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Each generation has a voice that convincingly conveys past tribulations, contemporary triumphs and future aspirations; throughout the 1990's, the voice of Jamaica has been Mark Anthony Myrie, better known to Reggae fans as Buju Banton. Buju has dominated Jamaican music with a rough gravel yet keenly melodic deejay (the Jamaican equivalent of a rapper) delivery, transcending the parameters of dancehall Reggae and serving as a globally embraced artistic paradigm for the 21st century. The wide ranging musical styles and sophisticated lyrical concerns Buju embraces throughout Unchained Spirit (his debut release for Epitaph subsidiary Anti Inc.) will certainly resonate with fans regardless of racial, cultural and socio economic backgrounds.
"My efforts here are not to crossover but to go through boundaries and borders freely and be heard by all people who are citizens of the free loving earth," reasons Mr. Banton. "Like the title, I'm an unchained spirit, a free spirit and my intention is to make sure this one goes out across the world to satisfy the musical and spiritual hunger of the nation, to bring us closer today than yesterday to our freedom and our need to come together to solidify the human race."
Buju Banton (born July 15, 1973) is the youngest of 15 children born to a 'higgler', street vendor mother in Kingston, Jamaica. A descendant of the Maroons, (the fierce freedom fighters who fended off attacks from the British colonial regiments) he was nicknamed Buju (the Maroon name for breadfruit, a starchy round vegetable) as a child; Banton is a designation bestowed upon a commander of lyrical distinction as well of the name of the Deejay who had the greatest impact on Buju's coarse vocal style, Burro Banton. Buju, entered Jamaica's musical fraternity at age 12 as the 'Lambada Man', captivated by deejay's lyrical skills as they chat over records played by sound system selectors in the dancehall. "Being in dancehall at such a young age, seeing people with microphones, hearing the music was the most mystical feeling I ever encountered," he recalls. "The first time I got the chance to make a song my head swell so big, I knew right there there was no turning back." In 1991 Banton met (producer) Dave Kelly then an engineer at producer Donovan Germain's Penthouse studios in Kingston; soon the teenage Deejay's career accelerated into high gear on the strength of several Penthouse single, particularly 'Love Me Browning' an ode to light skinned women which caused great controversy in color conscious Jamaica. Buju's debut album Mr. Mention (Penthouse) followed in 1992, breaking all sales records on the island and earning the young artist more number one singles than any other Reggae artist, including Bob Marley.
At just 21 years old, Buju's 1993-release Voice of Jamaica (Mercury) featuring track such as 'Operation Ardent', 'Deportee' and the safe sex anthem 'Willy Don't Be Silly', was lauded for the unprecedented social commentary it brought to the dancehall. Buju Banton, now a superstar in Jamaica, also established himself as a musical force in urban America as the first dance hall deejay to sellout New York City's 5600 seat Paramount Theater. Banton continued to innovate, implementing the spiritual principals Banton had previously collaborated with Rancid on the title song from their 1999 album Life Won't Wait and together they wrote 'Misty Days' after the groups sojourn in Jamaica.
Since the early 1990's to the threshold of a new millennium, Buju Banton has metamorphosed from a brash teenage phenomenon into a self assured deejay and singer, visionary producer and successful entrepreneur who runs his own Aksum Recording Studio and Gargamel Productions. The wide-ranging social and stylistic approach offered on Unchained Spirit reflects the changes, challenges, circumstances and criticisms, which Buju has surmounted artistically and personally. "We always want challenges to prove ourselves worthy of the life we living and the air we breathing," he explains. "Unchained Spirit is me expressing myself with the art form I've been blessed to work in because making music, that is my joy. We try to bring forth all kinds of renditions in the blend to make the music sound exciting so each particular track can take your ear."