Buju Banton Returns With New Album ‘Upside Down 2020’

It’s been almost a decade since reggae and dancehall legend Buju Banton last dropped an album, but now he’s back with the vibrant Upside Down 2020.

Featuring appearances from Pharrell, Stefflon Don, Stephen Marley, and John Legend, Upside Down 2020 is his first project since his release from prison in 2018. Featuring the previously released singles “Steppa,” “Memories,” and “Trust,” the record sees Banton in top form as though he never left. Blending sounds both modern and throwback, it’s a refreshing reintroduction to an artist who has undoubtedly influenced countless musicians during his career.

While Banton wasn’t able to make much music behind bars, his sound has proved to be influential over the past decade or so. In a recent interview, he even spoke about his influence and how musicians in the mainstream have continued to orbit the worlds of reggae and dancehall. “We don’t want to tell the people a lie. We have to tell the people the truth, and that is reggae music,” Buju said in an interview with Drewbyrd, Sean G, and Shacia Payne on the Shabbaaaaa Sound Radio show last month. “That’s why we don’t get the mainstream appeal and the mainstream behind us, because our music is a music aimed at uplifting something inside of you, not outside of you.”