Buju Banton in cocaine scandal

Buju Banton

Drug conspiracy charges slapped on reggae artiste Buju Banton in the United States have shocked his followers right round the globe,

The Jamaican reggae star was arrested on Thursday last week at his American home in Tamarac. Banton agreed mid this week to be transferred from Miami to Tampa, where he faces federal drug charges.

Banton, whose real name is Mark Anthony Myrie, is accused along with two others of trying to buy more than five kilogrammes of cocaine last week from an undercover law-enforcement officer in Sarasota. The charges carry a maximum sentence of life in prison.

The musician’s lawyer has maintained his client’s innocence and will argue that Buju Banton was set up. The defence outline resonates with millions of the reggae star’s fans who believe their hero, who also owns a house in Jamaica, would never be caught by the trappings of the lucrative but illicit drug industry.
Sistren Emilia Zindi, a local journalist who covered the entire proceedings in Buju Banton’s visit to Harare in 1998, strenuously denies that Buju could have been involved in underground means of survival.

“The Buju we know is not into hard drugs. If anything he is actually a teacher, leading the youths away from drugs as he imparted to the children we met during his visit here. He said ‘keep away from drugs, they will destroy you’.

“He has made enough money from music and even donates some to charity that he needs nothing from a trade he discourages in his music,’’ said Sistren Emilia.

Wearing a beige jail jumpsuit and shackles, reports say Banton (36) sat expressionless in the front row of the Miami federal courtroom on Wednesday morning, his trademark dreadlocks pulled back off his narrow face and rolled into a bundle.

Occasionally, he looked across the courtroom where, in the back row, his publicist and two members of the local Jamaican consulate observed the proceedings.

The only time Banton spoke was when he uttered his real name and age, and confirmed to US magistrate William Turnoff that he was indeed waiving his bail hearing in Miami to be transferred to Tampa.

“He’s a very spiritual person. He’s a very positive person,” his attorney, Herbert Erving Walker III, said about his mood. “He's confident he's going to be exonerated.”

Walker added that Banton, whose album Rasta Got Soul is nominated for the Grammy Reggae Album of the Year, is looking forward to “getting back to doing what he does, which is make music for the people of the world”.

He was poised to perform in Miami in a joint show with Beenie Man but gay rights groups had threatened to disrupt the show complaining of the duo’s hard-hitting lyrics against their practices. Reggae fans suspect it’s the gays who set up Buju Banton in the cocaine scam.

Throughout his illustrious career, Buju Banton has woven his dense patois lyrical flow, humour, skilful storytelling and insightful observations into conscious music that has inspired, thrilled and uplifted audiences in Jamaica and throughout the world.

Equally heartening has been Buju’s dramatic transformation from the raw-teenaged dancehall sensation of the early ’90s to his current role as the premier heir to roots reggae’s Rastafari mantle, a responsibility that Buju admirably demonstrates and extends far beyond the performance stage.

“I see myself as the godfather of this generation of artistes who Jah bless to go forth in righteousness,” explained Buju to a website dedicated to influential musicians, “and fill the people’s hearts with love and open their eyes to the reality in which we all live”.

He is a descendant of the Maroons (the fierce freedom fighters who fended off attacks from the British colonial regiments by escaping into Jamaica’s dense mountainous areas). Buju was born Mark Anthony Myrie on July 15 1973, the youngest of 15 children born to a higgler (market vendor) mother.

Buju entered Jamaica’s musical fraternity in the mid-’80s and his career accelerated into high gear with the 1991 release of his debut album for Penthouse records Mr Mention; propelled by the hits “Love Mi Browning” and “Bogle”.

In 1992 Buju broke Bob Marley’s record for the most number one singles in one year on the Jamaican charts. At just 20 years old Buju’s 1993 release, Voice of Jamaica (Mercury Records), was lauded for bringing astute social commentary to the dancehall on the hits “Operation Ardent” and “Deportee”.

In 1994, he launched Operation Willy, a non-profit organisation run in conjunction with Jamaican Aids Support (Jas) which promotes safe sex education while assisting those afflicted with HIV and Aids.

Buju’s musical innovations continued with the Grammy-nominated Til Shiloh, integrating lyrics reflecting his (then) recently cited Rastafari way of life with conventional reggae rhythms and computerised dancehall’s combustible energy, especially on the singles “Murderer” and his self-produced “Not An Easy Road”.

The latter tune played a major role in redirecting dancehall lyrics away from x-rated and violent imagery and towards positive themes. Buju displayed even greater versatility on 1997’s Inna Heights, his gruff sing-jay approach deftly applied to everything from African choral chants (“Afrikan Pride”) to shuffling ska (“Small Axe”). His 1999 release Unchained Spirit (Anti/Epitaph) boasted an array of guest artistes, including the alternative rock band Rancid, who energised the punky reggae party on “No More Misty Days”.

Buju’s 2003 offering “Friends For Life” (VP Records/Atlantic) featured the African percussion dominated “Up Ye Mighty Race” inspired by the teachings of Marcus Garvey and a triumphant return to his dancehall roots with the ingenious anti-gun anthem “Mr Nine”.

Despite Unchained Spirit and Friends For Life being distributed by major record companies, neither label did the work required to deliver Buju’s meticulously constructed music to the masses.

“There was no set-up on Friends For Life,” Buju explains, “the ball was literally dropped and Unchained Spirit didn’t fare much better; it never even had a video, but music alone shall live.” Equally impressive is his rapid-fire delivery on the spirited street single “Nothing”.

Produced by Buju and his own, new Gargamel Records team, “Nothing” entered (Jamaica’s) Hype TV's Top 20 Singles Chart at number 18 and debuted at number 7 on BBC 1Xtra's highly influential Top 10 Dancehall Chart.

“In music one must become more entrepreneurial in understanding the foundation of the business and the engine of it,” observes Buju who was voted Comeback Artiste of the Year in 2005 by the Jamaica Observer newspaper based on the excellence of his live performances and his succession of hard-core dancehall hits.

“My company has been in inception for nine years, so this is a blessing. I give thanks to the Most High God and I hope people will gravitate towards this music as they have towards my previous work.”

Buju’s worldwide fans pray his indictment is just the usual ranting and raving by white supremacists in the United States miffed with the rise of yet another African-descended blockbuster