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‘Trust’ takes over iTunes reggae chart

Published:Wednesday | December 11, 2019 | 12:12 AM
Buju Banton performing at Reggae Sumfest 2019.
Buju Banton performing at Reggae Sumfest 2019.

Grammy Award-winning dancehall star, Buju Banton, again excited fans on Friday when he released the official music video for his Dave Kelly-produced single, Trust. And, fans are showing their appreciation for the song by sending it back straight to the top of the iTunes top 100 reggae songs chart.

On Friday morning, Trust was at number 15 on the chart, which showcases the 100 most popular reggae song downloads on iTunes daily. However, by the following day, the song had soared to the pinnacle, and has remained there since. Rounding out the top five on the iTunes chart are Koffee’s Toast; Shaggy’s Angel (feat. Rayvon); Koffee’s W (feat. Gunna); and Shaggy’s It Wasn’t Me (feat. Ricardo Ducent).

Since the release of the music video, which was directed by Kieran Khan, Trust has amassed over 700,000 views on YouTube and close to 3,000 comments. Interestingly, it is not trending at number one, or even in the top 10 on YouTube locally. The audio video, however, racked up over 2.7 million views since it was released on November 14, and trended at number two in the days following its release. Mavado, who released his T op Shotta Is Back official audio five days ago, has now captured the top spot.

Last Thursday, the Gargamel posted a clip of the actual music video, along with the words “new style, new flow”.

Fans immediately set the page ablaze by dropping countless fire emojis. Like the song, the video is being hailed as “real dancehall”.

Trust, ironically, is really about distrust, specifically as it relates to cell phones, social media, technology, and human nature.

Partnership

It was two weeks ago that Buju announced a partnership with Jay-Z’s Roc Nation and released the ‘movie’ for his single, Steppa. In his first and only post-prison interview in the one year since his release, with Rolling Stone, the magazine has this to say: “In his new video for Steppa, a roaring reggae cut, the singer defuses a shoot-out, peacefully disarming gang members by collecting their guns before they are put to violent use.

“A certain culture has taken on a life of its own and become a monster,” Banton tells Rolling Stone. “Things are not the way they used to be – crime and violence, the gap between the rich and the poor,” he continues. “Wasn’t that always my role, to bring some civility and some consciousness to human existence, to the music? I’ve not changed.”