Reggae and Dancehall superstar Buju Banton recently shared his unfiltered views on Afrobeats and Reggaetón.
In a recent interview on the Drink Champs podcast with hosts N.O.R.E. and DJ EFN, Buju Banton expressed his disappointment at the “lack of respect and homage” from Afrobeats and Reggetón artists.
“Listen, a lot of culture vultures out there,” he said. “We have sat and we have watched Reggaetón f-ck with our music so hard and stolen our culture.”
“I am not knocking anybody but you don’t give us no respect motherf-ckers, and you still expect us to act like we take something from you? This is the King’s music. Your music shall come and it shall go cause it has nothing to do with soul and building energy. Our music is time marker.”
Later in the interview, Buju reflected on the early days of Reggaetón and the role of Panamanian artists in embracing and building upon Jamaican music. “When I was 16 years old, I remember a song called ‘Tu Pun Pun,’ El General, right? The Panamanians, they show us love. I went there and I met Kafu Banton, who was a next [Panamanian] forerunner. But then, the music went to Puerto Rico and all ‘bout. And all of a sudden, it’s like, you created this sh*t,” he said.
The Champion singer pointed to the ongoing lawsuit filed by Jamaican production company Steely & Clevie against over 160 Reggaetón artists and producers, including Bad Bunny, Pitbull and Daddy Yankee, as evidence of alleged theft and appropriation.
“Steely & Clevie is one of our biggest producers,” Banton continued. “These guys have been biting this sh*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.”
In the interview, the Jamaican legend also argued that the rise of Afrobeats owes it’s influence to Jamaican music.
“Everyone wants to take from reggae; you want to ostracize us (Jamaican music) and underpay us. Afrobeats did not stem from Africa but from Jamaican influence. I’m sure Afrobeats artists would say to you, ‘Afrobeats is Afrobeats and has nothing to do with Jamaica,’ we say to them, ‘Our music has everything to do with Africa.’ We don’t dichotomize, we don’t separate ourselves from Africa, no time, no day. This is because the drum in our music is what speaks to our soul.”
“Do they [Afrobeats artists] give props back to reggae, to dancehall? I don’t think they do… They don’t give f*ing props back to dancehall and reggae.”
The musician who gained the spotlight in 1992 also highlighted the drum’s role in reggae, symbolizing the deep cultural connection between Jamaican music and African traditions.
He went on to reflect on his personal experiences with African audiences. “I went to Africa in 1991, and I spent three weeks constantly at the universities, educating people from Ghana, all over the continent, about reggae music and dancehall. But I was happy when they [Africans] came to their senses and realized that music is the bridge that will connect us.”
However, Banton expressed disappointment that the connection between Afrobeats and Jamaican music could have been stronger than he had hoped.
“But my disappointment was that they [Afrobeats artists] didn’t try to connect with Jamaica, The Roots. They tried connecting with everyone else except us. But when you look at what they’re doing, their music is not free in Africa. It’s’fockery—(‘absolute nonsense’),” the singer said.