Esteemed music producer Donovan Germain is rubbishing claims that Buju Banton has released new music since he arrived from a US prison on Friday. A track called ‘Love We Need’, with the deejay’s voice, has been circulating on social media and advertised as ‘new’ in light of his release. Germain said this is not the case.

“That is false, no new song has been released as yet,” Germain told The STAR. “There won’t be any new music until sometime next year,” he continued.

Hungry Buju Banton fans have been eagerly awaiting new music from the entertainer, who arrived in Jamaica on Friday night after serving a near 10-year sentence on drug-related charges at the McRae Correctional Facility in Georgia. It had been reported that the Untold Stories deejay spent a great deal of time reflecting and writing songs while incarcerated. However, Germain said it is too early to predict the kind of music fans can expect.

“Yes, he has been writing, and yes, the lyrics are there, but I can’t say just yet what the sound will be like for his new music,” Germain said. “You will only know that once you get into the studio and start doing the work. Those things consistently change over time so we are just hoping to go and try and make some good, positive music. We’re not looking to do an album, we’re just going to be recording some songs.”

BIGGEST SONGS

Buju’s last album, Before the Dawn, was released on his Gargamel Music label in 2010 and hosts 10 tracks. It earned the Grammy award for the Best Reggae Album category, marking Buju’s first Grammy win out of five nominations.

Buju’s relationship with Germain traces back to the late 1980s, and the pair have collaborated on some of Banton’s biggest songs to date, including Up Close and Personal, Champion, Destiny, Have to Get You Tonight and How the World A Run.

Socio-cultural analyst professor Donna Hope opined that Jamaicans are anxious to hear from Buju, owing to the fact that he has been locked up for so long.

“We never heard anything from him whether in lyrics, in song, or even a message. We didn’t get to connect with Buju Banton and so there was a huge vacuum in both the music industry, that’s reggae and dancehall, as well as in Jamaican culture.”

She said that unlike Vybz Kartel, who is currently serving a life sentence for murder, Jamaicans did not hear from Buju during his time behind bars.

“Kartel has been making music on and off someway, somehow … but Buju Banton has not been able to. Because of that, there’s a hunger to hear Buju, to hear what he will have to say and what he has to add,” she said.

“He has spent a lot of time in deep reflection, so I hope he knows a lot of people are waiting for him to come and deliver words of wisdom,” she said. “Buju should be coming with a philosophical sound to help a lot of people understand the journey we are on in the 21st century.”