Buju Banton criticises Afrobeat’s and Reggaeton
Dancehall and Reggae Legend Buju Banton criticises Afrobeat’s and Reggaeton, highlighting the lack of acknowledgement traditional reggae music. He delves into how the commercial appeal of Afrobeat and Reggaeton has overshadowed the deep, cultural roots of reggae, often leading to misconceptions about its origins and intentions.
Banton, who recently appeared on the popular Podcast Drink Champs, emphasises the importance of acknowledging Jamaican Reggae as the foundation. He said these new genres have no message or soul, unlike Reggae music.
He challenged Drink Champs’ N.O.R.E. to name one Afrobeat’s song that talks about the struggles of African people, mentioning the recent deadly demonstrations in Kenya.
“Kenya is suffering. The young men of Kenya is revolting. South Africa, South Sudan”, he said.
I am not knocking nobody but you don’t give us no respect motherfuckers! This is the King’s music, he said. There is a lot of culture vultures out there. We have sat and watched Reggaeton take our music, you have fucked with our music so hard and have stolen our culture. Our music is time marker. Your music will come and go because it has nothing to do with soul, Banton passionately declared.
Banton is known to be outspoken on social issues and not afraid to voice his opinion on various issues whether it is world politics or within the music industry.
On the latest episode of “Drink Champs,” N.O.R.E. and DJ EFN sat down with iconic dancehall and reggae singer Buju Banton. Hailing from Kingston, Jamaica, Buju’s affinity for reggae and dancehall was present since he was a young kid. In the late 1980s, he dropped his first single, “The Ruler.”
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Full video of Buju Banton Interview
On his issue with Afrobeats
Afrobeats is more popular now than ever before. Buju acknowledged that but also discussed his issue with the genre’s current era. “We hear our African brothers and sisters doing music that we can identify with, but we’re not hearing nothing to free Africa, to free the mind of African [people]. We are concerned,” he began. “Because if we are in Jamaica, and we’re singing about sexuality and violence and they can say to us, ‘My brothers in Jamaica, we remember when you used to speak to us from your heart. Now you’re speaking to us from your lips. And we have to pull ourselves up from the bootstrap’… Then, we must be able to speak to our brothers across the pond and say, ‘My brothers, if we’re lacking, pull us up.’”
7. On reggaeton
Buju was candid about his sentiments towards reggaeton. He explained the origin point of his disdain for the genre and said, “When I was 16 years old, I remember a song called ‘Tu Pun Pun,’ El General, right? The Panamanians, they showed us love… But then the music went to Puerto Rico [and other places]. And all of a sudden, it’s like, you created this s**t.”
Bringing it back to the modern day, he continued, “Why do you think there’s so many lawsuits currently from Jamaican producers with reggaeton? There’s a major lawsuit right now with Steely & Clevie. Steely & Clevie is one of our biggest producers, and these guys have been biting this s**t because they think we’re from the Caribbean and there’s no intellectual property control or we have no idea what we’re doing. But it’s a new day in Gotham. The Batman is still alive.”