Shaggy Talks New Album, Hurricane Relief, and Sting Friendship on TODAY

Hurricane Melissa left Jamaica bruised in ways still being felt months on: hospitals in Falmouth running short of gauze and syringes, communities in Saint Elizabeth Parish cut off by roads blocked with debris, and thousands across the island without shelter. Shaggy has been working to change that picture. His Shaggy Make a Difference Foundation has been actively supporting hospitals across the island since the Category 5 storm, the strongest ever recorded to hit Jamaica, made landfall.

Fans who want to contribute have several verified routes right now. GiveDirectly is sending cash directly to affected families at givedirectly.org/hurricanemelissa. The JN Foundation's iSupportJamaica fund at isupportjamaica.com is accepting monetary donations. The Global Empowerment Mission is coordinating humanitarian shipments at globalempowermentmission.org, and the Jamaican government's official recovery portal at supportjamaica.gov.jm connects donors with on-the-ground efforts.

The foundation's track record on this island runs deep. Through benefit concerts, it has raised up to $1 million for Kingston's Bustamante Hospital for Children alone. After Melissa struck, Shaggy expanded that reach fast, mobilizing private flights from Florida loaded with food, water, and medical supplies to Black River and Saint Elizabeth Parish, and helping install Starlink units to reconnect communities cut off from the outside world. He also co-headlined the "Jamaica Strong" benefit concert at New York's UBS Arena alongside Sean Paul to keep dollars flowing toward recovery.

The TODAY appearance last week, filmed March 26 in Ocho Rios with hosts Jenna Bush Hager and Sheinelle Jones, gave him a mainstream stage to keep that story in front of audiences who may have moved on. He has been plain about why that visibility matters: "The minute you're not in the press is when the aid goes," he told Billboard. "Keeping up awareness in the press is something we need to do."

The interview covered more ground than relief work. Shaggy discussed his upcoming album Lottery, which includes a collaboration with Akon and Aidonia, and reflected on his celebrated friendship with Sting, the rock icon he called "the brother I never knew I needed." A lighter moment in the segment, his viral "fashion renaissance," has widened his media footprint into lifestyle and travel coverage, helping him pull crossover audiences in the U.S. and Europe back toward stories rooted in Jamaica.

That is the throughline in all of it: a TODAY segment filmed in Ocho Rios, a new album moving toward release, and a relief effort that still needs oxygen. Shaggy has spent decades using his crossover profile as a tool for the island, and the island's recovery is still in motion.