Buju Banton
b. Mark Myrie, 1973, Kingston, Jamaica, West Indies. Raised in Denham Town, Buju began his DJ apprenticeship at the age of 13 with the Rambo Mango and Sweet Love sound systems. Fellow DJ Clement Irie took him to producer Robert French for his debut release, The Ruler, in 1986. The following year he voiced for Red Dragon, Bunny Lee and Winston Riley, who later remixed his tracks with a notable degree of success. By 1990 his voice had ripened to a warm, deep growl that drew comparisons with Shabba Ranks. He was then introduced to Dave Kelly, resident engineer at Donovan Germain's Penthouse Studio. Together they wrote many of the hits that established Buju as the most exciting newcomer of 1991: courting controversy with lyrics revealing his preference for light-skinned girls on Love Mi Browning, and defining dancehall fashions with tunes like Women Nuh Fret, Batty Rider, Bogle Dance and Big It Up, the debut release on Kelly's own Mad House label. 
Penthouse released the MR. MENTION album as a wave of hits for themselves, Soljie, Shocking Vibes, Bobby Digital and Exterminator began to underline his rapid rise to prominence. Most notorious of these projects was the violently homophobic Boom Bye Bye for Shang. Given national TV exposure in the UK, it created a storm of media protest. By now his records were dominating the reggae charts; often in combination with fellow Penthouse artists like Wayne Wonder, Beres Hammond, Marcia Griffiths and Carol Gonzales. Mercury Records signed him to a major label US deal later that year. By 1993 his lyrics dealt increasingly with cultural issues. Tribal War, featuring an all-star ensemble—was voiced in response to Jamaica's warring political factions, Operation Ardent railed against Kingston's curfew laws and Murderer was provoked by the shooting of his friend and fellow DJ, Pan Head. It is this streak of hard-edged reality— offset by his typically coarse, melodic romancing of the ladies—that has established him as an artist of international repute, second only to Shabba in the DJ popularity stakes.