The Vault Reviews: Upside Down by Buju Banton

Maybe I'm wrong and I'm about to say something stupid (won't be the first time, most certainly will not be the last), or maybe it's just the state of the times, but it seems to me that the 'state' of Reggae albums might just be changing. In previous times, for the most part, it seemed as if the Reggae album was a bit of an afterthought. In contrast to.... pretty much every other genre (one of the few exceptions being Soca) many albums just kind of seemed to come up and, from what I heard, the actual artist would receive virtually nothing for them (you may remember Tanya Stephens giving away an album for completely free after dropping two incredible sets which, apparently, netted her nothing monetarily) (I think I recall Spragga Benz saying a similar thing) if anything at all really. Perhaps as a result of that, what we would see once upon a time was particular artists who would, almost habitually, release multiple albums annually and maybe one out of every handful or so would truly register, while the rest would be left to thrill their most faithful of followers (like You and I); but like I said, there were instances (and individuals) which (whom) had different circumstances. Apart from individuals who routinely received international attention (more on them in just a second) I'm always reminded by the outstanding run enjoyed by Capleton in the 2000's. The albums "More Fire", "Still Blazin'" and "Reign Of Fire", especially, were so widely well regarded and well-publicized and it helped raise the level of Capleton, in general. I can recall reading an article where the writer rather casually said that he had overtaken Beenie Man in terms of popularity around the time and when you go back to that era, those releases STILL stand out for him. VP Records helmed all three of those sets and their products have consistently been.... pretty much the best presented in all of modern Reggae music, consistently. The label has always seemed to operate exclusively with some of the biggest names in the genre (like Capleton, Lady Saw, Beenie Man, Beres Hammond and others), while also keeping an ear towards who had hits at the time and would, presumably, be profitable (Turbulence has a big hit called 'Notorious', VP makes an album called "Notorious". Jah Mason has 'Princess Gone', VP has "Prince Gone: The Saga Bed". Norris Man had one also with "Persistence") and it's worked out for them. The group of Reggae and Dancehall artists who have received more international attention have also done well with releasing full projects. The likes of Sean Paul, Shaggy, the aforementioned Beenie Man, Wayne Wonder, Baby Cham and Damian Marley have scored and continue to in some respects to this day; and today we celebrate Koffee (for SONY!), Shenseea, Spice (how wonderful is that? Three of the genre's biggest albums of the last year have come from women!) and figure to be doing it again this year for the GRIZZLED Beenie Man, Bounty Killer and Sean Paul shortly. And I love him so I simply have to add the fact here that Sizzla has also signed a distribution deal with US label Def Jam Records (and he is, reportedly, working on a new one for this year as well called "Africa 54"). So, again, maybe I'm just completely wrong, but maybe things are starting to change on some level when it comes to Reggae albums.

If you looked at it from the perspective of Buju Banton, however, you'd likely come away thinking that things were 'business as usual'. While he probably has never received a spotlight on his work as large as that gotten by Sean Paul and Beenie Man at their respective peaks (although "Too Bad", with 'Driver A', definitely would have come close), Buju has always occupied an awfully unique position, particularly when it comes to international appeal. For some strange ass reason, he has well found a home amongst fans who are not typically Reggae fans; and while you can definitely say the same for the aforementioned likes of Beenie, Sean Paul and Shaggy, those artists have at least made an attempt to capitalize on that level of attention. I don't think Buju Banton has. The result has likely put his global popularity between that which Capleton once enjoyed and the likes of Sean Paul etc. and like all of them, it has made the moments when Buju Banton releases albums a very big deal - some of the biggest in the entire genre. 

