Not an easy road

It's not an easy road
Many see the glamour and the glitter
And think it's a bed of rose
Who feels it knows
Lord help me sustain these blows


Not an Easy road - Buju Banton

I'll admit it. I really didnt follow this Buju case as closely as I should have but now that he's been found guilty I still feel I should say a likkle something.

First off, I'll admit I'm biased when it comes to Buju. I love most of his music. Been a fan since he came on the scene in the late 80s early 90s before he was rasta. My favorite Buju tunes are Til I'm laid to rest, Deportees , Close one yesterday and How it a go go which pretty much span the range of his entire career and I think Til Shiloh is the best album to ever come out of Jamaica by anyone not named Bob.

Thats why its always pretty sad to me to see his entire career judged based on Boom Bye Bye. One solitary song from when he was a youth being used to determine his character over and over.

Anyway I think it was clear that Buju was going to be found guilty here. While I cant for certain say he is guilty of being a drug mover and distributor I do get the impression he was a complete idiot in his dealings with these people and even if not guilty set himself up completly for a fall.


But the man shouldn't go jail for a lack of common sense or should he?

It dont help that his last big hit was one "Driver A" where he is basically telling someone to drop off some drugs for him. And to be honest as much as a catchy tune as it is, it always seemed a bit uncharatistically not Buju to me.

Still what more can I say. If he is indeed guilty then I cant advocate any special treatment or sentencing for him just because im a superstar cause they naa give the average bad boy no special considerations and if you do the crime I feel the time ya 'ave fi tek too.

But many folk think he was railroaded and the system worked against him. This might be true but again I really thought he had more sense than to involve himself in something like this.

Now he faces 15 to life, which is definitely not an easy road. Sad to see a great musician go out like that.

Oh and I realize that I said this last year before the first attempt to sentence him.