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""I've been robbed, stabbed, shot; locked up and released, then locked up back ..."
- Buju Banton, Fast Lane.
It's not quite how his life panned out, but it's pretty close. Buju Banton, barely settling into 33, has achieved the iconic status usually bestowed upon those much older than himself. However, wearing the crown isn't easy, especially when it has been noticeably speckled by a few thorns.
In April 2004 he was found guilty for drug possession charges; the police had allegedly found three ganja plants weighing less than a kilogramme combined at his studio. In July of that same year Banton was slapped with assault charges. It was alleged that he was among a group of men who went to a house in St. Andrew and beat six men who were accused of being homosexuals.
During this time Banton found out he was unable to travel to the United States (for more than a year) because of his record from the case involving the ganja. This was further compounded by cries from the gay community citing that his 1992 hit Boom Bye Bye encouraged attacks on their community. These resulted in the cancellation of some of his overseas shows. Still, Banton remained stout-hearted.
Then in January of this year, the assault charges were dropped.
All this probably wasn't what 12-year-old Mark Myrie bargained for when he listened to Burro Banton, his (then) musical hero and decided music was his future. Neither could he have foreseen the plethora of hits he would have made Stamina Daddy, Browning, Murderer, Untold Stories and Magic City among the many. Or that he would have been, to date, one of the few artistes who could easily glide from reggae to dancehall, creating hits in both genres.
It's therefore no surprise that a short 'talk' with a man who dared to take on the world and it's constraints and was hailed as the next Bob Marley of Jamaican music could be a bit daunting.
I tripped over my words.
"You alright?" he asked.
Sunday Gleaner: Yes, sure... The (upcoming) album 'Too Bad', what should fans expect from you on the album?
Buju Banton: I make music because I feel it. It gives me a good chance to let the people know what I'm thinking.
Why did you stay off the scene for so long?
I was never off the music scene. (But) there is the payola system and the possibility of a song being on the charts that people have never heard before. I have always been making my music and I will continue to do that.
Do you think it affected your career negatively in any way or did it do the opposite?
I'm always there doing my stuff. I just don't perform a lot in Jamaica (because) there are no concerts. There is Reggae Sunsplash and Sting, but Reggae Sunsplash just came back and we have to see where that goes, so it would be Reggae Sumfest. I did not make music to stay in Jamaica with it. I'm a messenger and a messenger is someone who has to go out into the world and spread his message. So a messenger can't spread the word from his backyard, so I go to places like Africa and Europe. So we went and left it to the young entertainers. I changed the game; I am the game. I brought a certain level of intelligence to the game, but there are still those who are illiterate and choose not to bring something else but are stuck in a stagnant position.
How different do you find the musical landscape now than when you first emerged?
The musical scene now is a mess. People are still sharing petty squabbles and have turned dancehall into a common whorehouse and the music is not 100 per cent audible anymore. They don't make music that the old lady can listen to in the car. All they talk about is how fat a p....m p....m is and stabbing a front. We need to be progressing past these elements and represent this great music that is only (a few years) old. I don't watch the noise; I watch how many records are sold and the receipts and no music ain't selling ... Their time is now and if they haven't made a song like Destiny or Untold Stories, then they are coming up short. A nation needs something else to hold on to. There is too much hype without substance.
Why did you choose to do your reggae and dancehall albums separately?
Because my fan base is so broad and sometimes I'm in the mood to sing something apart from dancehall. One moment I will do songs to uplift you and tap into your little head with views. You can't give people hot food all the time. You have to let it cool and give them something else.
How should your fans view your fluctuation between reggae and dancehall. Should it be viewed as versatility or confusion?
I do not intend to please people with everything I do... I have to satisfy both genres. I didn't start out as a singer, I started out hardcore but clean. But for the younger people coming up I have to satisfy that generation that didn't manage to witness to see me in action back then.
Do you think the court cases affected your career and to what extent??
I must give thanks for those who did it because it took me to higher heights and cemented me in the minds of the people as a freedom fighter. They saw me as a rebel with a cause.
With all the court battles and the controversy with the gays, looking back, is there anything that you would do differently?
I didn't do anything. What could I have done differently? When I look at how they prosecuted and persecuted me and all I did was issue my love and my sweat and thoughts to the people. When I returned from tour the other day, the police came and found some ganja and this ruthless cop made some statement that he is going to see me 'get f....k in life' and I live to see these things come to pass ... Their judgement to me is nothing. I don't fear no man, I don't come to bow to no guy ... I have no time to plant ganja, I come to feed people with music."
jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20060903/ent/ent3.html
""I've been robbed, stabbed, shot; locked up and released, then locked up back ..."
