Mel Cooke and Krista Henry, STAR Writers

Buju Banton

When Buju Banton hit the scene in 1990 with Browning, closely followed by Black Woman, it was the beginning of a deejay's dominance five years at a time when the electronic media was just really beginning to embrace the most modern incarnation of dancehall.

It is not surprising, then, that generation next of the rhythmic chanters should be influenced by the 'Gargamel', as Buju Banton is also known, so much so that two of the most prominent practitioners to have made it to the top of the class past 2000 have paid the ultimate homage to him.

Both Assassin and Mavado have borrowed lines directly from Buju Banton.

The Gleaner reported on Monday, August 22, 2005, that at the 'Champions in Action' concert, held at the Caymanas Polo Club, "Assassin featured in an exquisite moment with Buju Banton, who came up to perform with him and Spragga Benz. After Buju rode the 'Love P—-aany Bad' rhythm, the young champion honoured his elder champion with a throwback line to Gargamel's Stamina Daddy, as the audience roared." Assassin also embarked on a three-month stint touring with Buju Banton on a brief European 'Mad Over Me' tour.

That honouring comes in As a Man, where Assassin directly attributes the line to Buju, deejaying "it's no one minute man ting no, it's more like de Buju Banton song, me a de stamina daddy".

The song appears on the VP Records Reggae Gold 2005 collection, as well as leading off Assassin's own 2005 solo project Infiltration.

The song he refers to also led off Buju Banton's debut album and was the title song of his 1992 set. In it, Buju boasts of his sexual prowess on the 'Superstar' rhythm in a rather high-pitched voice, unlike his regular rasp: "Me a stamina daddy fi all de gal pickney."

Assassin further borrow from Buju in his song A No Your Fault where he imitates Buju's classic growl deejaying "Me fren gargamel sey yu body it well him sey yu born like a champion it fat till it swell".