Happy birthday to the Gargamel popularly known as BUJU BANTON.. Mark Anthony Myrie, best known as Buju Banton, was born the youngest of 15 children on July 15, 1973 in the Kingston, Jamaica slum of Salt Lane. He started deejaying and toasting (speaking over music tracks) at age 13, and began recording music soon after. One of his biggest singles almost derailed his career: Boom Bye Bye advocated violence against gays, causing rabid protests against the performer, and forcing promoters around the world to cancel his concerts. Nineteen ninety-two proved to be watershed year in more ways than one. Banton broke Bob Marleys record for the most No. 1 singles in a single year, with the help of his debut album, Mr. Mention. Over his more than 20-year career, Banton has worked with some of reggae and dancehalls most prominent producers, including Bunny Lee, Winston Riley, Patrick Roberts and Donovan Germain. The increasing violence of mid-1990s Jamaica inspired Banton and other leading artists to embrace Rastafari teachings in their music and reach out to youth. Bantons hit single, Murderer, inspired by the brutal murder of his friend and fellow deejay, Panhead, touched on the personal toll of violence. Banton won Grammy Awards for best reggae album in 2009 and 2011, respectively, for the albums Rasta Got Soul and Before the Dawn. In 2011, Banton was convicted of conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute cocaine, possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense and using a telephone to facilitate a drug trafficking offense. He was sentenced to 10 years in U.S. prison.
Posted on: Tue, 15 Jul 2014 14:10:37 +0000
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