Latest / The Breakfast Club / INTERVIEW: Buju Banton Talks New Album 'Too Too Bad', Roots And Rhymes Tour, New Generation Of Dancehall, Family + More

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INTERVIEW: Buju Banton Talks New Album 'Too Too Bad', Roots And Rhymes Tour, New Generation Of Dancehall, Family + More · The Breakfast Club

0:01
Speaker 1: Every day up, we click your ass up the Breakfast Club.
0:05
Speaker 1: You don't finish for y'all done morning. Everybody is DJ
0:08
Speaker 1: Envy just hilarious, Charlamagne to God. We are the Breakfast Club.
0:12
Speaker 1: We got a special guest in the building. His album
0:14
Speaker 1: Too Too Bad. It's out right now. Boojabon Tan welcome.
0:17
Speaker 2: No respect, no respect, no respect, no respect to the
0:20
Speaker 2: Brickferns Club Tongues are inviting me on your program, New
0:23
Speaker 2: York City.
0:23
Speaker 3: Stand up. This is the Goga man.
0:25
Speaker 1: Thank you so much for joining us. Charlotte had had
0:27
Speaker 1: to leave, but we know you had an album to promote,
0:30
Speaker 1: so we were like, we got to make sure that
0:31
Speaker 1: we get up here to do what we need to
0:32
Speaker 1: do to make sure that's the number one died. First
0:35
Speaker 1: of all, how are you feeling?
0:36
Speaker 3: I am an iri, I wanna gift tongues giving tongues?
0:39
Speaker 1: Well, I tell you all the time, you are my
0:41
Speaker 1: wife's favorite artist. Number one is Boote you, number two
0:45
Speaker 1: is Maxwell. They don't really go that's what it is.
0:48
Speaker 3: I think she's figuring on something.
0:52
Speaker 1: She's she figures out. So first of all, why now,
0:55
Speaker 1: why put out this album?
0:56
Speaker 3: Now?
0:56
Speaker 1: What made you want to do it?
0:57
Speaker 2: Right, why not know that's a bigger question and what
1:01
Speaker 2: took so long is a bigger question. That is the
1:03
Speaker 2: two questions are energy that's needed right now in this
1:06
Speaker 2: piece where my music and my genre of music is
1:08
Speaker 2: concerned reggae danceule music. So we want to invigorate that
1:12
Speaker 2: piece again with music where people can gravity you two
1:16
Speaker 2: wide because it does resonate.
1:18
Speaker 1: Now, there's many different elements of boug you right, there's
1:20
Speaker 1: the conscious boujoo, there's the dance tall boujoo, there's the
1:24
Speaker 1: more hip hop boojoo.
1:25
Speaker 2: I would say, I'm just musical. I'm just some musical
1:28
Speaker 2: facet that keeps flowing.
1:29
Speaker 1: You know, which which on this project? Which element would
1:33
Speaker 1: you say?
1:34
Speaker 2: Dance stuns one hundred percent down stile is This is
1:37
Speaker 2: a genesis, was all I was introduced to the masses,
1:40
Speaker 2: and through the passages of time you have to grow
1:41
Speaker 2: a raio, become monotons, you know. So the growth is
1:45
Speaker 2: always something where make sure reinvent yourself. This is a
1:49
Speaker 2: turret in studio album. So we take it back to
1:52
Speaker 2: the butt to the phone dialshon to basics rather too
1:55
Speaker 2: too bad?
1:55
Speaker 1: How do how do we get it back to the
1:57
Speaker 1: days when when growing up, you would hear dance all
2:00
Speaker 1: on the radio, right, it didn't matter right, it would
2:02
Speaker 1: be you would hear your hip hop song, but the
2:04
Speaker 1: dance all was, it was all part of one. Then
2:06
Speaker 1: it became a separation somewhere where I feel like dance
2:10
Speaker 1: all and reggae music is not represented on urban radio
2:13
Speaker 1: as much. What are your thoughts on it?
2:17
Speaker 3: Exactly?
2:18
Speaker 2: But also you have to remember things change, personalities change,
2:21
Speaker 2: and faces do move on. The people who we have
2:25
Speaker 2: no theed I don't think they understand the genesis of
2:27
Speaker 2: all the two music goes together and the relationship we
2:30
Speaker 2: have always had because back in the nineties, hip hop
2:34
Speaker 2: artists used to make their tracks and the first thing
2:37
Speaker 2: that you find a Jamaican to go on it because
2:39
Speaker 2: you had something different, rough, sometimes a little smooth, perfect
2:44
Speaker 2: examples Chabarrangs, collaboration with the Heavy D and Superkiat and
2:48
Speaker 2: these works were foundations a been laid, you know, and
2:53
Speaker 2: eventually things change, you know. I mean new artists come up,
2:59
Speaker 2: they don't see that. I don't feel like new producers.
3:02
Speaker 2: They don't see that vibe, they don't feel that energy.
3:04
Speaker 2: But the people want that vibe and need that energy.
3:07
Speaker 4: We talk a lot about or recently you've been talking
3:09
Speaker 4: a lot about making sure that the will was not reinvented.
3:12
Speaker 4: You want to make sure the foundation remains a foundation
3:14
Speaker 4: of the genre of music that you represent. What do
3:17
Speaker 4: you feel like it's got into today that you're like,
3:20
Speaker 4: I need to make sure that we take we bring
3:22
Speaker 4: it back. Like what are you seeing in the genre
3:24
Speaker 4: right now that you we.
