Shaggy

Upon his return from the Persian Gulf, he decided to pursue his music career and his first hit in 1993: "Oh Carolina", was a dancehall re-make of a ska hit by the Folkes Brothers. The same year, Shaggy appeared on Kenny Dope’s hip hop album "The Unreleased Project". He worked together with producers such as Sting Intl., Don One (who cut his first track), Lloyd ’Spiderman’ Campbell and Robert Livingston. He had further big hits, including "Boombastic" in 1995, the theme tune of a popular Levi’s commercial.

In 2008, UEFA chose Shaggy to record the official anthem for the Mascots (Trix and Flix) of the Euro 2008 football tournament held in Austria and Switzerland. The song is called "Feel the Rush".

On 4 December, Intoxication was nominated for Best Reggae Album at the 51st Grammy Awards.

Lady Saw

Marion Hall was born in summer 1972 in Galina, parish of Saint Mary. As a child she was a tomboy, sold fruits, and raced wooden karts. At age 15, she took the name Lady Saw after the famous Jamaican Deejay Tenor Saw, whose style she is said to emulate. She quit a sewing job at The Free Zone on the outskirts of Kingston;“That job wasn’t for me”, she says. “I would deejay at work during the day, to pursue music fulltime. She was soon signed to the Jamaican grassroots label VP Records (now a powerhouse). She debuted in 1994 with Lover Girl. At that time, she guested on the Jermaine Fagan track, "Life" and her star began to rise.

Gentlemen

Tilmann Otto, a.k.a. Gentleman, is the German king of reggae from Cologne. At the age of 13, inspirited by his brother’s reggae records, he developed a burning passion for the genre. At the tender age of 17, he traveled alone to Jamaica for the first time, and learned and perfected the craft on the island where it all started.

Soweto Gospel Choir

The group was formed in Soweto, South Africa by David Mulovhedzi and Beverly Bryer, two choir directors. The 30+ member ensemble blends elements of African gospel, Negro spirituals, reggae, and American popular music. The group performed at the first of the 46664 concerts for Nelson Mandela, and has since toured internationally several times.

Their albums Blessed and African Spirit won a Grammy Award for Best Traditional World Music Album in 2007 and 2008 respectively.

Craig David

David’s earliest exposure came when he worked on a b-side to British group Damage’s song "Wonderful Tonight." He then started doing vocals for a few tracks with garage act Artful Dodger. The song "Rewind," released off the Artful Dodger album It’s All About the Stragglers, hit #2 on the UK charts in 1999; thus, paving the way for a solo career. David’s first single, "Fill Me In," made him the youngest solo male artist ever to reach #1 in the UK (he was 19 years old at the time). This was the first of a string of four Top 10 singles from his debut album Born To Do It, which eventually sold more than seven million units worldwide, earning multi-platinum status in more than 20 countries. The song "Key To My Heart," taken from the US version of the album, was also featured on the award-winning Warner Brothers animated film Osmosis Jones.

Sway

His reputation rose from underground to mainstream after coming into the public eye by winning a MOBO award in September 2005 for Best Hip Hop Act, defeating heavyweight hip-hop artists 50 Cent and The Game to collect the award. He was also nominated for the second year running in the Best Hip Hop category and Best UK Male for the MOBO awards held at the end of September 2006 and in September 2008 for Best UK Male.

In July 2006, Sway’s album This Is My Demo was nominated for the 2006 Mercury Music Prize but the award was won by the Arctic Monkeys at the ceremony on September 6.

In 2008, Sway was nominated for two awards at the Urban Music Awards.

In November 2006, Sway won a BET Hip-Hop Award for "Best UK Hip-Hop Act", beating the likes of Blak Twang, Plan B, Dizzee Rascal and Kano. By being nominated and winning the BET for "BEST UK Hip-Hop Act", Sway was seen by millions across America in a video showing himself in a cipher with Saigon, Remy Ma, and Rhymefest freestyling on a rooftop in New York. The freestyle was featured on The Dotted Lines mixtape. In 2009, he released a single with Nigerian international act 2face.