Buju Banton

Buju Banto is widely considered one of the most significant Reggae and Dancehall artists with a career spanning over 3 decades. After being imprisoned from 2011-2018 he is finally back.

Born as Mark Anthony Myrie on 15 July 1973 in a poor neighbourhood in Kingston, Jamaica as the youngest of 15 children. His mother was a street vendor and his father worked in a tile factory, so he learned early the struggle low-budget people have to go through every day just to get some food on the table. His name Buju derived from a nickname his mother gave him as a child while Banton refers to a respected storyteller in Jamaica and is a tribute the the legendary DJ Burro Banton who was a huge influence for him as a kid.

His first single "The Ruler" weas released in 1987 under the moniker of Gargamel. Buju became one of the most popular musicians in Jamaican history, having huge success in 1992 with "Bogle", "Love me Browning" and "Love Black Woman"

In 1994, he was deeply affected by the death of his friend Garnett Silk as he embraced the Rastafari movement and began growing dreadlocks. His performances became way more spiritual and led to his "Til Shiloh" album released in 1995, where he blended conscious lyrics with a hard-hitting dancehall vibe. "Untold stories" and "Wanna be loved" became instant classics.

"Inna Heights" was released in 1997 and contained more classics as "Destiny" and "Hills and Valleys" and is without a doubt highly regarded to the present day. He kept releasing and gained cross-genre recognition from HipHop to Punk. 2006 he released the album "Too Bad" going back to a more dancehall style, including the major hit "Driver A"

On 13 February 2011 Buju Banton's "Before the Dawn" album was announced as the winner of Best Reggae Album at the 53rd annual Grammy Awards, one day before the scheduled start of his second court trial in Tampa, Florida. Upon his release from prison in December 2018, Banton started "The Long Walk To Freedom tour" and performed his first concert at National Stadium in Kingston, in front of 30.000 people.

Banton released his 13th studio album and his first in a decade, Upside Down 2020 on 26 June 2020