Banton first tried his hand at DJing and toasting at age 13, performing with local sound systems. He was one of 15 children his mother was a street vendor, and he was directly descended from the colonial-era freedom fighters known as the Maroons. Buju was his childhood nickname, a word for breadfruit that was often applied to chubby children he would later adopt Banton in tribute to one of his earliest musical influences, Burro Banton.
Buju Banton was born Mark Anthony Myrie on July 15, 1973, in the Kingston slum of Salt Lane. While that never quite materialized, Banton remained a high-profile star into the new millennium. He first adopted the approach on his 1995 classic 'Til Shiloh, which raised hopes among his fans that he would become dancehall's great international ambassador, as Bob Marley had been for roots reggae. Debuting with a series of popular 'slack' singles, which drew criticism for their graphic sexuality and homophobia, Banton converted to Rastafarianism and revolutionized dancehall by employing the live instrumentation and social consciousness of classic roots reggae. Buju Banton was one of the most popular dancehall reggae artists of the '90s.
