Gargamel Music | Buju Banton



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::: Biography :::

Jamaican music experienced a dramatic transformation in the mid-1980s. The popularity of roots reggae’s signature drum and bass driven beat receded with the development and rapid proliferation of digitally generated beats. The solo singers and harmony groups who ruled the Jamaican charts just a few years earlier were practically dismissed as patois chatting deejays (i.e. the Jamaican equivalent of rappers) dominated the country’s cultural landscape.

Some of the most celebrated deejays in the pioneering era of digital reggae (which soon became known as dancehall reggae) included Admiral Bailey, Josey Wales, the extra raw Shabba Ranks (who was just a few years away from global stardom) and the booming gravel toned resonance of the inimitable Burro Banton. These artists inspired many Jamaican youngsters to pursue musical careers: one such hopeful youth was the talented Mark Myrie who was captivated by the deejay’s skills in spitting lyrics over records played by sound system selectors. At age 12 Mark entered Jamaica’s musical fraternity as the “Lambada Man” and shortly thereafter became known as the Gargamel.

“Being in Dancehall at such a young age, seeing people with microphones, hearing the music was the most mystical feeling I ever encountered,” he recalls. “The first time I got the chance to make a song my head swell so big, I knew right there that there was no turning back!”

Displaying a precocious commitment to his chosen profession in his preteen years, Mark adopted yet another moniker that would prove to be as enduring as his career would turn out to be: Buju (the childhood nickname given to him by his mother) Banton (in tribute to Burro Banton’s influence). By the time he turned 13, Buju was perfecting his deejay delivery by working with a variety of sound systems including Rambo International and Sweet Love. Deejay Clement Irie introduced Buju to Robert French who produced his debut single “The Ruler” in 1986; Buju went on to record with Bunny Lee and Winston Riley, the latter producing his first hit “Stamina Daddy.”

While voicing for Patrick Roberts’ Shocking Vibes label, Buju met Dave Kelly, then the resident engineer at Donovan Germain’s Penthouse studios. Kelly brought Buju to Penthouse where he voiced the hits “Man Fi Dead” and “Lef Wi Business,” his vocals growing coarser and more robust with each tune.

Buju soon became an island wide sensation with the release of “Love Mi Browning,” highlighted by his ferocious delivery. Subsequent chart toppers came fast and furious for the teenager including “Love Black Woman” (his answer to “Browning”) “Batty Rider” and the irrepressible “Bogle” which offered instructions on the era’s most popular dance craze named after its creator the late Gerald “Bogle” Levy.

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