Buju Banton Returns To Billboard
June 15, 2020 | Hopeton O’Connor Dennie |
Internationally acclaimed superstar Mark Myrie aka Buju Banton now has a song on The Billboard Charts.
The song is entitled “Memories” which has moved from 27 to 23 up the coveted internationally recognized music chart. This is like owning and riding in a Rolls Royce.
Ten Years
While incarcerated for 10 years in a US jail for a bizarre drug related offence … Buju was eventually “liberated”. The music industry worldwide reacted with joy, as they did when Nelson Mandela, of South African fame got his liberation from Robben Island from prison in the once Apartheid South Africa. Mandela spent 27 years in prison as a freedom fighter to liberate South Africa from racists bigotry
Second Class Citizens
Racists white supremacists had imprisoned Madeba aka Nelson Mandela for his stand against the inhumane segregated system that legally relegated blacks as second class citizens in their ancestors’ land. Mandela was ahead if his time.
Sting Operation
Buju was the victim of a sting operation by Federal Agents who were relentless in their pursuit to entrap the Jamaican reggae superstar. It was like setting a trap to catch a animal on the run.
In a nutshell he had penned certain lyrics that offended proponents of a certain lifestyle. He had stepped on the corn of big players in the music and related top echelons of the international community. Buju is very lucky to be alive today.
Despite his repeated apologies he was hunted like an escaped animal.
Banton had two stripes against him … his colour and the brilliance of his intellectual property. On his return to Jamaica he was treated as if royalty. A concert held attracted 36,000 at the National Stadium, Jamaica W.I.
Festival 2020
Buju has entered the annual Festival Competition in Jamaica and has been short listed in the top ten.
The finals will be released for August 6 Independence Day. We wish him well
Hopeton O’Connor-Dennie is Senior National & National Correspondent for Vision Newspaper
