Dancehall king Shaggy, whose trailblazing second albumn "Boombastic'' is the rage in both the United States and England, will be the featured performer on stage at National Stadium tonight.

Shaggy, whose real name is Orville Richard Burrell, has been featured on Black Entertainment Television and he is currently preparing a commercial for Levi jeans which will debut during the MTV Awards.

A four-year stint in the United States Marines that began in 1988, did not put a damper on his desire to create music -- he would drive all the way back to Brooklyn from Jacksonville, North Carolina to perform at reggae shows.

"I was not a model marine by any means,'' Shaggy recalls. "I've been busted and locked up in the brig. By the end of my four years I was just a private first class so that should tell you something.'' The outbreak of the Gulf war in 1991 saw Shaggy sent to Saudi Arabia where he was stationed in the artillery division.

Although the war itself only lasted three days, he found the nights cold and the days long and hot as the oil fields burned and the sandstorms raged on.

With that experience behind him, Shaggy was more than ready to create music and in the summer of 1993 he made himself a household name with "Oh Carolina'', a remake of the Prince Buster classic.

The success of "Oh Carolina'' was simply phenomenal. It rushed to the top of the British charts and the Pop charts where it held the number one spot for 19 weeks -- a record for any reggae hit -- and it sold more than 700,000 records in the United Kingdom alone.

But his song "Boombastic'' has been even more successful, hitting gold in both the United States and England. Another single "Summertime'' on which longtime friend Rayvon is a guest vocalist, reached number four on the British pop charts.

Not bad for the 26-year-old Jamaican, who followed his mother to the Flatbush section of Brooklyn when he was just 18.

He has played to sell-out audiences from the former Soviet Union to Japan and was the first dance hall artist to perform in South Africa since apartheid was overthrown.

"I want to work as much as possible,'' he said. "All the singles on this album (Boombastic) have been well received. But my aim is to keep it simple and different.

"You will never see Shaggy doing the same thing twice in the same way. I like to keep it different.

"My ultimate goal is to see the world accept dance hall. I'd like to see it become mainstream.'' Tonight's concert, put on by Choy and Splash productions, begins at 9.30 p.m.

although gates will be open at 8.30 p.m.

Shaggy's long-time friend Rayvon and Jamaican singers Brian and Tony Gold, will also perform along with the Black Cat sound system and local acts Squinty and Wild, and Magnum Force.

Tickets are $30 in advance. Groups of ten are $25 and children 12 and under are $15.