Buju Banton

Buju Banton rose to prominence during the 1990s as one of dancehall reggae’s most prominent figures. He launched his recording career through a run of sexually explicit and anti-gay “slack” tracks that provoked widespread condemnation, yet after embracing Rastafarian beliefs he transformed the genre by integrating live band arrangements and socially conscious themes drawn from traditional roots reggae. That new direction first appeared on the 1995 album ’Til Shiloh, widely viewed as a career peak, and continued on its 1997 successor Inna Heights. Throughout the following ten years he sustained widespread fame while folding in flavors of R&B, hip-hop, and folk music. Growing frustrated with major labels, he eventually founded his own imprint to issue projects such as the 2010 release Before the Dawn, which earned a Grammy. A U.S. drug-trafficking conviction sidelined him for much of the decade, but after emerging from prison in 2018 he quickly resumed activity with tours, fresh singles, and the star-studded studio album Upside Down 2020.

Born Mark Anthony Myrie on July 15, 1973, in Kingston’s Salt Lane neighborhood, he received the childhood nickname Buju, a term for breadfruit commonly used for plump youngsters, and later added Banton to honor the early influence of Burro Banton. One of fifteen siblings, he was raised by a mother who sold goods on the street and traced his lineage to the Maroons, colonial-era freedom fighters. At thirteen he began performing as a DJ and toaster with neighborhood sound systems. His debut recording, the Robert Ffrench-produced single “The Ruler,” appeared in 1986. After additional sessions through 1987 he paused to let his voice develop, returning in the early 1990s with a coarse growl reminiscent of Shabba Ranks.

In 1991 he started working with Donovan Germain’s Penthouse label, frequently collaborating with engineer, producer, and songwriter Dave “Rude Boy” Kelly. Following the debut Penthouse single “Man Fi Dead,” his breakthrough came with “Love Mi Browning,” a tribute to light-skinned women that stirred resentment among Jamaica’s darker-skinned listeners. He attempted to make amends by issuing the follow-up “Love Black Woman,” yet drew further outrage with “Boom Bye Bye,” a track widely condemned for its homophobic advocacy of violence. Additional successes from the period included “Batty Rider,” “Bogle,” and “Women Nuh Fret”; collectively these allowed him in 1992 to surpass Bob Marley’s record for the most number-one singles released in a single year. That same year the debut album Mr. Mention became a major commercial success, prompting an international contract with Mercury.

The 1993 album Voice of Jamaica carried Banton beyond Jamaica and yielded the major hit “Willy (Don’t Be Silly),” a celebratory safe-sex anthem. Other tracks from the set were “Operation Ardent,” which condemned police corruption, and “Deportees (Things Change),” which criticized emigrants who withheld overseas earnings from relatives at home. Early in 1994 he released the landmark single “Murderer,” a fervent condemnation of gun violence and dancehall culture recorded after the fatal shootings of fellow DJs Panhead and Dirtsman.

Although Voice of Jamaica earned strong praise, the 1995 follow-up ’Til Shiloh stands as Banton’s defining statement. Merging dancehall with live instrumentation and classic roots reggae, it solidified his shift toward social commentary and adopted a more mature, introspective stance that established him as an artist capable of substantial creative statements. Inna Heights, issued in 1997, maintained the roots-oriented approach and received nearly comparable acclaim. In 1999 he recorded with the punk band Rancid and subsequently joined the eclectic Anti- imprint under Epitaph. Unchained Spirit arrived in 2000, reflecting a broadening stylistic palette aimed at international crossover; it also featured the successful duet “Pull It Up” with Beres Hammond.

After a three-year recording hiatus he returned on Atlantic in 2003 with Friends for Life, a crossover-oriented project incorporating hip-hop, R&B, and pop while largely setting aside the roots-dancehall sound that had first brought stardom. Dissatisfied with major-label backing, he launched Gargamel Music and issued the 2004 single “Magic City” as a preview of the forthcoming Rasta Got Soul. An arrest on ganja-cultivation charges triggered two years of legal proceedings; once resolved with a fine, he released the strictly dancehall album Too Bad, which included the major Jamaican hit “Driver A.” Following the more traditional Rasta Got Soul in 2009, he faced arrest in Miami on drug-related charges. Over the next two turbulent years he moved in and out of custody, endured a September 2010 mistrial, issued his tenth album Before the Dawn, and performed one sold-out Miami concert before the February 2011 trial. Weeks after receiving the Grammy for Best Reggae Album, the cocaine-trafficking conviction was upheld, resulting in a ten-year prison sentence.

Freed in December 2018, he immediately resumed work, opening a tour with a March 2019 concert at Jamaica’s National Stadium in Kingston and unveiling new tracks such as “False Pretense” and “Country for Sale.” Late that year he formed a partnership with Jay-Z’s Roc Nation and executive-produced the 2020 compilation Steppaz Riddim. Upside Down 2020, his first solo studio album in ten years, appeared that June and featured contributions from John Legend, Pharrell, Stefflon Don, and Stephen Marley. He maintained momentum through the remainder of 2020 by issuing additional singles, remixes, and a 25th-anniversary expanded edition of the widely regarded 1995 masterpiece ’Til Shiloh. In subsequent years he joined popular singles with DJ Khaled, Busy Signal, Victoria Monét, and others. In 2023 he released “High Life,” a spacious, jazz-inflected dancehall track that included a guest verse from Snoop Dogg.