2010

And that all magnified in the decade long period between 2010 and 2020 when Buju didn't release an album at all. As testament to just how big his albums were, his 2010 release, "Before The Dawn" would net the artist his first Grammy Award for Best Reggae album, after having previously been nominated for the honour on four different occasions (and I'm about to tell you about another album he did which was also nominated for a Grammy). Just days following (ten of them, if my research is correct (I initially misremembered it as being the very next day)) picking up that Grammy in 2011, Buju was convicted of drug charges in the US and sentenced to a long term prison sentence from which he did not emerge until late 2018! Since then, Buju had been on a tear, having IMMEDIATELY returned to form and popularity and though his travel schedule (travel ABILITY) had become limited, what you actually heard from him didn't suggest someone who was 'rusty' and had, instead, spent his time incarcerated STILL working on his craft. It would take two and a half years for Buju and company to put the crowning jewel on his return as, in the summer of 2020, he would deliver "Upside Down", his first album since his release from prison and, as I said, his first release altogether in TEN YEARS. Like virtually all of his projects, in one way or another, "Upside Down" would come via Buju's own Gargamel Records imprint, this time with Roc Nation on board handling distribution (and that has typically been the case for him: Gargamel Records does  the actual musical work, with a big-named label doing the distribution) (he's also worked wiith the likes of Atlantic, the aforementioned VP and Tommy Boy Records in the past). It's always interesting to me the way that Buju's albums tend to be received. He spent the vast majority of the 1990's releasing albums which were widely hailed for their excellence, including 1995's "'Til Shiloh", which is regarded as his opus (because it is) and one of the greatest Reggae albums of all time from anyone (because it's that too), but it's almost as if his status has risen to a certain level where people have FULLY began to digest his work. Because of that (and this is a good thing in my opinion), for reasons strictly relating to music (and OBVIOUSLY for reasons outside of the studio, but that goes without saying at this point (....even though I just said it), Buju may be THE most critiqued Reggae artist that we've seen. You'll find reviews for his albums in some of the most unusual corners of the internet and others which're typically reserved for Hip-Hop (or, "urban music", in general, as it is called). That's where he's found an audience and, apparently they turned out en masse for "Upside Down". What they found when they got their hands on it was, while not his absolute best work and definitely a little 'bloated' --though forgivably so in this instance -- was damn solid and a VERY FUN release from one of Reggae music's greatest champions of all time. Let's talk about it!

Surprisingly, even at this stage of it, leading up to the release of "Upside Down", Buju Banton would score with, arguably, some (two of them, especially) of the bigger hits of his entire career. As if the album needed more flames to help build the anticipation for its arrival, Buju seemed to be on a roll just prior to it and that material definitely went to become some of the featured songs on this project (and when you first heard them, you KNEW something was coming). The first of the twenty tracks which span an hour and twelve minutes found Buju offering a prayer with 'Lamb Of God'. While it is an actual song, 'Lamb Of God' is, essentially, an intro. It sounds exactly how you think it does. You'd hear it at a church service or a funeral and you'd be there singing right along - it serves its purpose. Next, we have another song that also does what it's supposed to do and comes as no surprise in 'Yes Mi Friend'. Most appropriately, this one features Buju alongside one of those "friends", Stephen Marley, who also produces. It was an interesting thought on how Buju would deal with his incarceration and release, musically, and 'Yes Mi Friend' is his first response. He talks about just how HAPPY he is to be a free man and some of the tribulations he faced while in prison (I've never been locked up in any way, but SEVEN YEARS sounds like a really large chunk of life to be missing out on and clearly the artist is excited to re-begin his life and get back to what he does like very few others ever have.

"Yes mi friend!

Mi deh pon street again

Yes mi friend!

Dem set mi free again"

