Shaggy and Maxi Priest have both paid homage to late US Secretary of State General Colin Powell, who died of COVID-19 complications on Monday.

Shaggy, who was also a member of the United States Marine Corps between 1988 and 1991, and fought in the Gulf War alongside Powell took to Instagram to pay tribute to him.

“Rest Well, General. You did your thang. You got us through a war with very little casualties, which I fought. Thank you for your service,” he wrote for his 746,000 followers to see.

Powell, whose parents were Jamaican, died at age 84 at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland.

Shaggy, whose given name is Orville Burrell, enlisted in the Marine Corps at 20 years old. He served with a field artillery battery in the 10th Marine Regiment during the Persian Gulf War.

Meanwhile, in his tribute, Maxi Priest noted that he always felt a personal connection with Powell because of their roots.

“My condolences and prayers to the Powell family on the loss of the General Colin Powell. One of the greatest men of our generation. Salute to you Mr Powell. His family roots are from the same place where my parents came from, St Elizabeth, Jamaica. I always felt connected to him. I would stop to listen to him whenever I saw his face on TV or heard his name. Always big and proud of his connection to Jamaica. A motivation to all. RIP King!” he wrote under a photo of Powell on his Instagram page on Monday.

Born in New York, Powell’s lineage stems from Top Hill district, St Elizabeth, where his father Luther was born. He visited the area and Jamaica several times.

In October 2002, he was a member of the Carter Center team, along with former US President Jimmy Carter and heavyweight boxing champion Evander Holyfield, that monitored Jamaica’s general election.

Powell was the first black man to be chairman of the joint chiefs of staff and secretary of state.