3:25
Speaker 2: Have coined a new phrase called trap dancer. Our music
3:28
Speaker 2: is free and liberating. This is the music that this
3:31
Speaker 2: is rubber music. You cannot trap it. When I trap
3:34
Speaker 2: something and trap it for game to slate, you can't
3:38
Speaker 2: kill this music. This music is the music of free
3:40
Speaker 2: Many people andreak the cycle of poverty, So we cannot
3:43
Speaker 2: trap it.
3:44
Speaker 3: You know. So even though our phreeze might be coined.
3:47
Speaker 2: It is still dance all and the original dance I
3:51
Speaker 2: must always be represented, you know, whatever we do because
3:54
Speaker 2: that so we bring our culture forward has changed in
3:57
Speaker 2: a significant way, Yes, but it's still and they're still
4:01
Speaker 2: rolling on to the rule dements of all the drum
4:03
Speaker 2: plays and all the all the cadence flow. We don't
4:06
Speaker 2: want to morph into something unrecognizable.
4:10
Speaker 1: H What inspires you?
4:12
Speaker 3: Now?
4:12
Speaker 1: You know, coming from a place before, was a lot
4:15
Speaker 1: of times it was I have to get out my environment.
4:17
Speaker 1: I'm want to make it out. But what inspires you now?
4:21
Speaker 2: Getting out of my environment was never my inspiration as
4:25
Speaker 2: a youth. You know, I didn't grow up under those
4:26
Speaker 2: kind of situations. I grew up loving music. I didn't
4:29
Speaker 2: even know that there was even money in music. Yeah,
4:32
Speaker 2: we just love music and wanting the world the microphone,
4:35
Speaker 2: I want to see people happy. Until I saw people
4:38
Speaker 2: fighting over something that was actually maning the developed between
4:41
Speaker 2: two good friends and I realized, oh wow, so you
4:44
Speaker 2: guys are actually fighting over someone want to keep it
4:46
Speaker 2: a secret from me? And then that's when I started
4:49
Speaker 2: reading my bible, this business of music and get myself
4:52
Speaker 2: more integrated in both sides of it.
4:54
Speaker 3: Business of music and the business of music. You know.
4:58
Speaker 2: So what'm motivated is not things have this earth. What
5:01
Speaker 2: motivator is what the music do for people, what the
5:03
Speaker 2: music brings to the people's life, would make them feel.
5:06
Speaker 2: Our music now is not teaching, it's not educating, it's
5:09
Speaker 2: not uplifting. It's just a whole bunch of eyes. So
5:13
Speaker 2: we want the music we can win and your oh man,
5:16
Speaker 2: and still feel like you can't whispering. A year is
5:17
Speaker 2: a year the man, I say, you know, and she
5:20
Speaker 2: still will get tight and and you know what I mean.
5:23
Speaker 2: The music I speak for you and that lever so
5:26
Speaker 2: I inspire mem was the preservation of our culture.
5:29
Speaker 3: You know what I mean.
5:30
Speaker 2: It's a great joy to be up inside, but many
5:32
Speaker 2: get to come inside the breakfast club.
5:34
Speaker 3: This is not the our platform, you know what I mean.
5:36
Speaker 2: We're invited guests, so we're not come with a take
5:39
Speaker 2: opportunity and talk about the greatness of all music and
5:42
Speaker 2: preserve it. That means the next generation will come. We'll
5:44
Speaker 2: have a foot to your door to do the same.
5:47
Speaker 1: I remember it well. The good thing about it is
5:48
Speaker 1: I can't dance, so I just stay on and let
5:50
Speaker 1: my wife want, which is the best thing about it.
5:54
Speaker 1: But who was the first person to bring booju into
5:56
Speaker 1: a studio, Who was the first person to see the
5:58
Speaker 1: vision that says you're gonna be great?
6:01
Speaker 2: There was this great revolutionary from Brixton, England who actually
6:06
Speaker 2: the man they started brick stand Riot. They came to Jummy,
6:11
Speaker 2: I can open a record in studio car Blue Mountain,
6:13
Speaker 2: Reguardian Studio and this gentleman.
6:16
Speaker 3: It was like a mentor to me.
6:17
Speaker 2: You know, I was trying to going my book back
6:21
Speaker 2: and try to question me if I went to school.
6:23
Speaker 2: Am I going to school? Looks at school bell ring.
6:26
Speaker 2: I'm in the studio as I've been before. So one
6:29
Speaker 2: rainy day he said to Clement Arie it was nineteen
6:33
Speaker 2: eighty six August sixty, take Bucherban time with you to
6:37
Speaker 2: the studio so he can see what a studio looks like.
6:41
Speaker 2: Clement took me to the studio with him and it
6:43
Speaker 2: was actually fifty six slip Pendos Carden studio. Robert French
6:49
Speaker 2: was running the studio time and that was my first experience.
6:53
Speaker 2: But mister Harris always you know what I mean. Our
6:56
Speaker 2: next good friend of mine was a burden by the
6:59
Speaker 2: name of Uncle Sid. Uncle Sid reside in Boston. Uncle
7:03
Speaker 2: Sid saw Bojo Bandan in Jamaica. In those days there
7:07
Speaker 2: was a rental a Tree to Tree mass Dad that
7:09
Speaker 2: the foreigners would come to Jamaica and it was a car,
7:13
Speaker 2: a very popular car for foreigners to rend. Uncle Sid
7:16
Speaker 2: would show up in the gate to us and you
7:18
Speaker 2: would always encourage me and tell me, no matter what,
7:21
Speaker 2: your time must come and your time will come and
7:25
Speaker 2: I want to say, unclesiduous in peace, because time did
7:27
Speaker 2: come in we're not here to see and shared in
7:29
Speaker 2: the moment. But these are some of the people who
7:31
Speaker 2: saw bojobantan no one did.