That line of thought continues with the next selection 'Buried Alive', where Buju directly expresses his gratitude for being out of that situation. 'Buried Alive' had this very BIG vibe to it and came courtesy of the wizard Steven 'Lenky' Marsden, who helms several tracks throughout "Upside Down" (including one I've already told you about, 'Lamb Of God'). What stands out for me on this one is how Buju takes his current standing, as a free man, as a sign that he now MUST do something. He must make some grand contribution to the world, almost a sign of saying 'thank you' for his freedom. You and I will be sitting here to see what that turns out to be, exactly, but if he spends the rest of his days making music like this, I'm sure that will be just good enough. If it sounds like.... oh, I don't know, maybe 'Blessed', then it might even be a little extra from the artist - going above an beyond. The Dave Kelly produced single was the initial sign of something truly SPECIAL on "Upside Down". This BEAUTIFULLY grimy and minimal [authentic] Dancehall track backs Buju who uses it to set forth a message which has its roots in social change and revolution, but this brand of revolting is a calmer one. There's a certain level of security and CONFIDENCE behind it as, when you have a SUPREME Protector behind you ["Wi ah try move outta di shack. Dem ah cry and ah spy and ah try stop wi clock, GUESS A WHO HAVE WI BACK"] what problems may arise are, at best, temporary. I don't say this too often about a song, but I really get the feeling about 'Blessed', that Buju ENJOYED creating it. Whatever the circumstances and wherever he was at the time - it just sounds like he was having a really good day. The delivery is vibrant and is about as on-point that would expect from a bona fide master of this sound like himself. The same could well be said about the syrupy sweet 'Memories' which rounds out the first quarter of "Upside Down". The tune features another of Buju Banton's really good friends, US R&B singer, John Legend. 'Memories' (also produced by Lenky) (he produces the next one I'm going to tell you about as well) is an ultra-catchy and infectious love song that has both soft and hard edges (fitting to the artists singing it). Their  musical relationship goes back well over a decade and the chemistry that Buju and Legend have developed becomes crystal clear on this  gem of a lover's set. I'll also jump ahead and mention the similarly situated 'Cherry Pie', as it features Buju alongside the well accomplished Pharrell Williams. I'm not going to spend too much time on it because I almost feel like scrutinizing it too much kind of defeats the purpose of the song, but I will tell you is that, even if you do not LOVE 'Cherry Pie'' (and I do not) (although I am a bigger fan of the song than I am of the actual dessert), this thing will STAY with you. Maybe not so much via a dominant, hard-to-shake chorus, as much as the prevailing vibes of the entire track (steered by long time Buju collaborator, Jermaine Reid) - you will be long done spinning 'Cherry Pie', but still dealing with it in some way, 'trust me'.

Both 'Lovely State of Mind' [Lenky] and 'Appreciated' [Reid] are two more love songs on "Upside Down". Although the latter is solid with its classic vibe, I slightly preferred the extremely CRISP and curious sounding 'Lovely State of Mind'. For its part, however, 'Appreciated' very much has a nice free-flowing and organic sound to it and.... as I sit here listening to it again, it may be better than I'm giving it credit for [note: I previously wrote it as "I definitely preferred" 'Lovely State of Mind' and the edit was to replace "definitely" with "slightly"]. I wouldn't at all be surprised if it turned out that 'Beat Dem Bad' was either a full freestyled type of tune or if it developed from such a level. It goes all over the place and I'm not calling that a bad thing. The multilayered and multifaceted riddim underpinning it (courtesy of Reid) might actually even promote such a tune and, perhaps, just attempted to climb on this thing in a more straight-forward wouldn't have been the best route anyway. 'Beat Dem Bad' was just all kinds of interesting. If you say you disliked it, I wouldn't blame you. If you said it was amongst the album's best, I wouldn't disagree. To my opinion, "Upside Down" truly reached its apex between a pair of early singles released for the album and the first of them to appear in its tracklist is also my absolute favourite, the MASSIVE Dave Kelly guided 'Trust'.

Trust was hypnotic, DELICIOUS and brilliant [authentic] hardcore Dancehall music. There wasn't a drop of any other types of genres or anything else, it was full on modern Dancehall and Buju SHINED! The tune also had some type of bigger relevance as Buju would warn everyone (in an almost comedically overly cautious ["So if you meet a girl and you plan fi freak it. When you go her housem make sure you sweep it. And find di camera dem anywhere she keep it. IF SHE GO BATHROOM, MAKE SURE YOU PEEP!"] and paranoid way) to be fully aware of our surroundings at all time and to be careful how you engage on social media, but that was a gift to be inherited after you got through the FILTHY vibes of 'Trust'. 

There is a solid pair of songs in the next batch on "Upside Down" that I feel have somewhat gone overlooked and underappreciated as both 'Moonlight Love' and 'Cheated' were at least very good with the latter being damn near exceptional, in my opinion. The venerable Steven Stanley cared for 'Moonlight Love' and it turned out to be a subtly DIVERSE love song (really listen to that tune and you'll hear just how much is going on in there. It almost sounds 'Arabian' at  times). I'm not attempting to call it the greatest of anything, but 'Moonlight Love' can just make you feel really good if you give it the opportunity. And then there's 'Cheated' which borders somewhere near brilliant at times. 

