LEVEL Q
Buju Banton Will Not Be Buried Alive
The dancehall legend on coronavirus, marijuana legalization, and legacy
Update 6/7/22: Level has a new home. You can read this article and other new articles by visiting LEVELMAN.com.
When speaking with Buju Banton, your job is to be less interrogator and more listener. Big ears and patience are required. The 46-year-old legend may not answer queries with the precision you desire, but he will do exactly what he’s done throughout his 30-year career: educate.
Ever since revolutionizing the reggae scene in 1992 with instantly classic debut and sophomore efforts — along the way shattering Bob Marley’s records for №1 songs in Jamaica — the man born Mark Anthony Myrie has offered tutelage via incomparable lyricism and cadence. Buju taught us how to walk like a champion; how to love people for who they really are; how to Bogle! And throughout, he spoke truth to power and put on for the sufferers.
Whenever a prophet informs their people that the present normal is actually abnormal, severe heat tends to follow. Buju’s own walk through fire began on February 22, 2011, when he was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison on conspiracy charges with the intent to traffic cocaine. (He ultimately served seven.) Although the singer…