7:36
Speaker 4: When you when you speaking of your family, I know
7:39
Speaker 4: you talk about like your mom and your dad, like
7:41
Speaker 4: you got your entrepreneurial spirit from your mom, right yeah, yeah,
7:44
Speaker 4: and you're trying from your dad.
7:46
Speaker 5: You talk about your uncle said when.
7:48
Speaker 3: You it, it was not my uncle, you know we
7:49
Speaker 3: call him uncle sid.
7:51
Speaker 2: It was just a foreigner come to Jamica's cause I
7:53
Speaker 2: used to be in a so own system owned by
7:55
Speaker 2: a Flower Ghan Red, Dragan Dame. So see down Flower
7:59
Speaker 2: Gandam you know, those were the superstars and I was
8:01
Speaker 2: coming up.
8:02
Speaker 3: But he always used to tell me you you you
8:05
Speaker 3: got it.
8:05
Speaker 4: I was going to ask about sound system culture. So
8:08
Speaker 4: when I was preparing for this interview and I was researching,
8:10
Speaker 4: what I realized is that sound system culture is not
8:13
Speaker 4: just like a culture, is like really a place I
8:15
Speaker 4: guess people could kind of go to and like get
8:16
Speaker 4: information a bit, like it was almost like a community.
8:19
Speaker 4: Can you talk a bit about sound system culture and
8:22
Speaker 4: how so you have your actual family. But then you're
8:24
Speaker 4: growing up in this culture where like music and dance
8:28
Speaker 4: becomes a family as well too. And what you take
8:29
Speaker 4: from that to give to people as they listen to
8:31
Speaker 4: your music.
8:32
Speaker 2: Jaminican music possessed many teachable moments, so to speak, and
8:37
Speaker 2: the music has always been a very important teacher.
8:40
Speaker 3: You know.
8:41
Speaker 2: The dansall is a place where the information is disseminated
8:44
Speaker 2: and the people take that. It is widespread the people
8:47
Speaker 2: to us now in the sense where I have an entity,
8:51
Speaker 2: you know, there are stages to this thing, or I
8:54
Speaker 2: grew up You didn't grow up on this run straight
8:57
Speaker 2: into a recording studio was never ever the case, never ever,
9:01
Speaker 2: ever ever. You have to go into the dance all
9:04
Speaker 2: the people that certify you, is that a pump it
9:07
Speaker 2: or dump it?
9:09
Speaker 3: Are?
9:09
Speaker 2: They tell you straight up go work on your craft,
9:12
Speaker 2: you know what I mean. And when you leave the
9:14
Speaker 2: dance all, you go to the studio. It's like stages,
9:19
Speaker 2: and you move from the studio, you go to the stage.
9:22
Speaker 2: So now that aspect of our culture has slowly been
9:26
Speaker 2: taken away, where we have now the dance style it
9:28
Speaker 2: is there but entertained. As I'm not readily approaching the
9:30
Speaker 2: mic to wound their craft like that, and then for
9:34
Speaker 2: us it was also our livelihood.
9:36
Speaker 3: I was employed on a sound system.
9:37
Speaker 2: We have to work Thursday night, Friday night, Saturday night,
9:41
Speaker 2: and Sunday night and go back home on Monday. So
9:44
Speaker 2: it was not only for listening to the music. You
9:47
Speaker 2: were the actual man running the dance. When the selector
9:51
Speaker 2: plays the A side, he plays the B s now
9:52
Speaker 2: which constitute the version, and you'll be plying your craft.
9:56
Speaker 2: And you do that from nine o'clock until seven o'clock
9:58
Speaker 2: in the morning. And if you're playing four different locals,
10:03
Speaker 2: you could not go to the four locals with.
10:05
Speaker 3: The same four songs. You have to have new songs.
10:08
Speaker 2: So push your creativity as an artist, and that I
10:12
Speaker 2: think is a major aspect for artists development here that
10:16
Speaker 2: has been taken away.
10:18
Speaker 5: How do you do that now?
10:19
Speaker 3: You can't do that now. Like I just said, it
10:21
Speaker 3: has been taken away. No one is doing it now.
10:23
Speaker 2: First, the artist is not brave enough and they all
10:25
Speaker 2: think they are stars, which the people make us who
10:29
Speaker 2: we are, and we cannot be alloo from them. So
10:31
Speaker 2: when you find yourself not being connecting because you figure that,
10:34
Speaker 2: oh you're bigger than this, then we have a clear disconnect.
10:37
Speaker 1: I think we too. I don't think nobody wants to
10:39
Speaker 1: get embarrassed.
10:40
Speaker 2: No, well, let's see, that's where we face the embarrassment
10:44
Speaker 2: in the dance side and we hone over craft. But
10:46
Speaker 2: it's over and then, because you see, there are certain
10:50
Speaker 2: phobias that people have, like holding the microphone in front
10:53
Speaker 2: of the people standing and looking at the audience and
10:55
Speaker 2: over passages of time the dance. I'll help you to
10:57
Speaker 2: be so material that that that is, that's a non factor,
11:02
Speaker 2: communicating the people who come second nature. You know, it's
11:05
Speaker 2: like you just know how to be the people's person
11:07
Speaker 2: because you have been so Look at all the entertainers
11:10
Speaker 2: from that era, Tanto Metro, Peter Metro, all the gentlemen
11:15
Speaker 2: and entertainers from that time who came through that era
11:18
Speaker 2: of holding the microphone in the dancer, you're more elephant,
11:22
Speaker 2: all of them being a man bounty killer. Yes, even
11:25
Speaker 2: Vibes used to do dance. Come from Africa, bocking up
11:28
Speaker 2: in our delave Yega city, big up the lave Yega Heights.
11:31
Speaker 3: And that is what was our first introduction to the massive.