"Anna Maria its over!

You really let me down

I thought the love we shared was sincere and profound

The way you told me that you loved me let my love come down

BUT WHEN DI TROUBLE TAKE ME, YOU WERE NOWHERE AROUND

It was all about di money, fancy cars and such

YOU SAID I WAS A BREDDA WID DI MIDAS TOUCH

Sold your life worthwhile fi mi designer style

WHEN PEOPLE SAY YOU SPOILED, I WOULD ANSWER 'NOT ENOUGH!'

Caught up inna world filled wid trivial stuff

And I never took di time to see it was a gold-rush

SHOWED DI REAL YOU WHEN I GOT LOCKED UP

Not even a postcard"

I believe the producer here, Pase Rock (with DJ Ross One), has some type of working relationship with Roc Nation and I might want to look up some more of what he's done as, though clearly Hip-Hop influenced (which is not my thing), the sound of 'Cheated' is incredibly interesting, regardless of what genre it actual falls within. Impressive British export Stefflon Don makes an appearance on "Upside Down" and does more than hold her own with her contribution to the nice R&B-ish 'Call Me'. This was a big spot for Stefflon - it definitely put her in the attentions of a lot of people who'd never come across her prior to appearing on this album and, largely because of her (as Buju does precisely what you would expect from him on such a piece), 'Call Me' was very memorable. Then we have a little song called 'Steppa'. The other GIANT pre-album single that I alluded to in 'Trust', this Reid produced drop was pure genius. The song worked so well, at least for me, because of how ULTRA realistic it was. Buju was talking about the 'steppa', the iconoclast to the much (unfortunately) celebrated 'shotta'. A steppa is positive and progressive and, though certainly not perfect, knows right from wrong and tries to do what is right. The great part was that while Buju definitely isn't celebrating negativity and violence, nor is he even condoning it, but he is acknowledging it. He knows it is there and likely always be ["SAY YOU A BADMAN - FINE!"], but he's hoping that his song will lead more youths to make the choice to "step fi di betta" and he's actually glorifying the positivity here. The refusal to turn an unrealistic (NON-EXISTENT) blind-eye to what is actually going on, put 'Steppa' somewhere in the stratosphere for me. It's one of the best songs on this album and it's one of the best songs Buju has EVER done in my opinion (and I am SERIOUSLY considering changing my vote for album's finest). The playful 'Good Time Girl' rounds out this group and it certainly isn't a bad song (would have a hard time being so, produced by Lenky) and if you need something to make you bob your head and step your feet, it has you! Just a nice vibes about a girl looking for a good time and there's nothing wrong with that.... unless of course that girl looking for a good time is your girl and she's looking for it with someone else! That, on the other hand, is fucked up.

I hear small echoes of a personal classic from Buju Banton's vault when I hear 'The World Is Changing' which was produced by the legendary King Jammy, as it ever so slightly reminds me of the MAMMOTH 'Up Ye Mighty Race' from the "Friends For Life" album (ridiculously almost twenty years old now!). Both tracks feature this unique POUNDING sound to them, at least to my ears and it immediately brought me back to that special place in my memory. Like 'Up Ye Mighty Race', 'The World Is Changing' is a sizable social commentary and one where Buju thrills. '400 Years' is an even stronger selection. Nearly a complete chant, this tune has an AURA surrounding it (supplied by Lenky) which helps send it near the tops of the album in my opinion. Take that and combine it with a Buju, CLEARLY up for the moment (I'm thinking that the first time he heard the instrumental for '400 Years', it probably lit his face up! A credit must also go to veteran Nikki Burt, Carol Dexter and Buju's own sister, Adena Myrie, for providing SUBLIME backing vocals as they all come together to say that oppression, in general, has been in power for entirely too long - and it's time to make some changes. The immortal Bobby Digital gifted to us all (so, SO many wonderful songs. What a life that man lived!) the golden 'Helping Hand', easily one of the biggest moments on the album. Despite Buju's obvious passion on the tune, I like songs like this because what they do is -- at least in my opinion -- is to reassert COMMON SENSE. Of course if there is someone that you can help and you can do something for (with very few exceptions), you do it! None of asked to be here, but helping one another definitely makes the journey easier and that's the heart of 'Helping Hand' and it's one of the central themes in all of Roots Reggae music, if you think about it.

