Buju Banton was born Mark Anthony Myrie on July 5, 1973 and is the youngest of 15 children. He was born into poverty on Salt Lane a slum outside of Kingston. His parents are direct descendants of the Maroons, an independent, rebelious clan of escaped African slaves who fought off attacks from British Regiments who wished to return them to slavery. Buju is a childhood name given to him because he was chubby as a boy. Buju is the Maroon word for breadfruit (a starchy oval shaped fruit eaten as a staple). The Banton in his name comes from Burro Banton, an idol of Buju's.
At age 13 Buju Banton already was on the mic as a deejay and by the age of 19 was tearing up the dancehall charts with hits such as "Browning", "Big It Up", and "Bogle". Buju Banton's style was synonomous to the stereotypical attitude of the critics of dancehall music. Buju Banton also started a firestorm of controversy with his song "Boom Bye Bye", a song about batty boys. The song spawned protests from many gay rights organizations and many questions arose concerning the Jamaican and Rastafarian attitudes towards homosexuality. Mercury Records insisted that Buju Banton write a statement about the song. Buju stated that he was not trying to cause violence, but did not apologize for his feelings about batty boys citing the Bible and his religious beliefs as a basis for his feelings.
With his next album, Voice of Jamaica, Buju was already undergoing his gradual, tremendous transformation from a dancehall deejay to a reggae Star. With his becoming a true Rasta and Voice of Jamaica, Buju's music developed a new social consciousness. Buju started Operation willy to help AIDS afflicted children. He released "Willy (dont be silly)", a song to promote condom use on his Voice of Jamaica album. Buju also turned to educating island youth about the importance of religion.
In 1995 Buju released his 3rd album "Til Shiloh" which contained classic Buju songs such as "Untold Stories", "Wanna Be Loved", and "Murderer". Buju's latest release is "Inna Heights" and was released in 1997. Hits include "Small Axe (fall big tree)" and "Destiny".
Banton`s new album Unchained Spirit is out now!
Buju Banton Music Video:
Buju Banton - Destiny
Interesting links:
BujuBanton.net
Buju Banton at CDNow
Buju Banton Lyrics
