reggae

Buju Banton

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Jamaica's Gargamel, whose gravel-throated dancehall gave way to Rastafari roots on 'Til Shiloh — one of the voices that reset the island's mainstream.

Buju Banton was born Mark Anthony Myrie in Kingston, Jamaica, in July 1973, the youngest of fifteen children in a family descended from the Maroons; his mother worked as a street vendor and his father as a labourer at a tile factory. His mother's nickname for him, Buju, is a Jamaican word for a respected storyteller.

He began toasting at age 12 under the name Gargamel, performing on the Sweet Love and Rambo Mango sound systems, and later took the name Banton in tribute to the deejay Burro Banton, whose rough vocal style he emulated. Producer Robert Ffrench released his first single, "The Ruler," in 1987, leading to sessions with producers including Bunny Lee and Winston Riley.

Signing to Donovan Germain's Penthouse Records in 1991, Banton became one of the dominant voices in Jamaican music, releasing two albums in 1992, Stamina Daddy and Mr. Mention, the latter becoming the best-selling album in Jamaican history. That year he also broke Bob Marley's record for the most number-one singles in a single year in Jamaica. His voice, unusually deep and coarse for a performer so young, set him apart immediately.

He signed to Mercury Records and released Voice of Jamaica in 1993, and by the mid-1990s his music had turned toward Rastafari themes, a shift documented on 'Til Shiloh and Inna Heights. 'Til Shiloh broadened his reach well beyond dancehall audiences and remains among the most influential Jamaican albums of the decade.

In 2009 Banton was arrested in the United States on cocaine trafficking charges; his first trial ended in a hung jury, and in 2011 he was convicted and imprisoned until December 2018, when he was deported to Jamaica. His 2010 album Before the Dawn won a Grammy for Best Reggae Album. He has continued to record and perform since, and his catalogue spans hard dancehall, roots reggae and slower soul-inflected material.

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