JAMAICA OBSERVER NEWSPAPER NAMES BUJU BANTON THE COMEBACK ARTIST OF THE YEAR

-Veteran DJ Recording First Pure Dancehall Album In Over A Decade-

(Kingston – New York/9, January 2006) Gargamel Music, Inc. is extremely pleased to announce that the award-winning Jamaica Observer newspaper has named dancehall-reggae luminary Buju Banton aka Gargamel the “Comeback Artist of the Year” for 2005.

Indeed, the Banton rammed the land of wood and water with a blazing succession of dancehall hits, including “Haffi Get A Beating” featuring the late great Peter Tosh, “Too Bloody” with singer Anthony Cruz, “Ride This” on Steely & Cleevie’s Sleepy Dog riddim, “Too Bad” on the classic Throwback Giggy riddim and “Siren” (aka “Sireen”) on the futuristic riddim of the same name. Observer writer Kevin Jackson, who gave out the honors based on chart action, radio play, popularity in the dancehall and some performances, duly notes: “Buju regained lost territory with ‘Ride This’ and ‘Too Bad,’ adding that the DJ “really came back good last year enjoying saturation at radio.”

One of the few artists who can deftly move from dancehall to reggae, Banton also made his presence felt with the roots single “Magic City’ an uplifting inspiring homage to his hometown of Kingston. While the song received considerable airplay at home and abroad, the accompanying music video, beautifully shot on location in Kingston and Ocho Rios, portrayed a more positive side of Jamrock, and was promptly added to key local channels as well as such prestigious international outlets as MTV Jams, MTV U, BET Digital, VH1 Soul, Music Choice, MTV Africa, Channel U UK and Trace TV France.

Banton is currently at work on his first strictly dancehall album in more than 10 years. The as-yet-untitled album will be released on his own Gargamel Music label, which has offices operating in both Kingston and New York.