11:37
Speaker 2: So it's not around anymore, I mean not Bujabandan passed through,
11:41
Speaker 2: but home madebantans idea of the past through.
11:44
Speaker 1: You know, I got so many questions. I'm glad you came.
11:48
Speaker 1: You're the youngest of sixteen. Yeah, so you had sixteen
11:53
Speaker 1: siblings and you're the youngest boy. They were all women, right,
11:56
Speaker 1: How was raised? How was being raised in a house
11:59
Speaker 1: with sixteen girls?
12:01
Speaker 2: Well, you have to understand, I was das in the
12:02
Speaker 2: house with sixteen and I said something like a kidna
12:05
Speaker 2: with some kittens, with some kittens. My family have a structure.
12:09
Speaker 2: We have biggest elder sisters, sisters, and they come down.
12:12
Speaker 2: I was the baby in the family, you know what
12:15
Speaker 2: I mean. But then I had bigger sisters who were
12:18
Speaker 2: in their THIRTIESO. When my mom goes to the market,
12:20
Speaker 2: did drap able to make sure that bore right? So
12:23
Speaker 2: it was a great feeling, you know what I mean.
12:25
Speaker 2: And you get bounced around a lot because you can't
12:29
Speaker 2: grow like a sissy. You have sixty You have some sister.
12:31
Speaker 2: I'm gonna make sure so them I know everything.
12:33
Speaker 3: We need for knowing. Hmm.
12:36
Speaker 1: What made you? What made you grow your hair?
12:39
Speaker 3: What? My guy gry here.
12:41
Speaker 1: The reason I asked that is, you know, so when
12:43
Speaker 1: I when I hear you are coming, I reach out
12:45
Speaker 1: to all my family and I'd be like, if you
12:46
Speaker 1: have one question for Bue, what would that question be?
12:48
Speaker 1: And one of the question was like ask what made
12:50
Speaker 1: them grows here?
12:51
Speaker 2: Life changed my life and I have come from a
12:55
Speaker 2: rough place in time. And this music yad is not
12:58
Speaker 2: just the people's music. Reggae is the king's music. It's
13:01
Speaker 2: come from a Latin world Raguina, yes, and our king
13:04
Speaker 2: is as a Lassia and we come.
13:06
Speaker 3: We represent the Ethiopian Tiajado church. You know what I mean.
13:10
Speaker 3: The art attacks fit.
13:11
Speaker 2: So we grew a year as a symbol all ones
13:15
Speaker 2: and ones for Nasa arrived vol you know what I mean.
13:18
Speaker 2: So here we are in a room, were a room
13:19
Speaker 2: and learning run understand them just a year relax and
13:23
Speaker 2: them one year lax. But it is deeply symbolic and
13:26
Speaker 2: it is identifying with iron A culture as a true
13:30
Speaker 2: African m.
13:32
Speaker 1: Now you named a bunch of dance or artists. I
13:35
Speaker 1: feel like we're dance or sometimes it's hard to get
13:37
Speaker 1: everybody on the same stage and same platform. What do
13:40
Speaker 1: you think that is because there's so much under stage
13:43
Speaker 1: would breakdown. We're a lot you know, but just like
13:50
Speaker 1: in your hypop culture, there's not much unity either. This
13:53
Speaker 1: is widespread.
13:53
Speaker 2: This do we have the world where one generation can
13:56
Speaker 2: work hard to create the unity and next generation come
13:59
Speaker 2: trying to maintain next unity and another generation come didn't
14:02
Speaker 2: understand what the first and second didn't when to do
14:05
Speaker 2: their own thing, and then we start having fragmentation.
14:08
Speaker 3: And this is exactly you know what I mean.
14:09
Speaker 2: But at the end of the day, we all come
14:12
Speaker 2: together and we see each other and we are supporting
14:16
Speaker 2: each other because I m unsupport the culture and the culture.
14:19
Speaker 3: Is bigger than any one individual.
14:21
Speaker 2: When I just came into this music nineteen eighty six,
14:24
Speaker 2: the most famous stark was Entertainers come and go, but
14:28
Speaker 2: the music stay is wherever, and that starck is still
14:30
Speaker 2: relevant today.
14:32
Speaker 3: I love that.
14:32
Speaker 5: Think you guys are brought the head out on a
14:34
Speaker 5: tour correct.
14:36
Speaker 2: Currently on the tour a Corolla and the Root Sun
14:39
Speaker 2: rhymes reggaetur It which comes your way tomorrow. Also in
14:42
Speaker 2: the Ubas Arena featuring Steve Mile, Graham, Smag and Skilly
14:46
Speaker 2: BEng shall be passing through, so the U be a
14:48
Speaker 2: Arena tomorrow. We are going to be celebrating two years
14:51
Speaker 2: since I performed. They're performing the old New York City era.
14:55
Speaker 2: I haven't been in the side of the world in
14:57
Speaker 2: the last two years to share my music with the masses,
15:00
Speaker 2: and it's on the heels of my brand new album
15:03
Speaker 2: Too Too Bad. I mean, I don't know if there's
15:05
Speaker 2: enough time for us to go dial vision or some
15:07
Speaker 2: songs tomorrow night from the album. If the massive them
15:10
Speaker 2: is a dept and pick up your album already and
15:13
Speaker 2: know their songs and know they'll choose their songs. So
15:16
Speaker 2: we're going out there tomorrow with an open mind to
15:18
Speaker 2: share some music and some divine add and give thanks
15:21
Speaker 2: for life. Becaus are celebrating it a solar return, so
15:25
Speaker 2: it's a whole package of jointed So.
