By John Denny
Observer Reporter
johndenny@thestkittsnevisobserver.com
(Charlestown, Nevis) – Jamaican reggae/dancehall artist Mark Anthony Myrie alias Buju Banton and his 14-member band will be performing during the festival’s International Night. Antonio Liburd of the Culturama Committee said they are very lucky to have been able to book such a major act as Buju Banton.
“We are very, very excited to have someone of this caliber performing for this year’s Culturama,” he said. “We have to thank Nisbet Plantation and Inn for providing accommodations for the artists at a much reduced rate and the booking company, Fastlane International for making this possible.”
The show will be held at the Cultural Village in Charlestown on Monday August 4 starting at 9:00 p.m. Tickets for the event are $65 pre-sale and $75 on the night of the show
Buju Banton was born near Kingston, Jamaica in a poor neighborhood called Salt Lane. “Buju” is a nickname given to chubby children which means Breadfruit. The name is ironic in light of Mark Myrie’s slim frame, but it is, nevertheless, the nickname his mother gave him as a child. “Banton” is a Jamaican word referring to someone who is a great storyteller, and it was adopted by Myrie in tribute to the deejay Burro Banton whom Buju admired as a child. It was Burro’s rough gravelly vocals that Buju emulated and ultimately made his own. Buju’s mother was a street vendor, while his father worked as a laborer at a tile factory. He was the youngest of 15 children born into a family which was directly descended from the Maroons, a group of escaped slaves who proudly fought off the British colonialists.
Banton, like most dancehall artists, is politically outspoken and influenced by Marcus Garvey.
At the age of 15, he first recorded his most controversial song, “Boom Bye Bye”, the lyrics calling for the killing of homosexuals.
Buju is one of the most popular musicians in Jamaican history, having burst onto the charts there suddenly in 1992, with “Bogle” and “Love me Browning”, both massive hits in Jamaica. Controversy erupted over “Love Me Browning” which spoke of Banton’s preference for light-skinned women: “Mi love mi car mi love mi house mi love mi money and ting, but most of all mi love mi browning.” Some accused Banton of promoting a colonialist attitude and denigrating the beauty of black women. In response, he released “Love Black Woman” which spoke of his love for dark-skinned beauties.
1992 was an explosive year for Buju as he broke Bob Marley’s record for the greatest number of number one singles in a year. Beginning with “Man fi Dead”, Buju’s gruff voice dominated the Jamaican airwaves for the duration of the year. Banton’s debut album, Mr. Mention, includes his greatest hits from that year. 1992 saw the release of a re-recorded “Boom Bye Bye”, which almost destroyed his career. The song was the subject of outrage in the United States and Europe, leading to Banton being dropped from the line-up of the WOMAD festival that year. Banton subsequently issued a public apology.
Now on the major Mercury label, Banton released the hard-hitting Voice of Jamaica in 1993. The album included a number of conscious tracks. These tracks included “Deportees” a song which criticized those Jamaicans who went abroad but never sent money home, a remix of Little Roy’s “Tribal War,” a sharp condemnation of political violence, and “Willy, Don’t Be Silly” which promoted condom use, profits from which were donated to a charity supporting children with AIDS.
Banton’s lyrics often dealt with violence, which he explained as reflecting the images that young Jamaicans were presented with by the news media, but the reality of Kingston’s violence was brought home in 1993 by the murders in separate incidents of two of his friends and fellow recording artists, the deejay Pan Head, and Dirstman. His response was the single “Murderer”, which condemned gun violence, going against the flow of the prevailing lyrical content in dancehall. The song inspired several clubs to stop playing songs with excessively violent subject matter. Late in 1994, Buju was also affected by the death of his friend Garnett Silk. Buju’s transformation continued, embracing the Rastafarian movement and growing dreadlocks. He joined “conscious” deejay Tony Rebel, Papa San, and General Degree in the Yardcore Collective. His performances and musical releases took on a more spiritual tone. Banton toured Europe and Japan, playing sold out shows, and performed before 20,000 people in Trinidad & Tobago.
‘Til Shiloh (1995) was a very influential album, using a studio band instead of synthesized music, and marking a slight shift away from dancehall towards roots reggae for Banton. Buju claimed to have adopted Rastafarianism and his new album reflected his new beliefs. Til Shiloh successfully blended conscious lyrics with a hard-hitting dancehall vibe. The album included earlier singles such as “Murderer”, and “Untold Stories”. “Untold Stories” revealed an entirely different Buju Banton from the one that had stormed to dancehall stardom. It is regarded by many as some of his best work, and is a staple in the Banton performance repertoire. Reminiscent in mood and delivery to “Redemption Song” by Bob Marley, “Untold Stories” won Buju Banton many favorable comparisons to the late singer. This conscious album had a large impact on dancehall music and showed the hunger the dancehall masses had for conscious lyrics. Dancehall music did not move away from slack and violent lyrics, but the album did pave the way for a greater spirituality within the music. In the wake of Buju’s transformation to Rastafarianism, many artists, such as Capleton, converted to the faith and started to denounce violence.
Inna Heights (1997) substantially increased Banton’s international audience as Buju explored his singing ability and recorded a number of roots-tinged tracks. Banton covered the Silvertones’ “Destiny” and recorded songs with such artists as Beres Hammond and the legendary Toots Hibbert. The album was well-received but had distribution problems. Also, some fans were disappointed, having hoped for another ground-breaking album like “Til Shiloh.” Still, Buju’s experimentation and soaring vocals impressed many fans and this album remains a highly regarded work.
In 1998, Buju met the punk band Rancid and recorded three tracks with them: “Misty Days”, “Hooligans” and “Life Won’t Wait.” The latter became the title track of Rancid’s 1998 album, Life Won’t Wait.
Subsequently, Buju signed with Anti- Records, a subsidiary of Brett Gurewitz’s Epitaph records, and released Unchained Spirit in 2000. The album showcases the most diverse aspects of Buju Banton, and featured guest appearances by Luciano, Morgan Heritage, Stephen Marley, and Rancid. It carried little of the roots feel heard on Til Shiloh and also virtually none of the hardcore driving sound that had brought him to public acclaim early in his career. It was a departure that many fans felt uncomfortable with. By now, however, he had been enshrined in the minds of reggae lovers as one of the most notable artists of his time, and seemed to have earned the right to some artistic freedom.
Several singles followed in the start of the new decade, mostly without the trademark spitfire delivery typical of dancehall, but displaying Banton’s talent for a mellower more introspective approach. In March 2003 he released Friends for Life, which featured more sharply political songs, including “Mr. Nine,” an anti-gun song that further verified his status as one of reggae’s most socially aware artists. The album has a strong political message for the African Diaspora and features excerpts from a speech made by Marcus Garvey. Paid Not Played is included and shows his gradual return to the themes more popular in dancehall. The album also featured some hip-hop influence with the inclusion of Fat Joe.
Before his conversion to Rastafarianism, the lyrics of Banton’s early music drew criticism for their graphic sexuality and homophobia.
On April 5, 2004 Banton was fined the equivalent of US$9,000 for the possession and cultivation of cannabis after two mature marijuana plants were discovered growing at his studio in December 2003. He defended himself by stating that he just came from a long tour and found the plants there.
