A few months ago, Grammy-winning Jamaican superstar Buju Banton hosted a private NYC listening session for a small group of DJs and media. Before running through his new album Too Too Bad, Buju delivered a passionate defense of dancehall and sound system culture, the often maligned genre and music that changed his life and brought his name to the world.
“Our music is great,” Buju said. “It possesses the ability to teach… The painter, he paints on the canvas to capture what the eye beholds. We paint on the rhythm to capture what the spirit and the soul feel. Our music transcends borders, time, space, and my desire, as long as I’m alive, is to make sure that the foundation remains the foundation.” Lending further strength to that foundation, Buju has released a new mixtape with the legendary New York sound system King Addies.
Too Too Bad, which releases tomorrow via V.P. Records, is very much a foundational dancehall project. While Buju’s 13 previous albums were built upon that foundation, this new album feels extremely focused on tracing the artist’s journey from day one. Its previously released singles — ”Butterflies” and “X-Rated” — span from the 1967 reggae classic “Real Rock” to DJ Mac’s brand-new “WYFL” riddim, which has dominated the dancehall scene this year.