15:27
Speaker 1: Look to Assurcian friends out in Boston right. I was
15:30
Speaker 1: listening to you on them a couple of days ago,
15:32
Speaker 1: and you were talking about what brings you peace. You said,
15:35
Speaker 1: the ocean brings you peace. Yes, and break that down
15:38
Speaker 1: a little bit.
15:39
Speaker 3: There's no breaking down in it. The ocean bring eye peace.
15:41
Speaker 3: You know what I mean? What bring eye peace?
15:42
Speaker 2: May not bring you peace, might bring your chaos, but
15:46
Speaker 2: just be near the water because I'm a water sign
15:48
Speaker 2: and I can't see ariain, you know, so it is
15:50
Speaker 2: not much a saying of such out the universe.
15:53
Speaker 3: Universe made it that way. That is where will we
15:57
Speaker 3: set lower? Mind?
15:58
Speaker 1: You always? You also talk about on a show that
16:00
Speaker 1: the importance of watching sunsets and and the fact that
16:04
Speaker 1: you watch the sun go down as well.
16:06
Speaker 2: Won't you see no one look up anymore? They want
16:08
Speaker 2: look in their phone. When I just see people look
16:10
Speaker 2: up unless they are told that something is up there
16:13
Speaker 2: and take a look at it. And then they're going
16:15
Speaker 2: to look at their phone and look at it on
16:16
Speaker 2: their phone. Like I landed in New York City couple
16:20
Speaker 2: nights ago, and when I wake up in the mon
16:22
Speaker 2: I see the sun red as blood.
16:24
Speaker 3: How many people take note of that? You know?
16:27
Speaker 2: So we have to keep looking up and looking at
16:30
Speaker 2: the things that the father may be. Guys, you know
16:32
Speaker 2: a lot of people who'school true life. It's worse when
16:35
Speaker 2: in our concrete jungle like this, surrown it by so
16:37
Speaker 2: many building. When they see a people off the sun,
16:40
Speaker 2: you have to run to meet it.
16:41
Speaker 4: Yeah, And you always feel like you gotta catch up
16:44
Speaker 4: or stay up with something. And everything's so busy and
16:46
Speaker 4: so moving. I said, when everything is moving like, especially
16:50
Speaker 4: like living here in New York, you just always feel
16:52
Speaker 4: like you gotta stay busy to stay something.
16:54
Speaker 2: You never take a time to smell a ruse it.
16:55
Speaker 2: Don't pick it, just take some time and smell it.
16:58
Speaker 4: Your last album was in twenty twenty three, Yes, ma'am,
17:01
Speaker 4: Why so when that three years? What did you take
17:03
Speaker 4: time to?
17:03
Speaker 2: Like? Really, well, when I put our record, I don't
17:07
Speaker 2: really rush to go back into the studio to make
17:09
Speaker 2: I'm not chasing my tear.
17:10
Speaker 4: You know.
17:11
Speaker 2: Music is something that comes with that vibe. You know,
17:14
Speaker 2: I could have put a other record. Every day we
17:16
Speaker 2: do our own record in the student but that's not
17:18
Speaker 2: the that's not We want the right songs at the
17:21
Speaker 2: right moment, and I'm not I'm not in a race
17:25
Speaker 2: with anyone. Sometimes you got to take a break and
17:27
Speaker 2: let other people do their stuff, and then we can't
17:30
Speaker 2: crowd the thing, you know what I mean. So I
17:32
Speaker 2: take a break every time I put out a record
17:34
Speaker 2: at least a minimum of two years. This one took
17:37
Speaker 2: a little bit longer drew into it. You know what happened.
17:39
Speaker 2: Everyone was on lockdown, So even if he wanted, we
17:42
Speaker 2: could not have so as a result of that we
17:45
Speaker 2: are here now and.
17:46
Speaker 1: With all the music that you put out, is there
17:48
Speaker 1: are artists that you say I want to work with
17:50
Speaker 1: that artist or I wish I worked with that artist
17:52
Speaker 1: at all.
17:53
Speaker 2: Early are many people who are creatively powerful and man,
17:57
Speaker 2: I mean I always want to work with people who
17:59
Speaker 2: are very, very creative, like a man like Stevee or
18:02
Speaker 2: with my desire for doing somewhere before Steve take a
18:05
Speaker 2: shild cut, you know what I mean, because when a
18:07
Speaker 2: shild cut, that's that you know, creat singer like Marx
18:10
Speaker 2: Well like she meant That's what I said, She's onto something.
18:14
Speaker 4: You know.
18:14
Speaker 2: These these Burgins are burgers who we grew up on
18:18
Speaker 2: and we we kind of listened to their their kidence
18:20
Speaker 2: and know that this can't work.
18:22
Speaker 3: So yeah, no respect.
18:23
Speaker 1: One more question before we get into the album. Your
18:26
Speaker 1: name Buju Banta? How did you come up with the
18:29
Speaker 1: name Bouju Banta.
18:30
Speaker 2: First of all, I did not came up with the
18:31
Speaker 2: name BuJo. My mom gave her the name BuJo. Name
18:34
Speaker 2: was given to me from Bert. It's a maroon world.
18:37
Speaker 2: We had the Maroon revolutionary from Jamaica far the bridges
18:40
Speaker 2: for forty years called him into a peace Street and
18:43
Speaker 2: went back to fight them again for forty more years
18:45
Speaker 2: because of war, said Susan, a war for eighty years,
18:51
Speaker 2: which we did. They are and they see our land
18:54
Speaker 2: back to us, and we have treaties that is signed
18:57
Speaker 2: by the king that designated our population as an indigenous
19:01
Speaker 2: population of the ma Room Cockpit country. So my name
19:05
Speaker 2: is deeply rooted toward heritage and the warrior side of
19:08
Speaker 2: my people. Now, the Banton came from my admiration for
19:12
Speaker 2: Borough Banton was a very prolific DJ when I was
19:15
Speaker 2: a young man going to school and we like his flow,
19:18
Speaker 2: so we took the Banton because banton actually means someone
19:21
Speaker 2: who is lyrically inclined.