- Buju Banton, Fast Lane.
It's not quite how his life panned out, but it's pretty close. Buju Banton, barely settling into 33, has achieved the iconic status usually bestowed upon those much older than himself. However, wearing the crown isn't easy, especially when it has been noticeably speckled by a few thorns.
In April 2004 he was found guilty for drug possession charges; the police had allegedly found three ganja plants weighing less than a kilogramme combined at his studio. In July of that same year Banton was slapped with assault charges. It was alleged that he was among a group of men who went to a house in St. Andrew and beat six men who were accused of being homosexuals.
During this time Banton found out he was unable to travel to the United States (for more than a year) because of his record from the case involving the ganja. This was further compounded by cries from the gay community citing that his 1992 hit Boom Bye Bye encouraged attacks on their community. These resulted in the cancellation of some of his overseas shows. Still, Banton remained stout-hearted.
Then in January of this year, the assault charges were dropped.
All this probably wasn't what 12-year-old Mark Myrie bargained for when he listened to Burro Banton, his (then) musical hero and decided music was his future. Neither could he have foreseen the plethora of hits he would have made Stamina Daddy, Browning, Murderer, Untold Stories and Magic City among the many. Or that he would have been, to date, one of the few artistes who could easily glide from reggae to dancehall, creating hits in both genres.
It's therefore no surprise that a short 'talk' with a man who dared to take on the world and it's constraints and was hailed as the next Bob Marley of Jamaican music could be a bit daunting.
I tripped over my words.
"You alright?" he asked.
Sunday Gleaner: Yes, sure... The (upcoming) album 'Too Bad', what should fans expect from you on the album?
Buju Banton: I make music because I feel it. It gives me a good chance to let the people know what I'm thinking.
Why did you stay off the scene for so long?
I was never off the music scene. (But) there is the payola system and the possibility of a song being on the charts that people have never heard before. I have always been making my music and I will continue to do that.
Do you think it affected your career negatively in any way or did it do the opposite?
I'm always there doing my stuff. I just don't perform a lot in Jamaica (because) there are no concerts. There is Reggae Sunsplash and Sting, but Reggae Sunsplash just came back and we have to see where that goes, so it would be Reggae Sumfest. I did not make music to stay in Jamaica with it. I'm a messenger and a messenger is someone who has to go out into the world and spread his message. So a messenger can't spread the word from his backyard, so I go to places like Africa and Europe. So we went and left it to the young entertainers. I changed the game; I am the game. I brought a certain level of intelligence to the game, but there are still those who are illiterate and choose not to bring something else but are stuck in a stagnant position.
How different do you find the musical landscape now than when you first emerged?
The musical scene now is a mess. People are still sharing petty squabbles and have turned dancehall into a common whorehouse and the music is not 100 per cent audible anymore. They don't make music that the old lady can listen to in the car. All they talk about is how fat a p....m p....m is and stabbing a front. We need to be progressing past these elements and represent this great music that is only (a few years) old. I don't watch the noise; I watch how many records are sold and the receipts and no music ain't selling ... Their time is now and if they haven't made a song like Destiny or Untold Stories, then they are coming up short. A nation needs something else to hold on to. There is too much hype without substance.
Why did you choose to do your reggae and dancehall albums separately?
Because my fan base is so broad and sometimes I'm in the mood to sing something apart from dancehall. One moment I will do songs to uplift you and tap into your little head with views. You can't give people hot food all the time. You have to let it cool and give them something else.
How should your fans view your fluctuation between reggae and dancehall. Should it be viewed as versatility or confusion?
I do not intend to please people with everything I do... I have to satisfy both genres. I didn't start out as a singer, I started out hardcore but clean. But for the younger people coming up I have to satisfy that generation that didn't manage to witness to see me in action back then.
Do you think the court cases affected your career and to what extent??
I must give thanks for those who did it because it took me to higher heights and cemented me in the minds of the people as a freedom fighter. They saw me as a rebel with a cause.
With all the court battles and the controversy with the gays, looking back, is there anything that you would do differently?
I didn't do anything. What could I have done differently? When I look at how they prosecuted and persecuted me and all I did was issue my love and my sweat and thoughts to the people. When I returned from tour the other day, the police came and found some ganja and this ruthless cop made some statement that he is going to see me 'get f....k in life' and I live to see these things come to pass ... Their judgement to me is nothing. I don't fear no man, I don't come to bow to no guy ... I have no time to plant ganja, I come to feed people with music."
jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20060903/ent/ent3.html
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