Buju came, saw, and conquered!

The greatest reggae artist in the world showed up and gave the crowd a lesson in reggae music, both literally and figuratively. The 1-hour, 40-minute set (by far the longest Buju performance I’ve ever seen) featured incredible, high-energy performances of dozens of classic hits, some newer hits, a few singles off the recently-released Too Bad album, a great impersonation of vocal-legend Gregory Isaacs, and even a ska medley/reggae history lesson in which the great Gargamel performed covers of “My Girl Lollipop” and “Simmer Down” as well as his own ska hit “Feeling Groovy.”

Between songs Buju tried to explain the origins of ska and reggae in Jamaica. Unfortunately the significance and “specialness” of this was lost on the vast majority of the people in the crowd, most of whom were enveloped in huge clouds of herb smoke (gotta love NorCal!). But overall the crowd was very into the music, returning the energy erupting from the stage. It was truly an unforgetable experience and one of the best Buju Banton performances I’ve ever seen!

Here are a few quick observations/notes off the top of my head:

• This was the 6th time I’ve seen Buju in concert, but the first time on the West Coast (the other shows were in Atlanta, Philadelphia, and New Jersey).

• After attending a fairly lackluster (and short) performance in Atlantic City last month, I was very happy and relieved to see Buju give such an incredible and energetic performance in Santa Cruz.

• This show seemed to be the least “scripted” and most free-flowing I’ve seen in a long time.

• The small group of “pro gay” protestors standing outside the club were pretty much ignored. Buju didn’t perform “Boom Bye Bye”.

• The crowd was by far the whitest I’ve ever seen. It feels weird to go from being literally one of only two white people (the other was my friend) at the Atrium club on Memorial Drive in Atlanta (1999) to being in a crowd that’s 95% white!

Have you attended a Buju show recently? Be sure to leave a concert report in the comments section!

If anyone would like to leave a review of the new Too Bad album please post it in the comments section below…

“Their judgement to me is nothing. I don’t fear no man, I don’t come to bow to no guy…”

Read the rest: BUJU - ‘Too Bad’ to contain

By the way, I saw Buju in Atlantic City last Friday. First time since 2003. Good show, but definitely not one of the best I’ve seen from him. If I get time I’ll post a concert report in the next week or two. Also, I’m going to see him in Santa Cruz, California in a few weeks. Hopefully the crowd there (as well as Buju himself) will be more energetic than the AC show!

“Right now wid like Beenie, Bounty and Buju dem, I feel the more consistent artiste among them is Beenie Man or Buju Banton, that in terms of being a king of the dancehall now. If is the now music, I would put Beenie Man in front, for all times it would be Yellowman. Bob Marley would be the King of Reggae. Lyrics-wise, I would put Beenie Man and Buju Banton. A my two bwoy dat and if yuh want cultural deejay mi woulda put Tony Rebel. But Beenie more consistent in terms of having hits; mi nuh really know nuh Bounty (song) weh mi can si down an hum.”

Winston “Merritone” Blake had this to say:

“The only legitimate person who was only a few steps away from the coronation is Buju Banton. With the body of work that he has done already and the type of lyrical structure he is still miles ahead of the rest, but recently he started jumping all over the place. Because to make a conscious album and then the next thing him gone back to talking bout di sex an thing, that kind of inconsistency cannot work for me. It’s not the one-drop performance that makes you great, it’s the consistency, so they need to decide exactly what they are going to be and work consistently.”

With all due respect to Mr. Morgan and Mr. Blake, no other living reggae artist is even on the same playing field as Buju Banton. Yes, he has gone back to making more “slackness” tunes (which is what started his career!), but he still releases instant-classic conscious and lover’s reggae hits on a pretty regular basis. Even the great Bob Marley made songs for the clubs and the radio deejays to boost his appeal and income (see: Could You Be Loved). Ain’t nothing wrong with being diverse!

Make no mistake about it… if there is a “King of Dancehall,” it is definitely the great Buju B!

What do you think? Leave a comment below…

Miami.com: Jamaican pride and dancehall rivalries color reggae festival

MiamiNewTimes.com: Buju Banton is dead wrong, but he’s hatin’ anyway

Daily Bruin: Reggae singer’s anti-gay lyrics spur complaints

By the way, I’m sooo glad to hear that he chose to perform part of “Boom Bye Bye” in the Miami concert (as I’ve seen him do live twice). It shows that he is still defiant and refuses to give in to his detractors. No matter what, it’s a dancehall classic. And anyway, if you don’t like it, don’t go to the concert batty bwoy!!!

Here’s the official press release….

International Reggae Icon Buju Banton To Headline 20th Anniversary Of UCLA’s Prestigious Jazz And Reggae Festival Monday, May 29th, 2006

- Memorial Day Bash Marks Artist’s Long-Awaited Return to Los Angeles Stage -

(New York, NY/Kingston, JA - 4, May 2006) Gargamel Music, Inc. is extremely ecstatic to announce that international Reggae star Buju Banton aka Gargamel will headline UCLA’s 20th Anniversary Jazz and Reggae Festival to be held Memorial Day Weekend at the sprawling Intramural Field on the UCLA campus. The prestigious two-day festival features some of the most talented names in both Jazz and Reggae, and attracts over 30,000 fans each year.

The Jazz lineup on Sunday, May 28th includes such greats as Dianne Reeves, Floetry, Gerald Wilson and His Big Band Orchestra, Kenny Burrell and Donnie. Monday, May 29th boasts Jamaican music sensations Assassin, Bushman, Macka Diamond, Tami Chynn, and of course, the legendary Buju Banton who will close out the festivities with his energetic blend of dancehall and roots Reggae.

“We are especially excited that Buju Banton will be headlining our 20th UCLA Jazz-Reggae Festival,” says Todd Hawkins, Executive Producer of the annual event. “This year’s festival theme is ‘For the Love of Music’ and Buju has proven that what he does is because of his love of music. It has been a while since LA has seen Buju and we are thrilled to be bringing him back to sunny southern California, and more importantly, to one of the premiere venues for live music on the West Coast.”

Banton has just placed the finishing touches on his first pure dancehall collection in over a decade. The album, entitled Too Bad, is presently scheduled for release later this summer on his own Gargamel Music label. He is expected to perform classic songs from his extensive catalog as well as new tunes from the highly anticipated forthcoming project at the UCLA show.

Fans can also catch Buju Banton on Sunday May 28th at the Memorial Fest in Miami; Sunday June 4th at the Westchester Reggae Fest in White Plains, New York; Saturday July 1st at the Festival of Life In Chicago; Sunday July 23rd at Reggae Sumfest in Montego Bay; Saturday August 5th at Reggae Sunsplash in St. Ann’s, Jamaica.

Interested in booking Buju Banton? Contact Sir Donovan Germain at 876.968.1222 or via email at dgermain@cwjamaica.com

bbc.co.uk: Buju Banton Interview

It’s interesting to note that Buju believes, like many reggae fans including myself believe, that dancehall has been in decline for the past 5 years of so. I would actually say a little longer than that. Hopefully dancehall music is due for a resurgence like the one we saw in the mid-90’s!

via: Dancehall Blog