19:24
Speaker 4: So you were born into the movement that you now
19:27
Speaker 4: are such a leader of and into music. And it's
19:30
Speaker 4: like a like you were called to do it almost
19:34
Speaker 4: I am here.
19:35
Speaker 3: If I was Skirl, I did answered. I'm happy I did.
19:39
Speaker 1: Now let's get into the album too too bad. Favorite
19:43
Speaker 1: record on there is House called for Me.
19:45
Speaker 3: Oh yeah, you haven't listened to it?
19:46
Speaker 2: In Natarirety, I did this space we did can give
19:51
Speaker 2: you grace as a DJ, you just it.
19:53
Speaker 1: Just the temple was everything. You just know when you
19:56
Speaker 1: play that record, club goes crazy.
19:58
Speaker 2: Oh yeah, well there's so much. I try to make
20:01
Speaker 2: this record possess something for everyone. So I wouldn't pineto
20:04
Speaker 2: one particular track and say this is it, because then
20:07
Speaker 2: I could say a wild woman is it? Because them
20:09
Speaker 2: sang that. You know, we make music from our city.
20:12
Speaker 2: We are position who wants the ladies happy? You know,
20:15
Speaker 2: you know I'm not into the sassage fresh fock. I
20:18
Speaker 2: like so when the ladies and whine and dance and
20:20
Speaker 2: enjoy themselves, because the ladies bring life. They are the
20:22
Speaker 2: true portal. Man can't bring life. So when the portal
20:26
Speaker 2: is happy, the world is happy.
20:28
Speaker 1: She loves bad poopoom good pompoop.
20:35
Speaker 2: You know what I mean. So, so you know, everyone
20:38
Speaker 2: have something on this record that we can identify with
20:42
Speaker 2: hopefully because you go on to be good, you go
20:45
Speaker 2: down to you know, nor manner, so you want to
20:49
Speaker 2: bring into it this this album, brother and sisters, let
20:52
Speaker 2: me tell you go out and get your copy. Listen
20:54
Speaker 2: now and we talk about it later.
20:56
Speaker 3: How about that.
21:00
Speaker 1: I know you had another one on the album that
21:01
Speaker 1: you love. I think it was a window player butterflies.
21:06
Speaker 2: Well, listen, like I said, this album possessed something for everyone.
21:11
Speaker 2: I'm giving you twelve thirteen tracks on the CD, twelve
21:15
Speaker 2: tracks on the album and unlimited amount of tracks and
21:19
Speaker 2: the streaming platform. So speak, you're getting treat differend approach
21:23
Speaker 2: and vinyl rather so as we said, you're getting treated the.
21:26
Speaker 3: Friend approach to the music.
21:30
Speaker 2: And it's a whole body of work that aims to
21:35
Speaker 2: solidify dancer for the younger generation. Kids who bound two
21:39
Speaker 2: thousand and two ten and they love dance on music.
21:43
Speaker 2: This is where it's coming from. This is all we
21:45
Speaker 2: used to do it, and this is all we want
21:47
Speaker 2: you to learn from it and take a page from this.
21:51
Speaker 2: So we keep our heritage salad and we keep your
21:55
Speaker 2: music banging.
21:56
Speaker 3: That's all I'm asking you.
21:57
Speaker 5: Feel like they're listening to the younger generation.
21:59
Speaker 2: Well, if they don't, it's an adults will listen because
22:01
Speaker 2: at the end of the day, you know, you cannot
22:03
Speaker 2: say teachers didn't come your way.
22:05
Speaker 3: To teach you.
22:06
Speaker 1: And I was going to ask, what did you want
22:08
Speaker 1: the next generation of dance?
22:09
Speaker 3: Just preserve it, preserve it, preserve our rich culture.
22:12
Speaker 2: Rich iritis It cannot be based on just keyboards and
22:15
Speaker 2: high frequencies songs. You have a kidence where there were
22:18
Speaker 2: drums and were based that we are trying to at
22:21
Speaker 2: the hip.
22:22
Speaker 1: And did you think people got too caught up with
22:25
Speaker 1: titles because everybody at one point wanted to be the
22:26
Speaker 1: king of dance. So I'm the king of dancel, I'm
22:28
Speaker 1: the king of dance. Or do you think it created
22:30
Speaker 1: too much of.
22:31
Speaker 2: A of a We are our kings in the dancer,
22:34
Speaker 2: were our kings in the hip hope, our kings in
22:36
Speaker 2: R and B? You know, the father himself said, you
22:40
Speaker 2: know you are our gods, but you shall die like men.
22:44
Speaker 3: So I mean this title.
22:47
Speaker 2: When I was growing up in my country used to
22:50
Speaker 2: have You used to see posters on the light posts
22:53
Speaker 2: and the light poles and posters on the wall. The
22:55
Speaker 2: crown enough early black, the crown enough, this enterity and
22:59
Speaker 2: the crown and these crownings were never something initiated by
23:03
Speaker 2: the individuals. There's always something initiate by the old side.
23:07
Speaker 2: Fact that that's is why the dance all was so important,
23:10
Speaker 2: and the dance all choose who was king like papasan
23:14
Speaker 2: the dance I said, you are the fastest taka like
23:17
Speaker 2: ninja man.
23:17
Speaker 3: The dancer.
23:18
Speaker 2: I said, okay, we're gonna give it a fourteen gun bandeat.
