New Album From Buju Banton Is Out Now, Marking His Return To VP Records After 23 Years

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By NAN ET Editor, NewsAmericas Now

News Americas, NEW YORK, NY, Weds. July 22, 2206: Jamaican-born, Grammy Award-winning reggae icon Buju Banton has released his 13th studio album, “Too Too Bad,” out now via Gargamel Music Inc. and VP Records – his first release on the label in 23 years.

The 13-track digital edition spans the breadth of Buju’s career, opening with “We Nuh Play” before moving into “FAFO,” a track the artist has described as reaffirming his standing as one of reggae’s standard-bearers. DJ Khaled joins him on “Wild Woman,” Ari Lennox features on “Satisfy Me,” and the album closes with “Power,” featuring Gramps Morgan. A 15-track CD edition adds two exclusive bonus tracks, including a feature from Jaz Elise, not available on the digital release.

Buju has backed the album’s release with a full television push, performing on NBC’s “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” and NBC’s “TODAY with Jenna & Sheinelle” this week. The album’s lead single, “Butterflies,” produced by Supa Dups, has surpassed one million cumulative streams and drew praise from Billboard, which described it as “heart-eyed.”

A summer built around the album

Reggae Star Buju Banton

The album’s release follows the July 18 opening of the Roots and Rhymes U.S. Summer Tour at UBS Arena in Belmont Park, New York, where Buju Banton and Stephen Marley launched their first-ever co-headlining tour together, joined by Skillibeng, DJ Norie, Gramps Morgan and Splackavelli. The tour continues through July 25, closing at Lakewood Amphitheatre in Atlanta. Two dollars from every ticket sold benefit charity, split evenly between the Ghetto Youths Foundation, founded by Stephen, Damian and Julian Marley, and the Buju Banton Foundation.

Buju is also set to perform at Angie Martinez’s “Angie’s BBQ,” hosted by Power 105.1 at Paradise Coney Island, alongside French Montana, Remy Ma, Coi Leray and Zeddy Will.

A milestone comeback

Buju’s catalog includes classics such as “Mr. Mention,” “Voice of Jamaica,” the Gold-certified “Til Shiloh,” and “Before The Dawn,” which won the Grammy for Best Reggae Album in 2010. He has collaborated with artists ranging from Beres Hammond to Nipsey Hussle and DJ Khaled, and continues to run the Buju Banton Foundation, which shelters more than 120 Jamaican boys in foster care.

His return to VP Records, the label behind decades of reggae and dancehall releases from artists including Sean Paul, Shaggy and Beenie Man, marks what the artist and label are calling a full-circle moment in a career now entering what Buju’s camp describes as its “boldest, brightest” chapter yet.

“Too Too Bad” is available now on all streaming platforms, with the CD edition offering fans additional exclusive material.

RELATED: Fantan Mojah’s Passing Marks The Loss Of More Than A Reggae Artist; It Is the Loss Of A Soul of Rastafari

Guyana Ferry Disaster: 53 Dead, 50 Still Missing

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By Staff Writer, NewsAmericas Now

News Americas, GEORGETOWN, Guyana, Weds. July 22, 2026: The confirmed death toll from Saturday’s Guyana Ferry Disaster has risen to 53, with roughly 50 people still unaccounted for, as search and rescue teams continue combing the waters off Guyana’s coast and near the place where the MV Barima sank.

Guyana Prime Minister Brigadier (Ret’d) Mark Phillips said investigations have established that 179 people, and not 133, were aboard the MV Barima when it capsized roughly seven miles offshore near the mouth of the Pomeroon River Saturday night – a figure he said is unlikely to change significantly. As of 6 p.m. Tuesday, authorities had verified 76 people rescued and 53 bodies recovered, with 26 positively identified so far, leaving approximately 50 people still unaccounted for.

Sixteen vessels remain deployed within the wreckage area, and the search zone has been expanded by an additional 400 square miles, extending up to Waini Point. French and local divers, including a 15-member team from the French Armed Forces in French Guiana, continue underwater search and recovery operations at the wreckage site. Bodies recovered are being transferred to Guyana Police Force custody at a facility established at the Charity River Dam, with identification carried out by family members at Suddie Hospital.

Members of the Guyana Coast Guard are working tirelessly with local fishermen and private boat owners in the search.

Captain, crew member test positive for cannabis

Separately, the captain of the MV Barima and another crew member have tested positive for cannabis and been arrested, authorities disclosed this week. Phillips said blood samples were drawn from both men following the capsizing, and that the results were released to the public as soon as they were confirmed. He said the disclosure reflected the government’s commitment to transparency, noting that when investigators separately determined more people had been aboard the vessel than listed on its manifest, that information was also released promptly.

“This remains a search and rescue operation”

Phillips pushed back against treating the disaster as settled, telling the public that recovering bodies does not mean the government has given up hope of finding survivors. “Notwithstanding the fact that we are recovering bodies, we still have hope that people are out there who are alive, and therefore we continue our search and rescue activities,” he said, urging the public to approach the tragedy with sensitivity and avoid circulating unverified reports, photos or videos.

A separate investigation will be conducted to determine the cause of the capsizing, which the government has said will be full and transparent.

Three days of national mourning

President Irfaan Ali has declared three days of national mourning, from Wednesday, July 22, through Friday, July 24, with the national flag flown at half-mast on government buildings across the country. Wednesday has been designated a National Day of Prayer, with a Day of Prayer and Remembrance held at the Kingston Seawall in Georgetown. A Night of Reflection and Prayer follows in Port Kaituma on Thursday and in Mabaruma on Friday. The government has encouraged religious organizations, civic groups and citizens nationwide to hold candlelight vigils during the mourning period.

NewsAmericasNow will continue following the search and rescue operation and the investigation into the MV Barima disaster.

RELATED: Guyana: The MV Barima Tragedy Puts The Spotlight On A Decades-Old Issue – An Aging Ferry Fleet