ENTITY · RECORDING / SONG
"Not an Easy Road" — Buju Banton
Well supported
The 1995 single from 'Til Shiloh, and part of Buju Banton's turn through that decade from harder dancehall material toward roots conscious writing. It was issued in Jamaica on his own Gargamel Music label, while the album carrying it came out on Donovan Germain's Penthouse and, internationally, on Loose Cannon and Island.
At a glance
- Confidence
- Well supported
- Sources
- Discogs release 20464909 (Gargamel Music 7", Jamaica, 1995, catalogue number 1995); Discogs release 16321554 ('Til Shiloh, Penthouse Records LP, Jamaica, 1995).
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Debate & reception
What people argued about this record — two documented positions each time, kept apart from verified fact. Browse every argument in the archive →
'Til Shiloh and dancehall's turn to consciousness
One side
Redemptive maturing of dancehall
The other
Moralistic retreat or commercial repositioning
Buju Banton, who had ridden slackness and gun-talk hits to stardom, converted to Rastafari and released the roots-inflected 'Til Shiloh in 1995, with 'Untold Stories' drawing frequent comparison to Marley's 'Redemption Song'. Many critics and fans read the record — alongside the parallel rise of Garnett Silk, Capleton and Anthony B — as dancehall redeeming itself and easing the slackness-vs-culture rift, an argument that neo-roots consciousness had matured the genre. Skeptics saw the shift as either a moralistic retreat from dancehall's raw street energy or a shrewd repositioning toward the greater respectability and export market of international roots reggae.
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Compiled and researched by The Jamaica Music Atlas music desk. The sources that informed it are credited above.
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