Shuga

Who is Shuga?

Shuga (born Mitsy Campbell) is a female Jamaican reggae and dancehall singjay artist, known to be down-to-earth, family-oriented, full of vibes, and proud of her ghetto and gospel roots. Dubbed as “Jamaica’s own brown sugar”, she constantly draws in new fans with her rich, sultry, mezzo-soprano voice, that ranges across three octaves. However, most of her power is geared towards her lower register.

Shuga’s ability as an incredible singer shines most profoundly during her live performances, when she belts out song after song, with great clarity, dexterity, control, power, and soul.

Shuga is also a prolific songwriter, with a knack for composing songs that have powerfully captivating and provocative lyrics, with or without innuendos. She expands her creative writing juices by reflecting on the people she sees around her, whether within her inner circle of family and friends, the small Bogue community in which she grew up, other players within the music industry, or wider afield.

Shuga’s musical versatility and depth shines through her ever-growing music catalogue which is anchored primarily on the following reggae sub-genres:

Lovers Rock

With sentimental and passionate songs such as Boxing Around, Don’t Play Me, Replay, Complicated Love, Tell Me a Lie, and 9.58.

Roots Reggae

With songs having a more traditional reggae focus touching on socio-political issues and other day-to-day challenges in life, such as Skanking, In Deh, Give My Soul to Jah, Tribute To The I-Threes, Jah Will Provide, Dear Mr Government, and Ebony;

Dancehall Singjay

With songs having slightly more hard-core, infectious lyrics and pulsating beats such as Strike A Pose, Ride De Riddim, Bedroom Punisher, and Crime Scene;

R&B Reggae fusion

With songs such as Phenomenal Woman; and even

Calypso Reggae fusion

With songs such as One People and Caribbean People. She also does Dubs for sound systems all across the world.

Burgeoning Songstress & Songwriter

Mitsy Campbell was born on February 3, 1986, in the Bogue community of Montego Bay in Jamaica. At the tender age of four, she was already performing at church events, getting standing ovations and encores on a regular basis, because of her confidence, passion, and wit on stage. One of her favourite songs was Alabaster Box by CECE Winans, and her soulful rendition would always bring tears to the eyes of the congregation. Mitsy’s participation as a lead singer on her church choir continued throughout her childhood up until her late teens.

During Mitsy’s secondary school years at Herbert Morrison Technical High School, she was actively involved in the performing arts. It was during this period that she started to realize that she had the gift of writing, not just songs also poems and skits. Using her newly discovered talents, she went onto perform some of her pieces at Jamaica Festival competitions run by the Jamaica Cultural Development Commission (JCDC) where she received multiple medals. Such positive results drove her hunger for more and encouraged her to start doing gigs throughout Montego Bay and the St. James environs.

Going Beyond Gospel

Despite much opposition from her very religious mother, Mitsy went on to perform at renowned venues, entertaining tourists visiting Jamaica as well as locals in the area. These venues included Coral Cliff, Hotel Riu Montego Bay, Sandals Montego Bay, Royal DeCameron Montego Bay, Ritz-Carlton Golf & Spa Resort Montego Bay, and The Brewery.

Returning customers would often request that she perform her rendition of songs originally produced by Tanya Stephens. This she would do with such passion and an authentic sound, not knowing that one day she would have been a backup singer to the internationally celebrated artiste.

 

Kickstarting Her Career

Mitsy’s unmistakable sound, engaging performances, and down-to-earth demeanour made her somewhat of a local Montegonian celebrity. So, naturally, she met numerous established musicians (e.g., Zena Burch, Taddy P), who on recognizing Mitsy’s musical talents, made her aware of the broader possibilities within the music industry.

Mitsy’s fame grew even more when she met the renowned Tanya Stephens, who encouraged the young Mitsy to join her crew. Without much resistance, Mitsy joined Tanya as a backing vocalist, using the opportunity to learn more about the reggae industry and hone her musical abilities as they toured throughout Europe and Africa for the next five years. Mitsy felt right at home, realizing her dream of always being on stage. She had no idea that this was just another rung on her ladder to becoming an unstoppable force of nature within the Jamaican music industry.

 

Gaining Acclaim as a Solo Artist

In 2009, friends and family encouraged Mitsy to audition for the Digicel Rising Stars competition. She took a leap of faith and was introduced to Jamaica and the diaspora as Brown Shuga. That decision proved to be a pivotal move in the development of her young career. The televised national competition brought her into the homes and hearts of Jamaicans every week; allowing her to showcase her vocal abilities, effortless versatility, endearing personality, and contagious energy on stage. She won the competition, thus opening the doors to her new life as a professional recording artiste.

Freshly crowned with the title of 2009 Digicel Rising Star and signed to producer and artiste manager Donovan Germain’s Penthouse Records label, Mitsy was on a mission to bring only the best to the people who had supported her budding career. Her primary aim was to establish her talent globally.

She poured heart and soul into publishing her own singles such as “Complicated love”,  “9.58”, “Give my Soul to Jah”, and her Black History Month Tribute, “Ebony”. She also positioned herself as a sought-after stage performer and was invited to do collaborations with reggae heavyweights such as Marcia Griffiths and Judy Mowatt with a “Tribute to the iThrees”, Sly and Robbie, Silly Walks Disco, Boot Camp Records, Queen Ifrica, Bugle, Agent Sasco and Bling Dawg – to name a few.

Her live stage performances brought her face-to-face with her growing fan base and placed her on Reggae’s biggest stages, such as: Rebel Salute, her hometown’s Reggae Sumfest, Europe’s Reggae Jam, and Rototom Sunsplash.

 

Taking a Break to Rejuvenate

Like so many before her, Shuga entered the music industry with little knowledge of how to manage her endeavours as a business, despite her many years behind the scenes. All she knew was that she had a love for music and a desire to sing.

The expectations, uncertainty and rigours of the industry took a toll on her, and she took a break to do some introspection, reflection, regrouping and reconnecting with her purpose. She found new joy in love, family and motherhood and returned to the scene dropping a new single entitled “Dear Mr. Government”. This song is still creating quite a stir, as it brings a global, poignant message about the treatment of the disadvantaged.

In 2020, Shuga was a part of the Jamaica Festival Song Competition as one of the top ten finalists, with her song “One People”, sharing the stage with Reggae giants Buju Banton and Toots Hibbert. She placed second when she re-entered in 2023, after her performance at the Grand Gala with her entry “Dancing Same Way”.