
if chicks are throwing their drawers at you every night. But as you
get older, you find - you realize how you can control it, and that it does
get a little better. It's still a lot of fun - it's a lot of fun being on that bus.
It's always great. Now we have the addition of women to our tour now. We have
our stylists, and dancers, and they're females, you know, so we get to see, you know,
side of things, and it's more of a family now, you know what I mean? And you
can't cuss and do certain things - well, we still cuss anyway because they
probably cuss more than we do. But, some of the "male talk" does cut down
a little bit now that they're around.

6) What does it feel it like to be famous, do you want for anything?

Fame has its price. Never dreamed of being famous, even when I was young, at all.
You know, I just had a knack for writing rhymes, really enjoyed writing rhymes.
It was fun making them up out of my head. Didn't know I would make money out it,
but I did. I remember when I was a ghetto superstar, I used to be in Flatbush and just...
[chuckles softly] like, you wouldn't get any money for the shows that you did,
you know, you'd just leave there with the baddest bitch that night, get laid, [he chuckles]
be proud. That was fun. It's not fun anymore like that, though, you know. Don't get me
wrong - you still get chicks, but it's a different type. It's a different time now, anyway.
I'm on tour, I'm in that frame of mind so if they bother me, it's not a problem to sign
the autograph, do whatever, take the pictures, rah, rah, rah, you know. I'll even sit there
and have conversation with them, if anything. But, yeah, fame has its price. Sometime
I wish I wasn't, you know. I yearn doing regular things that regular
people do. I yearn being at a restaurant and eating, not having somebody come over
me and try to squeeze some things. I really hate it when I go out with my
kids. I think I really don't handle it very well at that time, 'cause I think the kids
are so innocent, you know, and that's precious moment, precious time. You know, if I'm
out with my kids, or with my girl, or something like that, it becomes a little difficult.

7) How does it feel to have everything you've ever wanted? Is there anything
you'd change? Tell us about your family.

I think I'm blessed. I want world peace, and I don't think that's going to happen any
[he chuckles] time soon in my lifetime. So, can't say it's everything I ever wanted.
But as far as personal gain, I've even gotten things that I never wanted, but that's cool.
I'll roll with that. My kids -- Richie and Tyler - healthy, good-looking, smart--talented.
Just lovely kids, you know. I don't know if they're musicians in the making, you know.
I know one of them is really into music. The other one just loves pirates. [he laughs]
Anything that deals with treasures, and ships, and pirates, and...Blackbeard, or whatever
he's with. I try to see my kids a lot. It's a little bit difficult now that they're not at my house
anymore- they're at their mom's house in Florida. So, traveling comes in and takes the time.
Gotta split my way four-way now, you know. If I get two days off, how the hell am I gonna be
in four places within them two days? Becomes a little bit of [a] task. I live in New York.
Got my house in Jamaica - I gotta go there. I got their house in Florida, which is in
[clears throat] Miami. And then I gotta go to Orlando, where my mom is.

8) What is the worst experience you've ever encountered with a fan? Best?

Worst experience with a fan...[he sighs]...I don't think there is a worst experience, you know
what I mean? There's just good times or bad times, and I think it's normally never the fan's part.
The fan is just a fan at the end of the day. More or less it boils down to my mood. I try to be positive
because I know I'm blessed with doing what I'm doing. I could be gangbanging, or I could be
locked up, or I could be...just say there are worse things I could be doing, you know. I am very blessed,
and I'm blessed that people admire me for something that I love to do. So, for the most part, I try to,
be on an upbeat about it. And I do understand how people freak out when they see somebody that they
admire a lot, you know. I don't know how I would act if I see somebody that was famous, either,
you know. Well, actually, I do know how I would act, you know, 'cause I have. I'm raised in Jamaica,
you know, it just don't come across the same way, you know. I remember Yellow Man was,
like, the biggest thing in Jamaica. I used to see him, and I was, like, "Okay, there go Yellow,"
and that was it, whew! It's just a different - we're just raised different, I guess, you know.
But - Yeah, we're not so star-struck in Jamaica. But for the most part, I understand it, you know,
and I try to deal with it, and try to make their day as much as I can. But it does become difficult sometimes.

9) You are always so positive, how do you do it?

My approach to life is: live it as much as you can. They say do everything while your knees
hold up, you know. I'm 33, and I feel different now than when I was 23. So, don't think,
for all you people out there, don't think that you ain't gonna get old. You're gonna get old,
and it's gonna feel like that, despite you might sit there and try to fight it. Stop living
by people's rules, 'cause half the people who make the rules don't follow them, you know.
It's a classic case of "Do as I say, not as I do." A lot of them are classic freaks. [chuckles]
Do things and hide in the closet. Your conscience is clean if it's out in the open.
And that's how I feel about it. That's my philosophy: Make the best of the time you have.
You might wake up tomorrow morning and not have any. You got your legs now - who say
you're gonna have them tomorrow? Do with it what you want to do now. If you love your
career and it brings you happiness, and joy, and fulfillment, do it, you know. There might
be somebody who comes in your life and be telling you that, "Uh, maybe you shouldn't
be doing that so much," or "You do too much of that." What the hell do they know?
You know, you enjoy yourself, and you enjoy doing it, it fulfills you doing it - I like to tour,
I like making music. That's bigger than any hard-on I could get. So, hey, who is you to tell
me that I'm doing too much of that...you know?

