Shaggy Leads Hurricane Relief Flights to Hard-Hit Jamaican Communities

Connection is spotty as Shaggy joins our call from the car. He’s making his second trip from Kingston to Black River, the capital of Jamaica’s southwestern parish of St. Elizabeth. Under normal circumstances, the drive takes about two hours; on the night of Oct. 30, it took six. Hurricane Melissa — the strongest storm to hit Jamaica in modern history — has left the town in ruins, he says, echoing early reports.

“People are homeless,” he tells Rolling Stone. “There’s no running water, there’s no electricity, there’s no shelter. They were sleeping on the streets. We came in last night, we gave out water, we gave out food. There are actually bodies trapped in homes that people haven’t been able to clear.” Still, he and his business partner Sharon Burke — one of Jamaica’s leading music executives — are on their way back in with more supplies.

Last week, the diamond-certified reggae and dancehall star was at his second home in Miami when Hurricane Melissa was upgraded to a Category 5 storm headed toward Jamaica, Haiti, and Cuba. Realizing the scale of what was coming, he began making calls — to friends like Florida injury attorney Dan Newlin, and to the U.S.-based Jamaican charity Food for the Poor, with which he has worked for years.

Across his nearly three-decade career — marked by global hits like “Bombastic,” “It Wasn’t Me,” and “Angel” — Shaggy has devoted roughly half his time to charitable efforts. Through his Shaggy Make a Difference Foundation, he has helped raise up to $1 million for Kingston’s Bustamante Hospital for Children via benefit concerts. With Burke, he also co-founded the Island Music Conference, connecting emerging Jamaican artists with international music industry leaders.

So, within days, Shaggy was sharing videos on TikTok and Instagram of himself aboard a small jet loaded with water bottles, canned foods, paper towels and more. He’s since coordinated a total of four flights filled with necessities to fly into Kingston from the US, he tells us. “We also have the bay of the plane filled with supplies,” he mentioned in one video. “I’m asking everybody to help and make sure you donate.” Below, Shaggy explains how the relief flights came together. To support Hurricane Melissa recovery yourself, Shaggy encourages you to visit Food for the Poor and the Jamaican government’s official websites. He tells Rolling Stone he’s also begun planning a storm relief benefit concert for later this year.

How did you manage to get your own plane full of supplies to Jamaica? Could you start from the beginning?

Well, when we realized that it was a Category 5, that we knew there was going to be a lot of destruction. We have survived through [Hurricane] Gilbert, which was a Category 3, and that was devastating as is. So what we decided was to be ahead of the curve. I really couldn’t do as much at that time because the airport wasn’t open. 

I got in touch with a really good friend of mine, Dan Newlin, who does a lot of humanitarian things. He has a lot of connections to help [and] be my partner in getting everything moving. He and I worked together before, [so] it was like, “Okay, let’s get a couple of planes lined up.” We made a list of things we’re going to buy. We made calls. We loaded up the planes and came back down to Jamaica. As soon as [the airport] opened [on Oct. 30], that very morning, we left out. Then once I got here, we got in touch with Sharon Burke from the Solid Agency, and of course my wife – she was on the ground because she rode the hurricane out [from Kingston]. She was the first actually [to get to] Black River and told us what to expect.

What did it take to secure a plane for this specific relief effort?

Danny [Newlin] has two planes, so it wasn’t hard.

Dan Newlin has his own personal planes?

Yeah, we’re using both planes to carry things down. There’s one coming tomorrow now with cargo also. And then we’re also dealing with getting bigger cargoes coming in.

Are you having to come out-of-pocket for this? Is Dan? Where are the financial resources for this coming from?

Both of us are putting together to get it done. Both of us are coming out-of-pocket right now. It’s a true partnership between both of us.

Have all your deliveries been to Black River?

We’re going to try and do as much as we can, but that’s the place that is pretty rough. There’s a lot of aid coming into Jamaica. A lot of people are focusing on Montego Bay.

So you guys decided to direct your first efforts towards Black River and St. Elizabeth because there was less being provided in that area? How are you amassing volunteers? What hands do you have helping you move things from place to place?

Yes, and it’s just friends and family right now. And listen, this is all preliminary. This is us just moving on impulse, coming in and getting it done. So we’re just having volunteers and friends. Everyone is calling anyway, so we do have a lot of support. One thing about Jamaicans, we’re resilient and we’re all gathering. Even going down yesterday, there were people from the neighborhood that were clearing the roads for us and helping us to get in. They all helped us to organize in Black River. The community is also assisting us.

How many total flights are you hoping to come in and out through your efforts? How long do you intend to have your network of folks on the ground?

I don’t know how long that is. As you can imagine, we’re trying to organize as we go. It’s a little chaotic as it is. We have another flight coming in tomorrow with goods, and we’re arranging two more other flights of a much bigger plane.

And for the bigger plane, I’m guessing that you’ll have to get that outside of Dan?

Yes, we’re working with one of [local officials in Florida] and a few people to get it done.