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\n\tConnection is spotty as Shaggy<\/a> joins our call from the car. He\u2019s making his second trip from Kingston to Black River, the capital of Jamaica\u2019s 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<\/a> \u2014 the strongest storm to hit Jamaica in modern history \u2014 has left the town in ruins, he says, echoing early reports<\/a>.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cPeople are homeless,\u201d he tells Rolling Stone<\/em>. \u201cThere\u2019s no running water, there\u2019s no electricity, there\u2019s 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\u2019t been able to clear.\u201d Still, he and his business partner Sharon Burke \u2014 one of Jamaica\u2019s leading<\/a> music executives \u2014 are on their way back in with more supplies.<\/p>\n \n\tLast 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 \u2014 to friends like Florida injury attorney Dan Newlin, and to the U.S.-based Jamaican charity Food for the Poor<\/a>, with which he has worked for years.<\/p>\n \n\tAcross his nearly three-decade career \u2014 marked by global hits like \u201cBombastic<\/a>,\u201d \u201cIt Wasn\u2019t Me<\/a>,\u201d and \u201cAngel\u201d<\/a> \u2014 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\u2019s Bustamante Hospital for Children via benefit concerts<\/a>. With Burke, he also co-founded the Island Music Conference<\/a>, connecting emerging Jamaican artists with international music industry leaders.<\/p>\n \n\tSo, within days, Shaggy was sharing videos on TikTok and Instagram<\/a> of himself aboard a small jet loaded with water bottles, canned foods, paper towels and more. He\u2019s since coordinated a total of four flights filled with necessities to fly into Kingston from the US, he tells us. \u201cWe also have the bay of the plane filled with supplies,\u201d he mentioned in one video. \u201cI\u2019m asking everybody to help and make sure you donate.\u201d Below, Shaggy explains how the relief flights came together. To support Hurricane Melissa recovery yourself, Shaggy encourages you to visit Food for the Poor<\/a> and the Jamaican government<\/a>\u2019s official websites. He tells Rolling Stone<\/em> he\u2019s also begun planning a storm relief benefit concert for later this year.<\/p>\n