1. Buju Banton is one of the most significant and well-regarded artists in Jamaican music.
44 Facts About Buju Banton
1. 2.
Buju Banton released a number of dancehall singles as early as 1987 but came to prominence in 1992 with two albums, Stamina Daddy and Mr Mention, the latter becoming the best-selling album in Jamaican history upon its release.
3.
Buju Banton signed with the major label Mercury Records and released Voice of Jamaica in 1993.
4.
Buju Banton was born in Kingston, Jamaica, in an area known as Barbican Road, Kingston 8.
5.
Buju Banton is a nickname given to him by his mother as a child.
6.
Buju Banton is a Jamaican word that refers to someone who is a respected storyteller, and it was adopted by Myrie in tribute to the deejay Burro Buju Banton, whom he admired as a child.
7.
Buju Banton emulated Burro's rough vocals and forceful delivery, developing his own distinctive style.
8.
Buju Banton's mother was a higgler, or street vendor, while his father worked as a labourer at a tile factory.
9.
Buju Banton was the youngest of fifteen children born into a family that was directly descended from the Maroons of Jamaica.
10.
Singer Sean Kingston allege that Buju Banton is his uncle, but that story is yet to be proven true.
11.
Buju Banton has homes in Jamaica and Tamarac, Florida.
12.
In 1991, Buju Banton joined Donovan Germain's Penthouse Records label and began a fruitful partnership with producer Dave Kelly who later launched his own "Madhouse Records" label.
13.
Buju Banton is one of the most popular musicians in Jamaican history, having major chart success in 1992, with "Bogle" and "Love me Browning", both massive hits in Jamaica.
14.
Several years later, the song would later become the subject of outrage in the United States and Europe, leading to Buju Banton being dropped from the line-up of the WOMAD festival as well as numerous other scheduled performances.
15.
Some of Buju Banton's lyrics dealt with violent themes, which he explained as reflecting the images that young Jamaicans were presented with by the news media.
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Buju Banton's response was the single "Murderer", which condemned gun violence, going against the flow of the prevailing lyrical content in dancehall.
17.
Late in 1994, Buju Banton was affected by the death of his friend Garnett Silk.
18.
Buju Banton's transformation continued, as he embraced the Rastafari movement and began growing dreadlocks.
19.
In 1996, Buju Banton contributed "Wanna Be Loved " along with Los Pericos to the Red Hot Organization's album Silencio=Muerte: Red Hot + Latin for the Red Hot Benefit Series.
20.
That same year, Buju Banton took control of his business by establishing his own Gargamel Music label, releasing the popular single "Love Sponge" on vinyl in Jamaica and overseas.
21.
Buju Banton signed with Anti- Records, a subsidiary of Brett Gurewitz's Epitaph Records, and released Unchained Spirit in 2000.
22.
In March 2003, Buju Banton released Friends for Life, which featured more sharply political songs, including "Mr Nine", an anti-gun song that was a hit in Jamaica's dancehalls as well as internationally.
23.
Buju Banton performed at the 2007 Cricket World Cup Opening Ceremony with Third World and Beres Hammond.
24.
Buju Banton was then moved to the Pinellas County Jail where he remained until trial.
25.
Buju Banton was seen on a video recording meeting the informant in a police-controlled warehouse tasting cocaine from a kilogram bag.
26.
Buju Banton was allowed to perform one concert between trials, which was held on 16 January 2011 to a sold-out crowd in Miami.
27.
On 22 February 2011, Buju Banton was found guilty of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute five or more kilograms of cocaine, possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug-trafficking offense and using communication wires to facilitate a drug-trafficking offense.
28.
Buju Banton was found not guilty on the charge of attempted possession of five kilograms or more of cocaine.
29.
Buju Banton's sentencing on a related firearms conviction was scheduled for 30 October 2012, and then postponed on his lawyer's request for an investigation of possible juror misconduct.
30.
Buju Banton was released on 7 December 2018 from McRae Correctional Institution.
31.
In May 2019, Buju Banton released "Country for Sale"; the song topped the iTunes Reggae Chart within minutes after the announcement of its release.
32.
Buju Banton announced that Island Records will be the distributor of the collaboration's new music.
33.
In January 2020, Buju Banton was featured on the Bad Boys for Life soundtrack, which was produced by DJ Khaled.
34.
On 29 February 2020, Buju Banton produced the "Steppaz Riddim" under this own Gargamel Music label.
35.
The riddim, released under Roc Nation, featured 11 tracks and included contributions from Vershon, Delly Ranx, Agent Sasco, Bling Dawg and General B Banton released his 13th studio album and his first in a decade, Upside Down 2020 on 26 June 2020.
36.
Buju Banton appeared on the track "Believe What I Say" by Kanye West, off his 2021 album Donda.
37.
Buju Banton became one of the first Jamaican artists to release an NFT.
38.
Buju Banton appeared on the track "WHERE YOU COME FROM" along with Capleton and Bounty Killer.
39.
In 2022, Buju Banton was featured on DJ Khaled's album God Did.
40.
Buju Banton appeared on the track "These Streets Know My Name" along with Skillibeng, Capleton, Bounty Killer, and Sizzla.
41.
Recently, Buju Banton has expressed criticism towards reggaeton, a genre that blends Latin rhythms with Jamaican dancehall and hip-hop influences, particularly for what he sees as a lack of recognition for the genre's Jamaican roots and the absence of collaborations between reggaeton artists and Jamaican musicians.
42.
In 2007, Buju Banton was allegedly among a number of reggae artists who signed a pledge, called the Reggae Compassionate Act, created by the Stop Murder Music campaign, to refrain from performing homophobic songs or making homophobic statements.
43.
Buju Banton later denied that he had made any such commitment, although he did refrain from performing "Boom Bye Bye" and other offensive songs at the 2007 Reggae Carifest concert.
44.
Buju Banton's team pulled the song from streaming platforms such as Apple Music and Spotify, and Buju Banton announced his intention to never perform the song again.