Dancehall Misinformation Series Vol 2: BUJU BANTON : The Biggest Lies

THE TRUTH YOU THINK YOU KNOW ABOUT BUJU BANTON MAY BE ANOTHER SET OF LIES.  HAVE YOU BEEN HAD??!!

3.  Buju banton brutally beat six men believed to be homosexuals.

This is the lie that was used to give impetus to the UK homosexual campaign against dancehall music in 2004.  To paint reggae artistes as murderers and abusers of homosexuals would lend urgency to the call.  Notably, at that time Buju still had not been performing the song and there had been no local reports of Buju being involved in violent acts.

How did this lie surface in the international press when local authorities knew nothing of the charges being made?  Amnesty International reported that Banton had been charged even before he was questioned by police in Jamaica!!  What happened next?

The facts are that the Jamaican police under pressure from international groups brought charges for which there was no basis.  The charges were dismissed by the court.  This happened around the same time that Buju was hauled before the court for marijuana possession and convicted, which had the eventual consequence of being banned from the US in the early part of the last decade.   You see, Jamaican police have no record of protecting reggae artistes.  Reggae and police have been enemies, since the days of Bob Marley and Peter Tosh due to imprisonment of artistes fo even the slightest offence.  There was no collusion between Buju and the police on the charge of him beating up 6 homosexuals, there simply was no evidence to support the lie.

Here despite the facts, that the case was dismissed and there was no evidence of truth, that Amnesty was on he wrong side of the issue, a questionably Jamaican writer indulges in the despicable  ploy of citing the issue without reference and dropping Amnest International`s name in there for credibility(“corroborated”  she says.)

http://anniepaulactivevoice.blogspot.com/2009/10/bujus-gay-inquisition.html

“The allegations of Banton’s involvement in this violent homophobic assault are corroborated by Amnesty International in a letter to Mr Banton dated 19 August 2004″.

As a result, Buju has taken on the lore in the internet community of a violent marauder against homosexuals.  One comment from a youtuber:

“fuckkkaerosmith (1 week ago) Show Hide

buju actually goes out and beats the fuck out of fags“

Unfortunate.

4.  Buju Banton was arrested for possession/traficking of cocaine.

Buju Banton was held in Sarasota Florida in December 2009 for “conspiracy to purchase and distribute” cocaine.  It is alleged that for one year a government paid informant attempted to persuade Buju to purchase and distribute cocaine.  It appears that the closest he came to taking the bait was entering into a closed meetings over the prospect at which time the DEA arrested him for CONSPIRACY.

Still many illiterate people in the internet community insist on painting the artist as an international smuggler of cocaine, not understanding the charges themselves.  For an example of such an illiterate you can cut and paste the link:

http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/entertainment/rapper-buju-banton-arrested-for-possession-of-cocaine_100289227.html

or you can go to cancelbujubanton the website.

5.  Buju Banton is disliked by all homosexuals.

FACT: The ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union which defends the rights of homosexuals and has also campaigned for homosexual marriage) recently denounced through its Florida chapter the attemps at censorship of Buju Banton.

Those who are aware of the mistruths that have been vaunted on Buju Banton see him simply as an artiste that disagrees with homosexuality as a lifestyle choice.  Like most of California did at the recent voting on Proposition 8.

They also recognize that he has not made anti-homosexuality his mission, but homosexuals have mistakenly made him their mission.  Some agree that it is ludicrous to pursue this man today for remarks he made as a youth.  They like me can find NOT ONE SHRED OF HATE SPEECH IN HIS LAST 15 YEARS OF SINGING.

That is fact.

Top Dancehall Albums of the Decade (1-5)

#5.  DUTTY ROCK SEAN PAUL released 2002

Probably the album that brought the greatest international recognition to dancehall in this decade.  Most tracks were well known by the time the album was released internationally but that didn`t stop us from jumping to them one more time in celebration of reggae reaching the top of the mountain.                                                                                                                                                                                                        

#4.  GANGSTA BLUES – TANYA STEPHENS released 2005

An instant classic!  Tanya came off of a relatively lacklustre 5 year period of recording mostly outside of Jamaica to deliver a classic reggae album.  She displayed stellar songwriting ability and was everyone`s top female singer of the year.  She did not forsake hardcore fans either as was feared after her foray into alternative-styled music.  Heavy hitters like Boom Wuk were well received.  Introspective numbers like What A Day and Turn the Other Cheek led to comparisons to reggae founders like Bob Marley, and will live on as modern classics.  Her success was named as inspiration for many female artists and the latter part of the decade saw dancehall`s female scene revitalized with serious commentary from the females such as Etana, and Queen Ifrica.

#3.  RASTA GOT SOUL BUJU released 2009

Buju Banton entered the 15th year after his most acclaimed work, “Til Shiloh” by releasing a long awaited masterpiece called “Rasta Got Soul.”  The collection of tunes could hardly be beat.   From the opening bars of “Hurt Us No More” it is clear that the project was a monumental effort for the Banton.  Flawless vocal deliveries and engaging melodies convey themes of determination, integrity, and struggle that have been characteristic of Buju Banton for nearly two decades.  Close on the heels of “Too Bad” Buju demonstrated that he was ready and able to straddle the two fences of dancehall hardcore and conscious themes.  The album was nominated for a Grammy and would have been his best chance to date to collect the prestigious award.

