Burro Banton
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| Burro Banton | ||
|---|---|---|
| Background information | ||
| Genre(s) | reggae | |
| Occupation(s) | Singer-songwriter | |
| Instrument(s) | toasting | |
Burro Banton (born Donovan Spalding, December 27, 1956, Kingston, Jamaica) is a dancehall reggae deejay popular in the mid 80's and 90's.
He is most famous for his anthem Boom Wah Dis which was voiced on the Steelie and Cleevie riddim called "Street Sweeper".
Burro emerged during the mid 80's at the beginning of the digital dancehall craze started by King Jammy which also featured artists like Cutty Ranks. He is known for his very aggressive style and deep, gruff voice and was the inspiration for many modern dancehall artists like Buju Banton, Bounty Killer, and Elephant Man.
[edit] History
DJ-ing from a youth in the late 70's Burro would look to Ranking Joe for inspiration. It was around 1978 he first linked with the first sound system called Black Hoover, then he moved to Roots Unlimited sound system. He finally made the big time in '82 while DJ-ing for Gemini sound system and continued throughout 1984. Through the middle and late 80's he DJ'd for Volcano sound system and Killamanjaro sound system where he was featured with Super Cat and Nicodemus.
He did his first recording with legendary producer Henry "Junjo" Lawes, Volcano's owner, and released his first LP in 1985. Burro Banton rode original riddems made with real drum and bass, pre-drum machine, and digital computerization.
As the 90's approached, Burro Banton continued working with Supercat and Nicodemus. Supercat formed the "Wild Apache" label where Burro voiced his first recording of a #1 hit, "Boom Wha Dis". When Supercat moved over Columbia Records, Burro Banton joined forces with the ace producer, Bobby Konders and the Massive B label in 1992. Here Burro Banton voiced numerous #1 hits including "Washington Session", "Tek a Set", "Westmoreland Sensi", and many more. . .
Massive B released Burro's second LP, "The Original Banton", in 1995/96. When 1998 rolled around Burro, continued recording with Massive B and was sought out by "Steelie and Clevie", one of Jamaica's most respected producing teams. Steelie's genius intuition suggested that he revoiced "Boom Wha Dis" on the deadly "Street Sweeper" riddem. Burro agreed and scored another #1 hit from Kingston, Jamaica to New York to Miami and beyond. It was in heavy rotation around the world for many months.
[edit] 2000 and Beyond
Extending his recording career with Massive B in 2000, his releases titled "Politicians" on the "Lickshot Rewind" riddim delves into hard time in the ghetto of Kingston and wishes the politicians would keep their promises of a better life. In addition he released "Phenomenon 2", on the Dun Dem Riddem "bigging up" all the 'ganja" man. His latest effort on Massive B's Rock, Pennacillen and Tempo Riddim features a #1 European single called "Jah Jah Rules".
Burro Banton has been touring constantly over the last ten years across Asia, Europe, and throughout North America. He has shared the stage with Capleton and Bounty Killer just to name a few and stands out in his performances due to his originality.[1]
His most recent performance was in Rome, Italy in 2006.
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