"And it doesn't matter how small, it's  never too little to share

AND WHAT DOES IT TAKE FROM YOUR PRIDE TO SHOW SOMEONE THAT YOU CARE?

A friend is a person or someone who is always there

Who can feel your joy and know your pain and know all the trouble you bare

Don't you know it takes one hand to wash the other?

If you should see your brother falling, help him if you can

The spirit of Jah does not always strive with man

If you should se your brother falling, lend a helping hand"

Have I told you how big of a deal Buju Banton's album tend to be??? Along with the aforementioned Dave Kelly, King Jammy and Bobby Digital (and with respect to Lenky and Jermaine Reid, who're always around when he works), the artist also linked with the great Clevie (of Steely & Clevie fame) (biggup Steely) for the glorious social commentary that was 'Rising Up'. I feel inclined to mention this before I forget to: At the end of 'Rising Up', we get a DELICIOUS seventy seconds or so of the clean riddim and if you read my work to any degree, you know exactly how much I love when producers do that because it shows to me that they REALLY enjoyed their creation and felt that, just like the vocal artists, it, too, deserves its time in the spotlight. The sound of 'Rising Up' rates highly on "Upside Down" altogether and Buju makes the most of it. Though on the short side (as you would expect it to be while carrying seventy seconds of an instrumental), 'Rising Up', a call to change, definitely makes an impact and it did so in what will certainly go down in history as one of the most crucial times, socially, in the history of our species ["The cost of confrontation shall be economic crisis"]. And lastly is the single finest musical display on the whole of "Upside Down", the PILLARING 'Unity'. This thing sounds like something out of Femi Kuti's catalogue, it is a STUNNING piece of music once again from Reid. Buju Banton does have a point to make here which is threatened to be overwhelmed by the spectacular sound here about bringing all children of Africa a little closer together ["I know, among us, there are wolves among the flocks; BUT NO ONE CAN STOP US AND, TO CONQUER, THEY CANNOT!"] and what helps push that message across is just how much FUN he seemed to have in making this song. On more than one occasion during 'Unity', he just breaks out into a laugh and it is a remarkable moment to wrap up this album. I also want to mention, just as there was the case at the end of 'Rising Up', the vibe of 'Unity' also gets its time clear of vocals, but at the head of the song; before Buju says even a single word, the riddim plays on for nearly a minute! That's even more rare to do it at the beginning of the song, but just as beautiful! Altogether I want to make the point that the final five selections of "Upside Down" -- 'The World Is Changing', '400 Years', 'Rising Up', 'Helping Hand' and 'Unity' -- represent what is TRULY some of the strongest material you'll find here. In retrospect, 'Unity' was probably THE biggest hit amongst them, but none of them did the damage that their quality would have suggested that they might to me. So you can do it for yourself: Pay a very high amount of attention at the end of this album.

Overall, yes, the biggest complaint with "Upside Down" would be that it's too big. Again, it's understandable exactly why it was that big, but not everything here was absolutely crucial and they were never going to be at that length. Still, for what was here and what this set was representing at the time (and will represent historically, when we begin looking back on it), "Upside Down" was not only FITTING, but it was solid as well. I did not particularly enjoy "Before The Dawn" when it reached and I still don't (though 'Rasta Can't Go' has always been and will always be a big tune) and because of that, "Upside Down" instantly became Buju Banton's best work since 2009's epic "Rasta Got Soul" (though I still favour "Rasta Got Soul" ahead of "Upside Down" a bit). Assuming that, at not yet fifty years of age, Buju Banton still has quite a lot of music to make, I believe that we'll look back at "Upside Down" as an obvious standing point of the second (or third, actually) portion of his career (first would have been Dancehall star, the "Til Shiloh" began the second) and when we do look back, what we'll hear is someone who, despite having been 'away' in a very unusual manner, was still very near the height of his powers and CLEARLY still capable of capturing the attention of the entire Reggae listening world in the palm of his hand. 

Rated: 4/5

Gargamel Records/Roc Nation

2020

CD, Vinyl + Digital