Striking a chord from behind bars

Howard Campbell, Gleaner Writer

Though the daunting prospect of a lengthy prison sentence hung over his head for most of 2010, Buju Banton still found time to direct the final phase of Before The Dawn, which won the Grammy Award for Best Reggae Album last Sunday.

Jermaine Reid, engineer for the album, said the singjay spoke to him regularly by telephone from a Florida jail to make sure the finished product was up to scratch.

"Him would listen to some of the songs an' seh, 'yeah, mi like dat' or him would ask for a little change. He was pleased with how it turned out," Reid told The Gleaner earlier this week.

He said Buju lay tracks for Before The Dawn in 2009 prior to leaving for the United States to promote his Rasta Got Soul album which was released that summer.

It is the first Grammy success for the 37-year-old Buju who went on trial a second time Monday in Florida on cocaine and weapon charges.

Challenges

Before The Dawn was released in late September last year by Buju's Gargamel company, around the same time as his first trial in a Tampa, Florida Federal court ended.

Guitarists Mitchum 'Khan' Chin and Dalton Browne, and drummers Mikey 'Boo' Richards and Cleveland 'Clevie' Browne were some of the musicians who worked on the album.

Reid first worked with Buju on his 1999 album, Unchained Spirit. He was surprised his 'boss' won the Grammy given the challenges of the past 18 months.

"I never thought they would hand it to him. It was a tough battle but yuh can fight a man only so much," he said.

Rasta Got Soul was also nominated for a Grammy award in 2010. Gay-rights groups condemned its nomination, saying Buju had consistently encouraged violence against homosexuals and lesbians.

Promoters in major United States cities were forced to cancel several shows on the Rasta Got Soul tour due to protests from gay advocates.

Buju's trial drew international attention. But after one week, the 12-member jury failed to return a unanimous verdict.

Buju, whose given name is Mark Myrie, was arrested and charged by Federal agents at his Tamarac, south Florida, home in December 2009.

They claim that he and two men, Ian Thomas and James Mack, had negotiated a cocaine deal in a Sarasota, Florida warehouse.

Thomas and Mack pleaded guilty and are scheduled to be sentenced next month.

Buju has pleaded not guilty to the charges. Last November, he was granted bail and has been under house arrest since.