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Tag: reggae musician

  • Buju Banton’s Gun Conviction Struck Down

    Buju Banton’s Gun Conviction Struck Down

    In 2011, Reggae singer Buju Banton was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison for cocaine charges.

    Banton was convicted by a Tampa, Florida jury of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute 5 kg (around 11 pounds) of cocaine and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug-trafficking offense. Banton’s lawyers had argued that the singer was entrapped by a federal informant. The 10-year sentence Banton received is the federal minimum for his drug crime, and an additional five years were added for the gun charge.

    Last week, a federal judge threw out Banton’s gun conviction. According to the Associated Press, the turnaround was due to a finding that a juror in the 2011 trial had done independent research during the trial. The jury foreman in the trial had reportedly researched the federal Pinkerton rule, which was used to convict Benton on the gun charge. The judge who struck down the charge stated that the juror should face contempt charges for his actions.

    Banton, whose real name is Mark Myrie, came to prominence in the 90s for albums such as Mr. Mention and Voice of Jamaica. Banton’s Before the Dawn album won the Grammy Award for Best Reggae Album in 2011.

    (via Associated Press)

  • Toots Hibbert Cancels Tour Over Bottle Injury

    Almost two weeks ago, at the Dominion Riverrock outdoor music festival in Virginia, Reggae singer Frederick “Toots” Hibbert was hit in the head with a large glass vodka bottle during a Toots and the Maytals performance. He was rushed to the hospital, where he received seven stitches to close the wound on his head. The person who allegedly threw the bottle, a 19-year-old named William Lewis, has been charged with aggravated assault.

    Though the band had initially been hopeful that Hibbert would be able to continue the band’s U.S. tour, it now appears that he is too injured to return to the stage.

    According to an Associated Press report, Hibbert has returned to his home in Jamaica and has cancelled the rest of the Toots and the Maytals tour dates. He is reportedly still undergoing treatment for his injury.

    Hibbert gained fame in Jamaica in the 60s and 70s as a part of the band The Maytals. He has been touring and creating albums ever since, and in 2005 Toots and the Maytals won a best reggae album Grammy award for the album True Love.