Buju Banton has new music, but not everyone will have the option to purchase since it’s only available as NFT purchases.
Earlier tonight, the official Instagram page for the Gargamel shared the cover image and a snippet of a brand new track. The track titled “Fight Four Your Rights” sees Buju Banton staying true to his cultural roots as he preaches self-preservation while lashing out against world leaders in whom citizens have put their trust.
Many fans welcomed the new music, hailing it as the next Til’ Shiloh.
Fat Joe left a burning trail of fire emojis while Gramp Morgan expressed that he loved the “Chune.”
Others were more intrigued by the deejay’s decision to only allow the purchase of the song via an NFT platform, OpenSea.
“THIS SONG IS AN NFT EXCLUSIVE AND WILL BE PUBLISHED FOR NFT OWNERS ONLY! This track feature’s BUJU BANTON on lead vocals. Shiloh band on the rhythm section. Nicki Burt, Adina and Sister Carol on the harmonies. Your listening to pure and authentic reggae music!” Buju wrote in the caption.
The abbreviation NFT translates to “Non-fungible token.” In simpler terms, NFT are the latest digital form of trade. The technology runs on blockchain, much like Ethereum, the world’s second large cryptocurrency when measured by market capitalization. The rise of NFTs has resulted in content owners, not just creators seeing huge returns, as images, videos, tweets, music, and other art forms are transformed digitally for trade on the blockchain.
Buju Banton further explained the reason behind his decision to only offer his new music via the digital platform. “Please be reminded this is an asset you hold an trade due to the low volume minted so in short, you resell your music for what u want,” he wrote while sharing that this was his gift to his fans.
Gramps Morgan of the Morgan Heritage band further cosigned the move as one for the future. After sharing that he would be purchasing the project, he wrote, “Digital music NFT Style. Welcome To The Future People.”
Buju Banton further expressed, “we giving our fans value for year’s of support. Who knows knows.”
Not everyone was on board for the new digital push. One fan questioned the reason for NFT being the only mode of purchase. “Why would only release your music to people who buy your nft…some bullsh*t….been supporting you from day one,” he asked.
Buju Banton replied by doubling down on his stance that this is a move for the people, “bro when u supported me what did u do with your collection after you have listened enough? Now you can put your collection back on the market. Its not bullsh*t it’s called common sense.”
The fan in question praised Buju for his timeless catalog while hinting that his music would still move units, “you have timeless music….it never gets old to me.”
Another chose to share just how impactful NFT’s are on the planet when compared to physical sales.
“I can take my CDs down to the pawnshop. NFTs are not some guarantee of future value. I hope it makes you lots of money, but please be aware that the cost to the planet is very very high,” he wrote.
What’s your take on Buju’s decision to list his new music as an NFT?
