By Brian Bonitto—
Associate Editor —
American rapper Kanye West (center) with reggae singer Buju Banton (right) and Roc-A-Fella Records co-founder Kareem “Biggs” Burke at Banton’s Gargamel Studio on Friday.—
AMERICAN rapper Kanye West left Jamaica yesterday after arriving in the island on a private jet on Friday morning.
Veteran music producer and Buju Banton’s manager, Donovan Germain, said, after landing, West paid a courtesy call on the reggae singer at his Corporate Area-based Gargamel Studio.
“Kanye and his friends just came to Jamaica to chill for a couple of days. And, on his way down to the hotel, he just stopped and hailed Buju. Nothing more than that,” Germain told Jamaica Observer yesterday.
West posted a photo of his visit to the Carlisle Avenue-based studio, which was captioned: ‘GREATNESS IN THE MAKING’, hinting at a possible collaboration.
Germain confirmed that a collaboration with the two Grammy-winning artistes was indeed on the cards.
“Buju did a song with him earlier in the year. It hasn’t come out yet. But, they have been in dialogue,” was all Germain was willing to say about the project.
Germain penned Buju Banton’s winning Jamaica Festival Song entry I Am A Jamaican.
Buju Banton — who won the Best Reggae Album Grammy for Before The Dawn in 2011 — released Upside Down 2020 on June 26.
The 18-track set sold 2,995 copies in its first week and opened at number two on the Billboard Reggae Albums chart. It debuted at number one on the Current Reggae Albums chart.
During his visit, West also made a stop at the popular eatery, Plantation Smokehouse, in St Ann. Two pictures from that occasion were posted on the eatery’s Instagram page.
This is not West’s first visit to the island.
Last year October, he held one of his pop-up Sunday Service at Emancipation Park in New Kingston. It is reportedly he spent US$1 million to host the event.
West is one of the world’s best-selling music artistes, having won a total of 21 Grammy Awards, making him one of the most awarded artistes of all time.
Three of his albums have been included on Rolling Stone’s 2012 500 Greatest Albums of All Time list; the same publication named him one of the 100 Greatest Songwriters of All Time.
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