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Driver! Don’t stop at all - Dancehall wants more of Buju Banton’s ‘Trust’

Published:Sunday | November 17, 2019 | 12:36 AMStephanie Lyew - Gleaner Writer

Classic dancehall rhythms of the 1990s such as Pepperseed, Joyride, Action and Showtime produced by Madhouse Records producer Dave Kelly have been designated ‘party starters’ for most street selectors.

For these productions, Kelly has collaborated with dancehall recording artistes like Shabba Ranks, Spragga Benz, Baby Cham, Beenie Man, Bounty Killer and Buju Banton. Hailed as a genius for not only creating hits but long-lived productions, Kelly, stands out for defining the standard that is ’90s dancehall – and clearly, he has no plans to change.

His latest production, Trust, with Buju Banton flows like tracks from the past even though the topic is very up-to-the-minute, says selector Flabba Dabba of Team Shella.

“The dancehall ‘driver’ is back; Buju Banton is coming from a period of doing mostly reggae, or more soulful music and with this new track, he falls into the main playlist for a street dance,” Flabba Dabba said.

During Buju Banton’s Long Walk to Freedom, he says, many persons were on their heels anticipating collaborations with the Grammy Award-winning artiste and Kelly. The chemistry between Buju Banton and Kelly is unmatched, with the two having worked closely to produce the albums Mr Mention in 1992 and Til Shiloh in 1995.

“The song flows well, and that authentic dancehall ’90s kick to the rhythm will definitely run dancehall – once it plays in the right segment and the hypeman intro it – money pull-up guaranteed,” he said.

“All I have to say to the artiste and producer is, don’t let it stop here, dancehall wants more of this because remember where it is right now, the people rarely hearing tracks like Trust, and we expect more from him … . It would be nice to get a dub out of it, can try fi it,” said Flabba Dabba.

A Buju Banton dubplate may cost a selector anywhere from US$800 to US$1,000, but selectors are ready to shell out big money for this one.

Selector Bishop Escobar told The Gleaner, “The message behind it, it is relatable especially with the social media-ruled era – it is like a warning, and inna dancehall, one of the commonly heard topics is about trust or nuh trust people.

“Dancehall ready for it; take it from me, nuff dubplate going run. Me just ah listen to it and I will be testing it out over the weekend bookings,” he said.

stephanie.lyew@gleanerjm.com