23:22
Speaker 2: You know, like yellow Man the dancer said, you are
23:25
Speaker 2: the king King Yellow. You know this is not something
23:29
Speaker 2: I might ever see myself. Gravity is into us because
23:32
Speaker 2: I'm a servant. I can't be two things, you know,
23:34
Speaker 2: and I want to serve my people.
23:36
Speaker 3: I don't want to be loud. I'm king over them
23:38
Speaker 3: all different things. I'm on the band now.
23:41
Speaker 1: When you make music, now, of course, is there a
23:45
Speaker 1: difference of what you understand of how you make it,
23:47
Speaker 1: like how it affects people?
23:48
Speaker 3: Right?
23:49
Speaker 1: Maybe before I would say some of the songs you
23:51
Speaker 1: might be like you don't care? But now is do you?
23:54
Speaker 1: Are you intention with what songs you make? Because you
23:56
Speaker 1: know who follows you. You know that there's youth listening.
23:58
Speaker 2: You know that we make music always from a post
24:01
Speaker 2: shown off care And I never have a time in
24:03
Speaker 2: my life where I said I am a music and
24:05
Speaker 2: I don't care. I wouldn't be sitting in this chair
24:08
Speaker 2: because those music goes nowhere and those music take you
24:10
Speaker 2: knowing where. That's because we care. That's why were sitting
24:13
Speaker 2: in this cheer So that change you did.
24:15
Speaker 4: A driver a on the Colors platform, the show that
24:19
Speaker 4: they placed on like YouTube and social and the response
24:23
Speaker 4: that you got to it.
24:24
Speaker 5: I mean, you're one of the greatest, but people were
24:26
Speaker 5: like in awe of how great you sounded.
24:29
Speaker 4: How I see people in the comments just talking about
24:31
Speaker 4: how like it brings back memories just watching you perform it,
24:34
Speaker 4: and they're looking through their computers when people come and
24:36
Speaker 4: they see you at the show? Do youu be a
24:38
Speaker 4: serena in all these different places?
24:40
Speaker 3: Does that?
24:40
Speaker 1: Does that regularis to sell out?
24:42
Speaker 3: Yeah?
24:42
Speaker 4: Like do you that feeling of like warming people's hearts
24:45
Speaker 4: in that way and connecting to so many of their memories?
24:47
Speaker 5: Like what does that do for you? When you're in
24:49
Speaker 5: there creating the music that you know is intentional, it's
24:51
Speaker 5: a great.
24:52
Speaker 2: Feeling because you know that there's a population or damn people,
24:54
Speaker 2: oh THEO who's expecting great works. I don't want to
24:57
Speaker 2: ever sit on a body off word cannot wholeheartedly represent
25:02
Speaker 2: platforms like this, So we have to make sure that
25:04
Speaker 2: we take the time in the studio, make all the
25:07
Speaker 2: mistakes all effing up in the studio, because there's a
25:11
Speaker 2: place where you spend time with experience so we can
25:14
Speaker 2: have a guru end product like we're having now. So
25:17
Speaker 2: everything is factored in. Yes, you know, it's not just
25:20
Speaker 2: a slam bomb, thank you Mom's kind of situation.
25:23
Speaker 3: You know what I mean.
25:24
Speaker 2: A lot of thart goes into the music that we
25:26
Speaker 2: make for the people, A lot of production goes into
25:29
Speaker 2: the music that we make, and that will never change.
25:31
Speaker 4: It's crazy that people are surprised by that when that
25:35
Speaker 4: is the way that you build great music in a
25:37
Speaker 4: great music career. Like even your breath control that you
25:39
Speaker 4: had when you were performing on Colors, people were like, wow,
25:42
Speaker 4: buy and I'm like, but this is what artists that
25:45
Speaker 4: develop into the greatest.
25:46
Speaker 2: This is what the dance all holding the microphone in
25:49
Speaker 2: the dance sall does. You're in a dance all and
25:52
Speaker 2: you're singing and the crowd is with you. You cannot
25:55
Speaker 2: stop that song unless they say pull up, and they
26:00
Speaker 2: deal we have saying pull up where they're gonna hear
26:02
Speaker 2: some shots in the air. Are the fence is going
26:04
Speaker 2: to be laid flat on the ground? Are you gonna
26:07
Speaker 2: hear so much?
26:08
Speaker 3: Nice?
26:09
Speaker 2: So? And it helped you to develop a good bread
26:14
Speaker 2: control and a good long capacity to deliver.
26:17
Speaker 1: You know, it's crazy when you have an artist that
26:20
Speaker 1: has legacy and catalog like you. It's so amazing to
26:25
Speaker 1: see that. I feel like you almost get more now
26:29
Speaker 1: than you did when you first came out to see
26:31
Speaker 1: you on the road, to see sold out shows, to
26:33
Speaker 1: see sold out arenas. How does that feel to see
26:36
Speaker 1: that from so many decades to where you are now
26:40
Speaker 1: that it still continuess even more.
26:43
Speaker 3: Well? For my part, I must say.
26:48
Speaker 2: When I started in this music, I started off playing
26:51
Speaker 2: in some two hundred seat My first concert in New
26:53
Speaker 2: York City was to build more ballroom. Then I find
26:57
Speaker 2: myself being a Hammerstein ballroom read city music, and I
27:01
Speaker 2: used to do like on that respective that I would
27:03
Speaker 2: lead Levy. We did two shows in Madison Square Gardens
27:07
Speaker 2: in one night, one show at eight and one show
27:10
Speaker 2: at eleven. I mean, I don't know if anyone remember
27:12
Speaker 2: those good old days when that used to be running.
