Buju Banton returns home to Jamaica to a hero’s welcome.
Hundreds of fans converged on the Norman Manley International Airport on Friday night as Buju Banton touched down on Jamaican soil for the first time in a decade, following his release from a US prison. The singer is currently at his home resting while spending some quality time with his family. We’re told that he will be keeping a low profile for the next couple of weeks as he catches up on some family time.
Buju Banton spent seven years in federal prison starting 2011 and an additional year in a Florida jail while awaiting trial following his arrest in December 2009. A jury found the reggae icon guilty on three counts of drug trafficking. The Grammy-winning singer maintained his innocence till the very end, but he ended up losing several appeals.
Buju, aka Gargamel, is one of the most successful reggae/dancehall artists in the history of the genre. The singer/deejay rise to stardom in the early 1990s as a hardcore dancehall act, but would later become a Rastafarian who focuses on more conscious music.
In 2011, while behind bars, Buju Banton won his first Grammy award for Best Reggae Album for his critically acclaimed album, Before The Dawn. He is already prepping for the release of his first post-prison album, due sometime early next year.
Buju Banton fans in Trinidad also turned out for a major event hosted by the promoter of a show he is booked for in April of next year.
