Story of the Song:'Operation Ardent' reveals Buju's first brush with the law

Mel Cooke, Gleaner Writer

Buju Banton's case in Miami, USA, has been settled and many a disc jock has settled on his song Not An Easy Road as his musical statement on the matter. He will not be able to make one publicly until he is released, as it has been made clear that Buju Banton will not be allowed to record while serving his time.

However, there was one passing brush with the law which did not get to a courthouse, but the Gargamel committed to record. It was not so much individual contact with the police officers, although there is a line in Operation Ardent which addresses his failed attempt to use celebrity status to slip through a security force cordon around a dance. Buju deejays:

"Like a fire drill dem part de dance inna two

Dem make two long line, one for Tom and one for Sue

While two offica up a front, one a search an one a screw

One a blow like him jus' get let out from zoo

Mi a try pass by an say respek due

Him say no, not because a you name Buju"

In the first verse of Operation Ardent, Buju describes the raid:

"Wid helicopter inna air, bright light a shine a grung

Haffi decide fe run cause mi no want no frisk dung

One prip mi prip de gate I was astonish an dumb

Mi see 14, me see matic an' SLR gun

Soldier corral de place from head to de grung

Terry Ganzie de outlaw mi no see whe him tun

Singer run lef' him girl like a no him an har come

Selector tun up de music cause music is strent

Tun it off from de offica say Ardent"

And the chorus asks:

"What more, what oonu want the massive fe do?

Every dance whe we keep oonu make it get curfew"

Operation Ardent was the 1992 to 1993 phase of a string of special police operations to fight crime, not specifically directed against dances. Up to 1999, Ardent was one of 13 special police squads formed since 1976, the year a State of Emergency was declared in Jamaica.

The others were Echo Squad (June 1976), Ranger Squad (March 1980), Eradication Squad (February 1981), Area 4 Task Force (1986-87), Anti-Crime Investigative Detachment (ACID, July 1993), Operation Crest (1995), Operation Justice (1995), Operation Dovetail (March 1997), Organised Crime Unit (1998) and Operation Intrepid (July 1999).

However, targeting of dances was nothing new. On May 27, 2007, The Gleaner published a story about deejay King Stitt accepting an award for half a century of playing music, notably with Sir Clement 'Coxson' Dodd's sound system.

rough business

Stitt said, "I accept this with humility and pride. During the early days, sound system business was rough. In those days playing a sound system was like you smoking herb. You have to decide to jump two fence and run from the cops if you don't want to go to jail."

"One Sunday night I run from police five times, just to play sound. Some of the times I say I would give up, but I say I love it and the people love me, so I going to please the people," Stitt said.

He made specific reference to a dance at Independence Lawn on Spanish Town Road, when Hugh Shearer was prime minister. A policeman told Stitt, "the prime minister say you must leave this and go look work".

"Me say is work I a work. Him say I don't business wid dat," Stitt said.

"Is not I alone had to run. U-Roy, Cuttings, Count Machukie had to run to bring this thing to where it is today," Stitt said.

Still, Opertation Ardent manages to juxtapose the humorous aspect of the search with the innocence of the dance-hall massive:

"Curfew of di century, search of di year

Man a try squeeze knife dung inna Red Stripe Beer

All de search that was conducted, no gun appear

A jus' niceness make everybody gadda here."