27:16
Speaker 2: You know, we're happy knowing that we can still reach
27:21
Speaker 2: the masses. Most important that we are happy that the
27:24
Speaker 2: music that we make surpass and last test of time,
27:27
Speaker 2: that we can still sound.
27:30
Speaker 3: Like it's yesterday it was made.
27:32
Speaker 2: All these things, excuse me, are important because you don't
27:38
Speaker 2: want to go around the microphone and sing something and
27:40
Speaker 2: people say, oh man, you're singing the same songs all
27:43
Speaker 2: the time, so you got to keep inventing yourself.
27:46
Speaker 3: Back to my point, to keep it relevant strong, you know.
27:50
Speaker 1: And you said one time, you said your mission has
27:53
Speaker 1: been the same since nineteen ninety two.
27:55
Speaker 2: So uplift, educate, eradicate negativity from the minds of my people,
28:00
Speaker 2: and feed them musically as anything change won't change, won't
28:05
Speaker 2: change and will never change.
28:07
Speaker 3: See.
28:08
Speaker 2: I see myself as the last of the mo I
28:10
Speaker 2: come from a time where I was discussing before we're
28:12
Speaker 2: a dancer, was be fertile. You know that's not happening anymore.
28:17
Speaker 2: So we have to make sure that we impart this
28:19
Speaker 2: knowledge on the younger you to see what Bulgebanton is doing,
28:22
Speaker 2: see what a vibe is doing, what a bound to
28:25
Speaker 2: our being is doing.
28:26
Speaker 3: But want to do it. Let them know that this
28:28
Speaker 3: is where it comes from. So you want to do it.
28:30
Speaker 3: It can be the fly by day on the pitch
28:31
Speaker 3: by night, but if you.
28:32
Speaker 2: Want a long haul for the long run with longevity
28:35
Speaker 2: and stability, this is how it's done.
28:38
Speaker 1: And they asked heard the interview, and they asked about
28:41
Speaker 1: your legacy.
28:41
Speaker 3: What did you want your legacy to when really with
28:44
Speaker 3: something you know, and I mean on a plan forget
28:46
Speaker 3: you I already.
28:47
Speaker 1: Why why did you answer like that?
28:48
Speaker 2: Because I was really subscribe to them because people are freakly,
28:52
Speaker 2: you know. I grew up with a time when you
28:54
Speaker 2: have when talents speak, No talent don't speak anymore as
28:57
Speaker 2: fallorized vice.
28:58
Speaker 3: You heard more and more than everything anything else. I
29:00
Speaker 3: don't go with that narrative. You know.
29:02
Speaker 2: We make our music and that the music reaches the
29:05
Speaker 2: massive because when all our work is done, other people
29:07
Speaker 2: work is just gonna start. We have to move on
29:10
Speaker 2: and other people go and do the same thing, you
29:12
Speaker 2: know what I mean. So we just do good works
29:15
Speaker 2: and leave the work and leave it in the either
29:18
Speaker 2: in the universe.
29:19
Speaker 3: You know that's right.
29:20
Speaker 1: Well, let's get into a joint off the album right now.
29:23
Speaker 1: Now you're performing tonight.
29:24
Speaker 2: No, I'm performing Tomorrow night, performing Tomorrow Night Arena, Saturday
29:28
Speaker 2: night u A Arena.
29:29
Speaker 4: Yes, Brith dance Hall or reggae artists sell out the
29:31
Speaker 4: U be A s Arena.
29:32
Speaker 3: Oh man, that was exciting times. You know what I mean,
29:34
Speaker 3: you bet arena.
29:35
Speaker 2: They've been nice to us, and I want to say
29:37
Speaker 2: the people of New York City has been tremendously nice
29:40
Speaker 2: to us. You know in Brooklyn Massive, the Queen's Massive,
29:42
Speaker 2: the Bronx Massive, Jersey Massive. Can they take cut massive?
29:45
Speaker 2: Because you know reggae music, dance sound music. I used
29:48
Speaker 2: to drive and pass all these venues, and I used
29:53
Speaker 2: to ask myself when is dance and music gonna be
29:57
Speaker 2: on these marquees. No dancer music he's on these marquis.
30:02
Speaker 2: Our job is to make sure that when people come out,
30:04
Speaker 2: you're satisfied. See if a good presentation. We do her
30:08
Speaker 2: best to entertain them so they can come back, keep
30:11
Speaker 2: a footing the door. The other brothers can come up another,
30:14
Speaker 2: same same experience.
30:16
Speaker 1: What record you want to hear of the album? Brother?
30:18
Speaker 3: I am on tis.
30:23
Speaker 1: Okay? I want to hear a house call?
30:29
Speaker 5: What you want to hear butterflies?
30:31
Speaker 3: I lie, let's get it to.
30:33
Speaker 1: Them all all right, it's bou Jabontan new album, too
30:35
Speaker 1: too bad. It's out right now Saturday. Get there early
30:39
Speaker 1: Ubs Arena in Long Island, right on the border of
30:41
Speaker 1: Queens just right there.
30:42
Speaker 3: We've been there before. That's right.
30:44
Speaker 1: My wife will be there Saturday.
30:45
Speaker 3: I won't be that.
30:46
Speaker 1: I'm watching the kids. I'm let her go. I got
30:47
Speaker 1: the kids, so she'll be there. You'll have an amazing
30:49
Speaker 1: time with her friends.
30:49
Speaker 3: Yes, sometimes we got to switch the roll alone, you know,
30:52
Speaker 3: just a little bit.
30:52
Speaker 1: I'm not mad at that, I'm just a little bit.
30:54
Speaker 1: It's the breakfast club is Boujabonta every day a week ago.
31:00
Speaker 5: The breakfast club, y'all finish with y'all dumb