Lady Saw

Yellowman

Yellowman, born in 1956, is the most famous artist out of Jamaica after Bob Marley. And his story is absolutely insane. Due to his albinism, Yellowman was found as a baby in a shopping bag in a trash can when he was only a few days old. The trash collector who found him, brought him to Maxfield’s Childrens home in Kingston, Jamaica. Growing up, Yellowman faced a lot of violence and bullying due to his albinism. In 1979, he won the Tastee Talent Contest for his music and released his first full album in 1981. In 1982, Yellowman was diagnosed with skin cancer and was giver 6 months to live. He then underwent multiple surgeries and was able to continue his career. Then, in 1986, he gets told that his cancer has spread to his jaw and has an extremely invasive jaw surgery, disfiguring him. However, none of this ever stopped him from making music, and definitely didn’t stop him from from finding love. Yellowman has been married to his wife, Rosie Foster since 1985.

Lady Saw is commonly known in the culture as the “Queen of Dancehall.” Born in 1969, Lady Saw was very successful in her career, becoming the first female deejay to win a Grammy. She rose to fame in the early 1990’s and quickly gained respect in the community for her “slackness” lyrics and energetic performances. However, today she goes by the name Minister Marion Hall. After getting baptized in 2015, Lady saw left dancehall in her past and focused on her career as a gospel artist.

Buju Banton

Buju Banton, born in 1973, rose to fame with his 1992 album “Mr. Mention.” He has also had a pretty wild life and story. Buju broke the records for most #1 singles in one year, previously being held by Bob Marley himself. Buju has faced a lot of controversy throughout his career. In 1988, Buju realease “Boom Boom Bye” which quickly climbed the charts, however not everyone approved of the message of his song. This song had strong homophobic themes and was about inciting violence upon gay men. Buju was asked to sign the “reggae compassionate act” denouncing queer violence, he did, but then later denied that he signed the act, stating that the song holds true to his morals. Then, in 2009, Buju was arrested for trying to buy cocaine after getting totally set up by federal agents pretending to be drug dealers. They sentenced Buju to 10 years in prison, he appealed these charges multiple times, stating that his rights were violated, even getting a mistrial at the beginning. But, in 2011, his album “Before The Dawn” was nominated for a Grammy. This went to show just how important Buju’s music was to the culture. Buju now has 17 children and was released from prison in 2018 after serving 7 years and continues to perform both in Jamaica and the United States.