10) Where did you grow up?

Born and raised in Kingston, Jamaica. Best place to grow - to be raised, I should say
- best place to grow up. It's nice being in New York, too, you know. Place in New York that
I was, was a West Indian community - real nice. I'm a hundred percent Jamaican, you know.
I still am. I still live there. I have a home there, and I'm there all, phew...I'm there probably
just as much as I am in New York, you know? Relatives are still there. Friends are still
there. You know what I mean? Some people criticize me because I don't talk with a heavy
Jamaican accent. Who is them for me to prove to them that I'm Jamaican? I know I'm Jamaican.
I'm probably more Jamaican than half of them. Raised by my grandmother in Jamaica.
You know, my mom came to the States to make a way so she could send for me. Finally
I came up. My mom is a good person. She just doesn't [stumbles over word] know how
to show a lot of emotion. She's one of them hardcore Jamaican moms, you know?
I think, right now, that's why I yearn for...affection. I have a chick, and she
ain't affectionate, well, she gets kicked to the curb. [he chuckles softly]

11) Did you go to college? Did you ever want to?

I always yearned to go to college, not because I want to study anything, I just wanted to go
to college and do a lot of them frat parties and probably bang a couple of college chicks,
you know. It's funny enough now - I play at colleges and I see these college girls, and they
look really hot, and the sorority crap. Yeah. I always wanted to buy that, you know, sorority
tape they show on TV, Sorority Girls Go Wild, or what-not. [he chuckles]
Yeah, I missed out on that. I went into the military instead.

12) When did you join the military and why? What did that teach you?

I needed to pay my bills. I went into the military. The military taught me a lot of things
- made good friends, made bad friends. You know, taught me to be a man, though, taught
me responsibility. Certainly taught me how to make my damn bed good, you know, sweep up,
clean up after myself. Had all them damn inspections really got on my nerves. But it was
worth it. Helped me in the music business: I was always on time. I'm such a workaholic
here now, it's amazing...you know. Sometimes you work hard, and you think people
don't notice, but they actually do. It was cool being in the military, in the early parts,
you know. Now, you go in the military for four years, and you're looking at a war.
[he chuckles] You know, you got trigger-happy Bush and all these people. I don't
understand what's going on. Everybody wants to fight. They have, like, "Oh, we got
warheads. We need to fire them," you know. They called the Gulf War a "low-casualty war."
Well...somebody died, and it was a mama - it was a son or a daughter from somebody.
You try looking at them - that ain't low-casualty. So, screw them and their "low-casualty" war.

13) Tell us how your musical career started.

Well...my first hit was a local hit, called Mampy [sp]. It was produced by Philip Smart [sp],
mixed by Sting. Kinda happened while I was in - I think I was in the military at that time.
It's on the Pure Pleasure album - everybody listening, just look for Mampy - they'll know
what it is. But, then afterwards, I did Big Up, Big Up, which was pretty big - that was huge.
With Rayvonne. Big record, you know. That was done in 1989 to '91. Still a classic. Then after
that, I did Oh, Carolina, you know. And then that just kind of blew up even bigger than
Big Up, and then it went to the British chart. Made it way to number one. And I realized that
they was giving me a contract - Virgin offered me a contract for a million dollars. Even
if I never make another number-one, a million dollars is a million dollars, anyway, so I was
rich. [he chuckles] You know, I looked at it as a hustle - paid for my house and paid for my car.
If I never made another hit, at least I could open a shoe store or something, make a living.
But then, Boombastic happened again, and happened even bigger. And all of a sudden, I was
offered more money. Then I started to look at it as a career after that, you know, 'cause
I started doing shows, and then the shows started to get packed, and I was receiving close
to about $30,000 per show. I figured that was more than my mom worked a year, anyway, I had a career.

14) Do you consider yourself a reggae artist or a pop artist?

I consider myself a reggae artist, you know, 'cause reggae is my soul. It's my passion. Yeah,
I might not make reggae music like every other reggae artist because, frankly, everybody else do it.
I don't mind them doing it, 'cause I watch them, and, you know, I still get off on it, you know.
But I can't do what Bob Marley has done and do it better than him, 'cause he's just the best
at it. So, why the hell should I sit there and try to do what he does? You know, um...you know,
and the same goes for Greg Isaacs or Dennis Brown, or any other - one of the legends. I gotta
do what I gotta do to make my mark. So, I do something a little different. You know, I make
reggae music unique, stylish, you know, eclectic. I mix it up, whatever makes me
- whatever strikes my interest, then I'll do it.

15) Is anyone in your family famous or a musician?

There's nobody famous in my family. I wish I had a famous aunt or something like that, who was
big actor or actress, or whatever, or musician. Nobody in my family even loves music. [he chuckles]
No, no musician family at all. Just straight-up hardworking people. A lot of people was into English
- I'm very good at English these days. I was always a good English guy, you know. I don't have
all of these huge backgrounds or college degree, or nothing like that, but as a Jamaican, you know,
I speak with very little Jamaican accent, if I want to. I could talk like any - you know, if I'm
[British accent] in London, I put on my London accent, you know 'I mean? Got you, mate. Blimey.
I guess I got that ability from just, you know, being - my mom used to work at the newspaper
in Jamaica, and she wrote articles and stuff. She was always good at English. She's very smart.
To this day, everything she does, she aces.

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