#2.  DA REAL THING –SIZZLA released 2004

This album has been one of the most consistently rated at 5 stars by die hard reggae lovers and newbies alike.  In the midddle of the decade after Kalonji had strayed from the righteous themes for which he had been known, he connected once more with Bobby digital to produce this masterpiece.  Like the product of thier first collaboration, “Black Woman and Child,” “Da Real Thing” is viewed as one of the finest pieces of work emerging from a recording studio.  Lyrically, musically, vocally it is among the best that dancehall reggae can offer.   “Solid As a Rock” and “Dry Cry” actually titled as “Just One of Those Days” are modern reggae classics known even to listeners outside the genre having been sampled by artists like Ja Rule in other markets.   To date it may be the greatest of Sizzla`s 30+ albums.

#1.  TOO BAD-BUJU BANTON released 2006

Though not the most commercially successful reggae or dancehall artist, Buju Banton may be the most gifted.  No one would disagree that his album “Til Shiloh” featuring “Untold Stories” was one of the most impactful works in the history of dancehall and reggae.  It changed the game at the time.  Slackness was briefly ushered out and consciousness ushered in under the auspices of the Banton.  The international media took it up and artists like  Sinead O` Connor later sung from Buju`s music sheet.  Many whispered the words Bob Marley in the same sentence as Buju Banton.  Ironic, however,  in that it was hardcore toasting to the ladies that saw Buju rapidly ascend the dancehall throne in his late teens.  And it was the brash hardcore Buju that dancehall was married to.  Ten years after the game-changing Til Shiloh and a slew of conscious material from the artist properly known as Mark Anthony Myrie dancehall had many new faces, and Buju looked a softened elder fading into the background with “music for grow folk.”   Just as suddenly as his initial meteoric rise in 1992, Buju Banton stopped crooning and effortlessly dusted off the thunderous vocals that had been synonymous with the name Mr. Mention.  Under his Gargamel label, and with little warning he threw a volley of dancehall dynamite into the fray.  Fans of hardcore were overjoyed.  Roots fans admired his versatility.  The album was flawless as a hardcore dancehall package.  “Too Bad” will be talked about for years as the “where did that come from” album that was perfectly timed and perfectly executed.

Gold Medal Tune!

HOLY MOUNT ZION

Sizzla Kalonji (Miguel Collins) has been one of the most prolific and popular reggae artists of modern times. I still remember the first time I heard Sizzla. Penniless and poor struggling to find my way at the start of a long and difficult career, I heard a melodic voice singing over Bob Marley`s One Drop Riddim. It was not the then new sensation Buju Banton. I was familiar enough with Buju to know it was not him, but a new and uheard talent. Soon after that I found out that this was an eighteen year old teenager who was soon to release his first effort as an album called Burning Up. It was pressed only in limited quantities and still no one cared for it. I got an early copy which was not difficult. It was on the Exterminator imprint. Sizzla`s effort on the One Drop Riddim “No White God” continued to be the better known song and initially most had credited the tune to Buju Banton. Meanwhile I could not believe his album was truly a debut effort! Lyrics were poetic beyond teenage years, and Fattis Burrell had chosen to have Sizzla voice on top of some classic reggae riddims, some older than the artist himself. It was my personal treasure for the entire summer of 1995.

Returning home from difficult and unsuccessful years abroad I meditated regularly to the music on “Burning Up”. Some songs were energy giving while others were reflective and took me back to my core values. I remeber being stunned by the opening lines of “How Much” the first time I broke the seal on the CD. It was not unusual for Rastas to give praises in secular songs but this newcomer appeared more introspective than usual:

“Life is like a pebble, tied onto a string
Not all times its steady-to both sides it swings.
Sometimes the burden gets heavy and the Devil enters in
Tell me how you cross the river, show me how you swim

A man is not a man without the Lord, the Greater King
To the last He`s our shield, He`s at the beginning.
Sometimes to how you feel you forget about Him
When you think He`s not there He`s deeply within.

Sizzla continued in the same vein for at least another five or six years, each year seeing a torrent of releases and several gems. His popularity grew so astonishingly that by the turn of the new decade he was firmly established as a reggae artist of the top tier. For reasons still hotly debated and which I am sure I will write about at some time this great artist changed direction and the quality of his music fell sharply by the first 3 years of the new millenium.

So today with a feeling of nostalgia for the original Sizzla, but with enough caution not to open his older catalogue, I present a mid 2000s gold medal tune reminiscent of his early beginnings. Around 2002 Sizzla found his way back to his roots again (only briefly) as his fans were calling loudly for the original talent that some had hailed as a prophet of reggae, a son of the saints, a gift to us all. On Holy Mount Zion which I copped in 2004, he shows why dancehall reggae had missed his original presence so sorely, as once again but in a different and poignant style he raises a toast to HIM. The tune remains unreleased on any album and is available only on youtube. Embedding has been disabled. Click on over there until I upload my own copy.