Hello Superstars!
Welcome back to Pampalehleh, an examination of reggae, rockers & ska music (and really, anything in between). I’m sure that I mentioned that I am no expert in music of any genre, so please weigh in if you disagree or have better info than I do.
In fact, I made a handy little timeline just to try and keep the bare-bones evolution of Caribbean music straight in my mind:
You can see that dancehall really got going in the 1980s, with Jamaican-born Buju Banton one of the most influential artists of the genre. When I think about blissful nights at Hondo’s—the Christiansted night club that we all somehow had VIP cards to way before we were old enough to be there—one of the iconic songs that I remember the DJ playing was Banton’s “Murderer.”
Known for his driving vocals, Banton reportedly began “toasting” (rapping to electronic music) at 12 years old under the stage name, “Gargamel.” He and I are the same age, so I understand his pop culture references—and it makes me endlessly happy that the great Buju Banton was a Smurfs fan.
By 1993, Banton’s lyrics had developed conscious messaging, including denouncing political violence. He leveraged his success as a dancehall superstar, using his music to make a social impact.
In 1995, he released the album ‘Til Shiloh, a deeper exploration of reggae and its influence on dancehall. “Murderer” was one of those songs that stopped you in your tracks—you felt it on the back of your neck. It was tragically inspired by a real-life incident and protested senseless shootings. The lyric, “Kill I today, you cannot kill I tomorrow” encouraged in me a sort of fatalist bravado, when necessary.
Check it out:
Perfection.
I’ve just seen some tragic news that one of Banton’s sons, Miles Myrie, passed away last week. Let’s have a moment of silence for his family.🙏
Dancehall Superstar Buju Banton