Shaggy's 'Hotshot Ultramix' Due February 12

12/18/2001 10:00 AM, Yahoo! Music
Kastle

(12/18/01, 10 a.m. ET) -- Shaggy's new MCA Records collection, Hotshot Ultramix, is due out February 12. The set features remixes of Shaggy hits that appeared on his chart-topping album Hotshot, as well as three previously unreleased tracks.

Shaggy worked with some of the best remixers in the business to put together the collection, including Punch, Shaun "Sting International" Pizzonia, J.C. Moreno, Gordon Dukes, Christopher Birch, and Tony Kelly. Hotshot Ultramix includes remixes of the hit songs "It Wasn't Me," "Angel," "Dance & Shout," and "Hope," among others.

Earlier this year, Shaggy and his longtime manager Robert Livingston formed the Big Yard Music Group production company/record label. The first release from the label will be a new album by Rayvon titled My Bad, which is scheduled for release in March 2001. Rayvon dueted with Shaggy on his hit single "Angel," from the Hotshot album.

Shaggy told LAUNCH that he's proud to work once again with his friend Rayvon on My Bad. "It's a collaborative effort. I’m very, very proud of that album, and what he has done to it is really, really amazing," he said.

Shaggy latest album Hotshot, which was released in August, has been certified as the best-selling album of 2001 in the U.S., with more than 6 million copies sold (beating out releases by *NSYNC, Staind, Linkin Park, and Enya, among others). Hotshot has also sold more than 4 million albums internationally for a grand total of more than 10 million albums worldwide. However, Shaggy takes all of his success in stride: "It's the hardest lesson I've learned: that you're really never there," explained Shaggy. "You know, you figure if you sell like 10 million records, the road is going to be easy."

Case in point--Shaggy's former record label, Virgin Records, will release a Shaggy compilation titled Mr. Lover Lover: Best Of Volume 1, about two weeks before MCA's Hotshot Ultramix hits stores. The Virgin collection features Shaggy's career-launching hits "Oh, Carolina" and "Boombastic," among others.

Shaggy is nominated for two American Music Awards (AMAs), including the Internet artist of the year honor, which is voted for online by fans. He is also nominated for an AMA in the favorite male artist in the pop/rock music category, and favorite artist in the rap/hip-hop music category. Shaggy is scheduled to perform at the AMAs, which will air live on ABC on January 9.

-- Jason Gelman, New York and Neal Weiss, Los Angeles

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