Buju Banton is looking forward to the release of his new album Upside Down 2020, which he says will uplift and inspire the masses during this time of despair.
As the reggae legend approaches the release of his thirteenth studio album, he is sharing what to expect from the new body of work. In a recent virtual interview with Ebro Darden on Hot 97 in New York, Buju Banton talked about how the album title came about. According to Buju, he coined the phrase before all the unprecedented happenings of 2020 even occurred. As previously reported, Buju didn’t add the year to the title until early May, which he announced in a video posted online.
“This was coined long before all these things came to fruition, yes?” Buju explained about the album title. “Because we’re always forward-thinking and forward-looking. So it’s a great body of work and I think it’s gonna do a wonderful job for reggae music and for the people in terms of uplifting and strengthening and giving the masses the songs in these times that can help to motivate and inspire us.”
During his Hot 97 interview, Buju Banton also showed much respect for the artists who participated in the making of his new album. Though he has worked with John Legend and David Kelly before, this was his first time working with Stefflon Don, whose ties to the United Kingdom are of much significance because of the history of their relationship with Jamaica. The record also features Bob Marley’s son Stephen Marley.
Overall, Buju Banton says his album will inspire and motivate, and it features songs for everybody and from every genre “to entertain, uplift, educate and stimulate the consciousness.” The reggae icon shared that he does not know when he will be able to go on an album tour due to the pandemic, but he hopes that everything will be resolved soon. Meanwhile, Buju seems to have his own conspiracies about the “plandemic,” which he referred to facetiously.
Elsewhere in the interview, Buju Banton made an important statement that is relevant to the times. “Our nation and our people need to uplift themselves now,” he said. “We see everybody come to the Americas and get ahead yet our people who live there can’t even make it. Let’s go – ‘Upside Down’ must be corrected now.”
Will you be copping Buju’s new album this Friday?
