Trust by Buju Banton
I heard this dancehall track long before it was released even as an audio on YouTube and I immediately LOVED it. This track is not his best work ever ever, BUT I think it’s his very BEST since prison, and from the first time I heard this track, I told everyone that I believed it would be BIG for him. . .
For many reasons:
(1) For the first time since his release from prison, Buju went back to basic riddim-riding instead of trying too hard.
(2) The Dancehall beat was not too fast.
Why is this important? This gave his fans (who are mostly middle-aged), an opportunity to appreciate it. . .
(older people shy away from faster tempos).
(3) Banton is addressing the issue of trust, especially amongst friends ... and this will generate excitement within the Jamaican community for 2 main reasons--
(i) firstly because Jamaicans don't like informers...
(ii) and secondly, because his fans know that the lack of trust had a lot to do with many things that happened to him ten years ago.
WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE:
I think the vocal announcement of "new style, new flow" that Dave Kelly put at the beginning of the track, is unnecessary and just might be a turn-off for someone who might be anxiously awaiting the start of the song. They could fix that with a remix.
**** WHAT ABOUT BUJU’s SLOWER, REGGAE SONGS?
Don't get me wrong, I think Buju is one of the absolute best artists to come out of Jamaica and I have always supported him ... and I absolutely love Buju’s slower, roots, culture and lovers-rock type Reggae songs but the problem with MOST of those slow, Reggae tracks is that Buju tries too hard to come off like Bob Marley and Buju also sings “off key” a lot.
WHY?
For two reasons:
(1) Banton has a lot of “yes-men“ around him who hype him up regardless of what a song sounds like. So they get released.
(2) Banton tries to produce most of those slower Reggae songs himself and he’s not a producer. He’s a great artist but he’s not a producer. I believe he’s been trying to keep most of the Royalty check [cheque] ... but If you listen to those slower, Reggae songs with a musical ear, you can hear that they were not produced or even mixed properly. The few good, slower, roots, culture and lovers-rock type Reggae songs in his career were produced by Donovan Germain, Sly & Robbie etc to name a few.
So how did Buju get two hit records from slower reggae songs that he produced?
Well, once or twice during his career, he rode the wave of a big hit and followed it up with a slow Reggae song that he, himself produced ... and even though the new song wasn’t a great production, just the fact that he was riding the wave of a big hit, and the lyrics of the new song were amazing, people gravitated towards the, then “new” song and it became a hit for him.
What most people don’t know is that Buju has released over 200 slower Reggae songs that he produced himself. Of that amount, I like only 10. That’s 5%. Compare that to his dancehall songs... approximately 70% of his dancehall songs are hits.
Don’t get me wrong, slower Reggae always lasts longer than dancehall. Dancehall is fad music. I’m saying that to say this: The 10 slower Reggae hits he’s released in the past, (maybe 3 produced by him and 7 produced by real producers), those slower Reggae songs will last much longer.
I love “Trust”, though. This dancehall track will last for a while. It’s catchy. Keep in mind that the stereotype out there is that Rastafarians either don’t understand technology, or they shy away from it. Keep that in mind when you hear the hook “Me no trust phone” 🤣🤣 Brilliant!
-KiNG dJ FidEL
** UPDATE: Watch the OFFICIAL VIDEO for "Trust", with this URL: https://www.facebook.com/groups/JAMAICANSWORLDWIDE/permalink/559147168243575?sfns=mo