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Buju Banton and Friends Before the Dawn concert set for Sunday, January 16
INTERNATIONAL Reggae star Buju Banton will make his long-awaited return to the stage at the highly anticipated Before The Dawn Concert taking place in South Florida during Martin Luther King, Jr Weekend. Banton, who is currently out on bail and awaiting retrial in February, has not performed live in over a year.
Produced by Rocker's Island Entertainment, the Buju Banton & Friends Before The Dawn Concert will also feature performances by some of Jamaican music's elite: Stephen Marley, Wayne Wonder, Sly & Robbie, Gramps Morgan, Shaggy and Freddie McGregor, with even more names to be announced in the next few weeks.
The concept is to reunite with the fans and thank them personally for the tremendous level of support they have shown to me during these turbulent times," explains Buju. "I look forward to touching the stage once more and coming together with the masses in a spirit of togetherness, harmony, unification and solidarity."
The Buju Banton & Friends Before The Dawn Concert is set for Sunday, January 16 at Bayfront Park Amphitheater in downtown Miami.
In other Buju Banton news, the acclaimed artiste has received his fifth Grammy nomination in the Best Reggae Album category for his prophetic new project, Before The Dawn.
Recorded mostly at his own Gargamel Music studio in Kingston, the album boasts some of the most powerful songs written by Banton since his professional entry into the music business over twenty years ago.
Banton was previously acknowledged by the Recording Academy for his albums Rasta Got Soul (2009), Too Bad (2007), Friends for Life (2004) and Inna Heights (1999).
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Court allows Buju to perform
12/1/2010
JAMAICAN Reggae star Buju Banton, today won an appeal against an order which denied him the right to perform on a concert on January 16.
Banton, whose real name is Mark Myrie, had applied for permission to perform at the concert on November 23 but his motion was dismissed by United States Judge Anthony Porcelli on the grounds that the artiste was a flight risk.
But in overturning the ruling today Judge James Moody cited that the issue had been already addressed when Banton was released on bail in October.
David Oscar Markus, who is the singer's lead attorney, was grateful for the ruling which will allow his client to earn much needed income to pay for his security detail which is costing Banton US$20,000 monthly.
The concert, dubbed 'Before The Dawn', will be held at the Bay Front Amphitheatre in downtown Miami and will feature Banton and other prominent Reggae artistes. The concert is being produced by Rockers Island.
Banton was held in the Pinellas County Jail for 11 months after being hauled out of his home in Tamarac, South Florida following the arrest of James Mack and Ian Thomas during a sting operation in Saratoga, Tampa.
Both were held attempting to purchase cocaine from undercover agents in a police controlled warehouse and have pleaded guilty.
http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/Court-allows-Buju-to-perform__________________________________________________________________
BUJU WANTS GUN CHARGE DROPPED
9/18/2010
Lawyers representing Jamaica's reggae superstar Buju Banton have filed a motion in court to have the gun charge against him dropped.
Buju, whose correct name is Mark Myrie, is set to be retried on charges of drug conspiracy and possession of a firearm during the course of a drug-trafficking crime.
But in documents filed in the US District Court in the Middle District of Florida on Monday, Buju's lawyers urged the judge to free him of the gun charge.
"As the court is well aware, the jury in this cause could not reach a verdict, and a mistrial was ordered.
"The government has indicated that it intends to retry the case. In the light most favourable to the government, the evidence was insufficient to convict Mr Myrie on Count 2, the 924(c) charge and, accordingly, Mr Myrie should only be retried on Count 1," Buju's attorney, David Oscar Markus, argued.
Amending the indictment
"First, there is no evidence Mark Myrie knew that James Mack (a co-accused) had a gun in his car. The undisputed facts at trial established that Mr Myrie had never even spoken to or met James Mack before being arrested in this case. As for the second element, there is nothing that 'links' Mr Myrie to this gun," added Markus.
The lawyer charged that having realised that it could not prove that Buju aided or abetted the possession of the gun, the prosecution attempted to amend the indictment after the close of the first trial.
"There is simply no evidence that it was reasonably foreseeable to Mr Myrie that Mr Mack would be present at this drug deal and that he would be in possession of a gun," said Markus.
The court is expected to rule on the matter shortly.
Buju and his co-accused, Mack and Ian Thomas, were arrested last December after US law-enforcement agents allegedly recorded them planning a drug deal.
Mack and Thomas, who were held when he went to purchase the coke, subsequently pleaded guilty and are awaiting sentencing.
But Buju, who has repeatedly claimed he was not guilty, faced the court in a trial which ended in a hung jury.
He is now out on bail and scheduled to return to court for a second trial early next year.
Source:http://www.jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20101118/lead/lead6.html
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