In an interview on The Morning Pump LIVE this morning, Jamaican dancehall superstar, Buju Banton lamented that too much bloodshed and pain is being experienced in Trinidad. The entertainer appeared on the show with Rome, Kirby and De Ultimate DJ Shane, to promote his upcoming New Years concert being held in Jamaica. He also revealed that new music is carded for release this Friday, alongside Busy Signal.
As he expressed his love for the people of T&T, the ‘Buried Alive’ singer who released an album he called ‘Upside Down 2020’ during the pandemic, said he was saddened by the news coming out of Trinidad. “Man and man used to have mouth and man and man used to talk and man and man used to drink …. because yuh know, man ah man, right? But me witness Trinidad turn into this killing zone and we ah try stop this thing here inna Jamaica and Trinidad come like if they want adopt it,” said the entertainer. He made the comment as he reflected on his appearance in Trinidad and Tobago after his release from prison. He had appeared at the I Am Legend concert hosted by High Frequency Entertainment in 2019. He said while he was very happy to see his people in Trinidad and Tobago, having been a part of the entertainment landscape in the country since the age of 19, he was not happy to see what had been happening on the topic of crime and violence.
Asked how he feels about the rhetoric that the music being promoted has an influence on the minds of the youth, Buju said, “I don’t think we can say one thing influences the youth. If we want to talk the truth – and in the Caribbean we don’t like the truth, because some people love Buju and some people ah hate him. Why? Because me doh care about emotions, it’s the truth me ah deal with…When are we gonna get serious as a race of people? and as a nation of people, and realize there is no one common factor that caused this thing. You cannot scapegoat the music like governments and politicians who are enabling poverty, enabling suffering, enabling death on a mass scale, enabling criminality for those who are on high,” said the Jamaican singer. He continued saying, “yuh see, there is one rule for them and a different rule for us yuh know!”
Buju explained that music could not be used as the scapegoat when it comes to the question of crime and criminality. “Music is sometimes mirroring what they see you (politicians and government) doing,” he said. Banton did not defend the artistes entirely however, saying that musicians too need to take responsibility for their creativity, arguing that while before artistes may have used lyrics symbolically, today, many are putting the words into action.
Buju Banton remains a penetrable force in Caribbean entertainment and though seemingly low key in recent months, the dancehall giant’s music and impactful presence on the entertainment circuit, is immovable. He releases new music on Friday, October 28th. Listen out for it on www.boomchampionstt.com.
