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

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.

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